Kampung Boy

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic novel and this is only the second graphic novel I've read, but I'm starting to really like them.  It's fun to see the author's imagination come to life on the page and see through their perspective of what they imagined for the story.  Kampung Boy opened my perspective about the culture in Malaysia because I wasn't too aware of their cultural traditions and ideas before reading this novel. Obviously by the images, their clothing styles are much different then ours and also their mode of transportation.  They seem to rely on bikes most of the time, rather than cars.  The setting was a small village and it helped me grasp the feeling of a small community within the novel and how they only have one place for each errand they need to accomplish whereas in our culture we could find ten different groceries stores to buy our food.  Although this book is set further back in time as well, it is still interesting to see the differences in conveniences between then and now.  This culture also seemed to be a more strict culture because the dad was very harsh on his son when he would do something wrong or was disrespectful in anyway.  The dad would use physical punishment and this would definitely serve as a culture shock in the society we live in today.  This book challenged me to think openly about other cultures, I may not agree with certain traditions or ideas they have, but I can still be open to them.  Every culture lives differently and that is their choice to live they way they want.  The main character seemed to be very open to different ideas as well.  He exhibited his rebellious sides when he didn't join in with the other students in his class and when he spent so much time with the three brothers that liked to fish a lot.  His illegal gathering of tin also showed me that he wasn't afraid to bend the rules even though he got a swift beating afterwards.  I believe he just wanted to make his father proud in the end.  He appreciates all that has been given to him, but he knows he has further potential as well.  Traditions are highly valued in this culture and the main character was a little confused with the cultural traditions at first, but by the end of the novel I think he really learned to appreciate everything his culture and family had given him.  I think it teaches readers that we may not agree with certain things in our culture or we might not always understand these things, but we learn to appreciate where we came from.  Our culture is what makes us unique and helps shape us into the people that we have become and will continue to grow into throughout our lives.  Overall, this book was a delightful and interesting read and really established another culture into my brain and helped me broaden my perspective on how other countries develop and practice their traditions.  It reminded me that it is important to remember those cultures, but also embrace my own.