In Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, the story of the Monkey King is a relatable tale that both inspires Chinese American children that they can be whoever they want, but also reminds them to remember where they are from.
At the start of the book as the story
of the Monkey King begins, he attempts to attend a dinner party, but is not
allowed inside because he is not wearing any shoes and the guard even says, “You
may be a king – you may even be a deity – but you are still a monkey” (Yang, 15).
The Monkey King is clearly being judged for who he is, and he takes the moment
to heart. Following the event, he requires that all monkeys wear shoes, despite
that being impractical for the activities that monkeys frequently participate
in.
Jin also adjusts his behaviors based on
the people around him in an attempt to fit in. When Wei-Chen arrives at Jin’s
school, Jin treats Wei-Chin in a way that any of the other children might be
expected to. As Wei-Chen introduces himself, Jin says, “You’re in America. Speak
English” (37). Jin has adjusted his behaviors to fit in with the children
around him by not speaking Chinese, and even discouraging it with another Chinese
American student. Just like the Monkey King requires monkeys to wear shoes, Jin
adopts the behaviors of the children around him to make speaking Chinese seem
bad. Even though the monkeys weren’t born to wear shoes and Jin and Wei-Chen grew
up speaking Chinese, society has influenced them to change their behaviors and attempt
to forget their backgrounds.
Despite Jin falling into the same
pattern as the Monkey King in attempting to change who he is, Jin and other
Chinese American children can learn from the Monkey King’s tale. While the Monkey
King goes through his trials of transforming himself and wishing to be called “The
Great Sage, Equal of Heaven”, he learns that he needs to be himself to be at
his best. The Monkey King is only able to free himself and save Wong Lai-Tsao
when he returns to his original form to escape the mountain of rock on top of
him (150).
Jin may not have a mountain of rock to
escape, but he is able to see in the Monkey King’s story that he is happiest
and most successful once he returns to his original form and stops wearing
shoes. Jin returns to his original form when he meets the Monkey King and from
there in the story Jin reconnects with his culture at the 490 Bakery Café, and
repairs his friendship with Wei-Chen, because he has stopped trying to be
someone that he is not. While hopefully most Chinese American children, or anyone feeling like an outsider, can learn from the story that they don't need to change who they are, the story also reassures anyone that feels that way that it can be normal and they're not alone.
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ReplyDeleteThe main lesson to be learned from the story about the Monkey King is that one should be true to themselves regardless of society’s perception and accept who you are as an individual.
ReplyDeleteAt the story's beginning, the Monkey King attempts to attend a dinner party. However, he is turned down at the entrance because he does not have any shoes and also because he is a monkey. In embarrassment, he attacks all the deities present and returns to his mountain with the resolve to change himself. This can be seen when he decrees “All Monkeys Must Wear Shoes”(Yang 55). Here we can see the Monkey King beginning to conform himself to societal standards rather than being true to himself.
This is represented in the second story when Jin transforms himself into Danny, a white teenager. Jin, the main character, did not accept who he was as a person and to be more likable by his peers, apparently transformed himself into a person that he believed others would like. Jin projects his insecurities about being Chinese onto another character called Chin-kee. He eventually realizes that it is best to be himself after he is beaten by Chin-kee, similar to how the Monkey King had to go through a battle of his own to accept that he is a monkey.
So the main lesson I learned is that people may need to go through an internal battle to learn to accept themselves.