Almost everyone who has ever lived has at some point wished that they could change something about themselves - whether it be physical, mental, or even imagined. In American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang uses three different characters to demonstrate the experiences of people who are seen as outsiders, specifically immigrants in the United States. All of these characters experience a transformation of some sort, altering themselves to fit someone else's ideal.
The first character to be introduced is the Monkey King. After being rejected by other deities because he is a monkey, the Monkey King undergoes a transformation and masters the four major disciplines of bodily form: giant form, miniature form, hair-into-clones and shape shift. From that point on, the Monkey King was able to physically transform himself. However, it’s obvious that the Monkey King also went through a mental transformation. By continuously being deemed a monkey, despite all he comes to master, the Monkey King experiences discrimination first hand. He can do anything and everything to make himself accepted in the eyes of the other deities of the world, but he will always be seen as just a monkey. This is a common experience for minority groups in the United States. No matter how hard someone may work to redeem themselves in the eyes of White American society, the fact that they are Black or Asian or Latinx will forever determine the way they are treated.
Jin Wang experiences anti-Asian prejudice. He is teased and stereotyped in his new school. As a result, he begins to wish he was different, and makes changes - he gets a perm and stops bringing dumplings for lunch. All of these things are part of a larger change within Jin, as he learns to see only the things that are wrong with being Chinese. However, all of these qualities that are supposedly wrong are deemed so by White Americans. Danny, the third character, sees the embodiment of the Asian-American stereotype whenever his cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit. Chin-Kee is supposed to be everything wrong with Asians - he is loud and brags about his intelligence, and his sole purpose in life seems to be to come and destroy everything good in Danny’s life. It is later discovered that Jin Wang and Danny are the same person. Jin sold his soul for the ability to fit in at his new school, altering his body and his mindset so that he would no longer be seen as an outsider. He comes to learn, however, that he was wrong all along. When he mistreats his friend Wei-chen, insisting over and over again that they are not the same, he fails to recognize that he is Asian, and he will always be Asian. The Monkey King had a similar realization at some point, and came to accept the fact that he was a monkey. The Monkey King, Jin and Danny all come to terms with the fact that they cannot change themselves in the eyes of others, and as such they should embrace who they are.
I think you make some really good connections between these characters and their experiences with discrimination. From the moment I began reading this graphic novel, it was easy to see that the purpose of the Monkey King would be to show discrimination in a neutral light. This is an especially powerful tool to use in this context because it takes the specific issue of asian hate out of the picture and makes the feeling of discrimination widely applicable. The Monkey King not only had to go through the discrimination from the Gods, but then also had to spend 500 years beneath a mountain of rocks. The only way out of his situation was to come to terms with his true identity, and he is eventually able to do this. This story line stands to promote an acceptance of self that is actually taught to Jin through the Monkey King/Chin-Kee at the end of the graphic novel.
ReplyDeleteI also think the connection between the portrayals of Monkey King and Chin-Kee is significant because they go through polar opposite experiences with their identities. The Monkey King fully dedicates himself to bettering himself and changing his identity, whereas Chin-Kee functions as a reminder to Jin/Danny of embodying one's true self. Since there is such a big difference between the attitude of the Monkey King and Chin-Kee, their connection makes the shift of appreciating one's identity even more special.