Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese tackles the
real-world struggle with personal image and identity issues in a graphic novel
format. A foreboding omen near the beginning of the novel hints at these themes,
prophesying, “It’s easy to become anything you wish…so long as you’re willing
to forfeit your soul” (Yang 29). All three main characters want to be someone
or something they are not. The Monkey King wants to be a god and be accepted
into heaven with the other spirits; Jin wants to hide his true Asian-American
identity behind his American status; and Danny does not want to be associated
with his Chinese cousin. Throughout their individual storylines, they all share
the struggle of learning to be true to themselves. Just as the omen suggests, there
are consequences to pretending to be someone you are not, but there are also
consequences to staying true to yourself. Either way, there is a price to pay,
so it is up to each character to decide who exactly they want to be.
The Monkey King’s journey towards
finding humility begins when he is rejected by the other gods and spirits of
heaven simply because he is a monkey. He does not give up so easily, though. He
resolves to “[master] twelve major disciplines of Kung-Fu and [transcend his]
former title” in order to prove himself to the other gods (Yang 60). He calls
himself “The Great Sage, Equal of Heaven” and learns to shapeshift into a
humanoid form so that those in heaven might take him more seriously (Yang 60).
His ego is so inflated, and he changes himself so much that he actually seems
to forget that he is still a monkey, and he will always be a monkey no matter
how many disciplines of Kung-Fu he masters. Despite his attempts to be
something he is not, he can never change his true identity. He must accept his
fate and become who he was truly meant to be if he ever wishes to gain heaven’s
recognition and favor. Until he does this, he remains imprisoned under a
mountain of rocks for five hundred years.
Jin and Danny are revealed to be
the same person, since Jin just wants to be a regular all-American boy who
doesn’t have to deal with negative Asian-American racial stereotypes. When this
wish comes true and he wakes up one morning to find a blond, white, normal
all-American boy gaping back at him in the mirror, he is glad to leave his
Asian-American identity behind and enjoy this new life as a typical American
male. However, this twist of fate is too good to be true. When Danny’s cousin
Chin-Kee comes to visit, he exists as a physical reminder of Jin’s Asian-American
roots. Eventually, Danny transforms back into Jin and cousin Chin-Kee is actually
revealed to be the Monkey King. Here, all three storylines merge into one with a
single shared lesson. The Monkey King advises Jin, “‘I would have saved myself
from five hundred years’ imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only
realized how good it is to be a monkey’” (Yang 223). This moral reflects the
warning behind the omen at the beginning of the novel: you forfeit your soul by
pretending to be somebody you’re not. So, all three characters must come to
terms with their true identities and learn to appreciate and be happy with who
they are, rather than trying to be something they are not.
I think Gene Luen Yang's ultimate message to us is not to wish we were somebody else. Even as college students trying to find our way through life, a lot of us struggle with our identity. Sometimes we want to be someone "better" like the Monkey King, and sometimes we do not even want to be associated with our culture like Jin. I think it's easy to lose sight of all the good we have in who we are, like the Monkey King did when he thought being a god sounded so much better. There's a lot to learn from these identity issues especially when Jin initially turns away Wein-Chen because he does not want to be associated with that culture. It makes us think more about the people we might be hurting when we try to be someone we are not too and to consider that our actions affect those around us. Ultimately, I think the characters learned that they would rather be themselves and picked on then be someone they are not and have to fight through life for the approval of others. For example, even when the Monkey King becomes a "god" he is still not accepted and when Jin tries to change his hair or become Danny he is still left in the shadows because he is not the right person for Amelia or is associated with his cousin Chin-Kee. Your analysis is definitely spot on Genevieve, I think you've perfectly covered the message of the story.
ReplyDeleteI think you have addressed the points Yang is trying to make in his novel very well. I want to elaborate more on how being oneself has its own consequences because I think this point connects to the stories of Jin, Wei-Chen, and Chin-Kee. At the beginning of the novel, Jin is not necessarily pretending to be someone else. He goes by the name Jin Wang, which ties him to his Chinese heritage, and eats dumplings at lunch. The American students begin to bully Jin; thus, the discrimination Jin faces in school is a consequence of being himself. To counteract this discrimination, Jin begins to act like his American counterparts. When Wei-Chen attempts to speak to him in Chinese, Jin says “You’re in America, speak English” (37). Thus, Jin redirects the discrimination he faces to Wei-Chen. Chin-Kee also faces consequences for being himself. Danny is annoyed by Chin-Kee’s being himself; therefore, the distance that is created between the cousins is a consequence of Chin-Kee’s being himself. When Chin-Kee asks Danny they arrive at school so late, Danny refuses to answer the question; instead, he tells Chin-Kee to “just hurry up, and stay quiet” (110). Danny makes clear in this frame that he does not want to be associated with Chin-Kee. Thus, as you pointed out, the Chinese and Chinese American characters in American Born Chinese face consequences for pretending to be people they are not, but also for staying true to themselves.
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