The theme of transformation is very prominent in American Born Chinese. The character of the Monkey King learns to transform himself because he believes that it will help him fit in with the other deities he knows. Jin gets his wish and transforms into Danny, going from a young Asian boy who be believes will never be accepted to a young All-American boy who is accepted, all until his cousin Chin-Kee comes along. Even Wei-Chen goes through a transformation, going from an optimist that believes humanity is basically good to a cynic that believes all humans are selfish and terrible. Each of these characters’ transformations is rooted in how others see them. The Monkey King wants to transform because he is excluded from the community of the deities for being a monkey, and is laughed at for trying to become immortal and fit in with the other gods. Jin wants to be somebody else because he is tired of facing the teasing of others and wants to escape the box that his heritage puts him into in the eyes of his peers. Even Wei-Chen’s transformation comes as a result of his peers in school casting him in a prejudiced light, his friend Jin seeing him as immature and disposable, and his father seeing him as a failure for being unable to help Jin be at peace with who he is. While each of these transformations are different, they are all motivated by the prejudice of others, the feeling of exclusion, and the desire to be accepted by those around them.
I think every young person has desired to transform themselves at some point. We all dream of being the best version of ourselves, and we struggle to come to terms with who we are. When I was younger, I was a quirky, lonely kid who preferred to spend her days reading books in the quiet of her room. I wrote many stories in which I transformed myself into a character in the books I was reading because I wanted desperately to escape my life in which I had no friends or siblings, I was being bullied at school, my father was overseas and my mother was always working. And when I changed schools for high school, I changed my name to try and leave who I was in elementary and middle school behind. I looked back at who I had been and hated myself, and so I crafted a new persona and gave her a new name to become the person I wanted to be and erase the person I had been. So on a non-cultural identity level I can relate to Jin who tries so desperately to leave behind the parts of himself he doesn’t like. I do believe that there is some good to transforming yourself into a person you like better, but I can say from experience that the only way to truly overcome dislike of yourself is to acknowledge and accept every bit of what makes you who you are.
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ReplyDeleteI admire your honesty and the thorough way in which you describe why the characters in American Born Chinese transform themselves, however I think there are two types of transforming yourself. I believe there is a difference between transforming yourself into a person you like better and transforming yourself into a person that you think others will appreciate. In regard to Jin’s transformation to Danny, he is transforming into a form that he thinks others will accept. During his transformation, Danny rejects Chin-Kee from his life, “I’m sick of you ruining my life, Chin-Kee! I want you to pack up and go back to where you came from” (205)! The rejection occurs because when Chin-Kee talks to Danny at school, other students associate them together and Danny wants to protect his status. Danny turns to violence to alter how his peers perceive him and to complete his transformation to a stereotypical American. When Danny bullies Chin-Kee he changes to his true form of the Monkey King, who has the power to reveal Danny’s true form of Jin Wang. This transformation is different from transforming yourself into a person you like better, as your story shows an example of. As you say ‘to become the person I wanted to be’ it shows how you are changing in order to fulfill your own reasons, not changing like Jin who is trying to disassociate with Chin-Kee in order to be accepted by others.
ReplyDeleteGene Yang develops transformation as an important theme throughout American Born Chinese. The Monkey King, Jin and Wei-Chen all transform under the internal and external pressures of the “one simple goal: to fit in” as written on the back cover. Readers could argue that they eventually fit in by learning to accept themselves; however, I wonder if Yang would negate that such an ideal exists. At the novel’s end, “Danny” returns to his true form as Jin Wang with the Monkey King’s help (214). His apology to Wei-Chen and final moments spent at a milk tea café demonstrate some acceptance towards his Asian roots. But, although Jin’s transformation causes him “to forfeit [his] soul” as the herbalist’s wife warns (29), his new racial identity awards him autonomy and a shred of power. In reality, assimilation, the closest equivalent to racial transformation, typically eases an American immigrant’s life. Furthermore, the story does not end suggesting that the white people around Jin perceive or receive him any better. Granted, Jin and Wei-Chen do find companionship and reassurance between themselves, as shown in the final frame (233). Often, Asian immigrants must rely on their community members for this camaraderie, and perhaps, that is enough and all for now. Essentially, as someone who also wished to magically transform into a white “Daniella,” it’s hard arguing that “fitting in” is finally accepting yourself when many around you still do not. Yang criticizes that transformation proves contradictingly functional (practical) and dysfunctional (personally destructive) for Asian immigrants.
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