The Monkey King's story is most apparent to be a fairy tale. The Monkey King is not someone who can be found in the real world, but in the world Gene Yang created the Monkey King rules over his servants on his mountain. He initially is a very benevolent and kind ruler, but when he is denied entry into a party in the heavens for being a monkey, he sets out on a quest to become more powerful than any of the other deities in the heavens. "He locked himself deep down in the inner bowels of his royal chamber, where he studied kung-fu more fervently than ever" (Yang 56). To deal with his newfound insecurity over being a monkey, he sets himself on a path to master every element of kung-fu that he can. He believes that by doing this he will be able to change the way people see him, so they no longer see a monkey, but a great deity. This is very similar to Ragged Dick, in the sense that Dick completely transforms the way people see him throughout the novel. He transitioned from a lowly shoe cleaner on the street with no future to working in an office and owning nice suits at the end of the novel.
The same parallel is evident in Jin Wang's life. He is a Chinese student who moved to the United States and is trying to figure out the social setting but most of the other kids are very mean towards him. They make very rude and racist comments about the way he talks, the food he eats, and the way he dresses. "You're right. I'm getting gook bumps" (Yang 97). The other students did not see him as just another student, but rather as someone from China. This made him different, and thus an easy target to pick on. Jin does not transform himself, but rather tries to fade into the background and not stand out. In the end of the novel, there is no conclusion on if Jin determines a way to shift people's perception of him, but he does reconcile his friendship with Wei-Chin. I believe that him rekindling their relationship shows that he has transformed his views on being from China, and now is not ashamed but proud of where he comes from.
This is a very interesting take on American Born Chinese. I would not have initially made the connection to Ragged Dick, but after reading your analysis, I realize that the two stories reflect each other very well in this sense. One thing that I noticed multiple times throughout this novel is that the characters seem to be content with their lives until they realize that they are perceived as different by the rest of the world. Only then is it that they become ashamed of who they are. For example, after the Monkey King returns home from the incident at the dinner party, Yang explains, “When he entered his royal chamber, the thick smell of monkey fur greeted him. He’d never noticed it before” (Yang 28). Before this happens, the monkey king leads a peaceful life and is proud to rule the monkeys, but afterwards, he rejects his identity as a monkey. Not only does he deny that he is a monkey to others, but he also forces monkeys to wear shoes, as if they are people.
ReplyDeleteThis happens again when Jin Wang goes to his new school, and it is the reason that Danny transfers schools each year after Chin-Kee visits. Even in Ragged Dick, Dick did not have any motivation to begin saving his money or even finding a place to live until he was told to do so by Mr. Whitney. This shows just how influential others’ opinions are. They can make people completely change their lifestyles.