Transformation is Not All Bad

In Gene Luen Yang’s book, American Born Chinese, three parallel storylines take place. The first the legend of a Monkey King who is not satisfied with being a monkey. Second is about Jin Wang moving to a new school as the only Chinese-American student and his experiences trying to fit in. Lastly is the tale of the all-American boy, Danny, who detests his cousin Chinkee. Each tells a tale of a character who is not happy with who they are. They continue morph into the expectations of others in the hope that they will finally be accepted. However, in the end this fails.

The story of Jin Wang begins with a parable of a young boy whose mother continues to move.  Although seemingly meaningless reading it the first time through, her story attempts to demonstrate the desire of the little boy to assimilate to his environment. When at the market, the boy is bartering with sticks. At the cemetery, he burns incense to dead ancestors. It was not until the family moved to a university where the boy studied that she decided to stay in place (Yang, 23). It is natural for a person to adapt to their environment, but the parable emphasizes the importance of change. The story shows that changing oneself is not always bad, as long as it is for the right reason.

In attempts “to fit in” with those around them, the characters sacrifice their souls, as predicted by the herbalist (Yang, 29). The poor treatment that was so hurtful to them is then transferred onto others. They do not seem to acknowledge this evil until it is forced upon them by others. For instance, the Monkey King was stuck under the rock until he overcame his stubbornness to save his new discipler (Yang, 149). Jin was told by the same Monkey King of how his actions defiled humans so greatly in the eyes of Wei-Chen that he deserts his role and choses a life of greed and pleasure (Yang, 220). In attempts to fit in with those around them, the characters end up hurting those closest to them.

I think it is important for readers to realize that not all change is bad. In the end, Jin does become a transformer. Not only does he transform into Danny, but also back to himself. He has to lose sight of himself to find out who he truly is. If it were not for the characters working so hard to fit in, they may never have realized the value in who they are. Therefore, as the three characters evolve throughout the book, the changes that means the most are the ones at the end where they finally accept their true selves. The Monkey King says it best when he admits, “I would have saved myself from five hundred years of imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey” (Yang, 223).