Dealing with Prejudice in American Born Chinese

In American Born Chinese, the only way to defeat prejudice against the identity that others use as a means to attack one is by embracing that identity. This theme is evident in each of the three stories.

In the story of the Monkey King, the only way that he can defeat the prejudice and hatred he is subjected to is by embracing rather than rejecting his existence as a monkey.  The fact that he suffers such prejudice is undeniable, for at the beginning of the story he, despite, all of his accomplishments, cannot gain entrance to a party held by the gods because he is “still a monkey”(Yang 15).  He reacts by transforming his form and declaring that he is “not a monkey,” but this denial of identity, despite his victories, do not gain him the adoration and respect he desires(Yang 62). Instead, the gods complain to Tze-Yo-Tzuh, who traps him under a mountain.  However, once the Monkey King allows himself “to return to [his] true form,” thus embracing his identity, he is able to gain the respected position of emissary of the supreme god(Yang 145, 215).

Jin Wang similarly shows the need to embrace one’s true identity to defeat prejudice. He, as an Asian-American kid, is subjected to prejudice by many of classmates(Yang 31-33).  In order to try to avoid being a prejudice, he does his best to destroy his identity as Asian-American by taking such steps as avoiding the other Asian-American, Suzy Nakamura, in his class room, insisting Wei-Chen Sun speak English to him, changing his hair style so that it looks less Asian, and pretending to use deodorant (Yang 31, 37, 97-98, 168).   However, for all his efforts to obliterate his status as Asian-American, he still faces prejudice for it, as Greg says that Jin cannot date Amelia because “he’s kind of a geek”(Yang 184).

Finally, Danny’s story also illustrates how, in this story, the only way to fight prejudice is by embracing identity. Jin becomes Danny after he runs from being Asian-American by wishing to be white(Yang 192-94).  Thus, he represents Jin’s desire not to be Chinese.  However, Danny still suffers from the prejudice against Asian-Americans due to the visit of his cousin Chin-Kee.  Chin-Kee, as someone who fits many stereotypes about Asian-Americans like mixing “r” and “l” and eating strange and disgusting foods, is thus a symbol of the prejudice against Asian-Americans(Yang 113-14). Moreover, he manages to make Danny suffer by associating himself with Danny, thus showing how prejudice even catches up with those who reject their identity(Yang 126-27).   Danny, furthermore, only manages to stop the visits of Chin-Kee when he attacks Chin-Kee, for the first time fighting against the stereotypes represented through him rather than passively accepting them, and then transforms back into Jin, thus showing that embracing identity and fighting against stereotypes, rather than ignoring them as not applicable to oneself, are the only ways to defeat prejudice(Yang 212-14).