American Born Chinese
features several story lines that each have their own themes, lessons, and
conflicts. One of the largest motifs of both the stories of the Monkey King and
of Jin is identity. Both of these stories work through the struggle of forming
and maintaining a healthy self-identity within opposition and expectations from
others. However, each of these characters fights this battle differently by
reacting in very different ways to the expectations imposed upon them.
The Monkey King initially enjoys his identity as the ruler
of all monkeys. At first, “the Monkey King ruled with a firm, but gentle hand”
(10). But once he discovered that the gods looked down on him for being a
monkey, instead of seeing him as an equal deity, he grows angry, and seeks to gain
their respect. There are two ways that he could have sought their respect: by
demonstrating that monkeys are not to be looked down upon through sharing his
own grace and power, or by rejecting his own identity and seeking to gain a new
identity similar to the other gods. Interestingly, he chooses the second path, similar
to Jin initially seeks the approval of his American peers by abandoning his
Chinese heritage.
The Monkey King, after being rejected from the godly dinner
party for not wearing shoes, requires that “all monkeys must wear shoes” (55).
He also changes his form to appear less like a monkey, distancing himself even
further from his original identity, and changes his name to the Great Sage,
Equal of Heaven. In addition, we see the Monkey King begin to look down on
monkeys himself as he attempts to leave behind his identity. When one of his
monkeys asks if he wants a banana, he only glares in return before stalking
off. It is obvious that the Monkey King has come to resent the identity that he
is trying to leave behind and is pushing away anyone else that reminds him of
his origin. Jin also follows this path to a lesser extent, which we see with
his attempts to change his hair and his first interaction with Wei-Chen. When
Wei-Chen first greets him in Mandarin, Jin replies, “You’re in America. Speak
English” (37). These rejections are all the first steps that each character
takes in order to come full circle and accept the identities that they
initially sought to escape.
I agree that rejection is a crucial step in determining our own identity. By questioning ourselves, we open the doors to new discovery of "what it means to be me." The Jin's story follows the Monkey King when he gives up his Chinese identity to be more "American." Timmy, the bully, taunts, “my momma says Chinese people eat dogs,” and places himself on a pedestal above Jin (Yang 31). Hearing such comments daily, Jin begins to believe that he is less, and therefore tries to erase what makes him this way. He tries assimilation, changing his hair and telling Wei Chen to “speak English” (Yang 37). Similarly, the Monkey King bans shoes from his kingdom, but with their feet covered, the monkeys can no longer climb well. If a monkey cannot do what only monkeys can do, are they a monkey? In rejecting himself, Jin is lost, forgets who he is, and is infuriated when Wei Chen tells him “We’re brothers Jin. We’re blood” (Yang 190). Chin Kee represents the conglomeration of stereotypes Jin has come to believe in. His Chinese heritage is unescapable, but it does not have to be unescapable in the form of Chin Kee. Instead, the Monkey King advises he “only realized how good it was to be a monkey” (Yang 223). This causes Jin to deny Chin Kee’s influence and follow his identity as a Chinese American.
ReplyDeleteThis post raises some interesting questions. I wonder if rejection is crucial in determining all aspects of our own identities, or just those aspects which are in some way marginalized. As a white person, I have never experienced social rejection based on my race, especially not in the way that Jin and Wei-Chen are disenfranchised from their classmates thanks to stereotypes and misconceptions.
ReplyDeleteI would say that some aspects of my identity as a woman would indeed fit into this model of social rejection as a part of determining identity. Like a lot of women, I’ve pushed back against expectations of femininity that have felt at times stifling– expectations of appearance, interests, and ability. It is interesting that Yang chooses not to explore the intersectionality of race and gender in the character of Suzy– she’s experiencing all the same discrimination as Jin and Wei-Chen, but with the addition of all the expectations of what a Japanese-American woman should be on top of that. Does she have classmates imposing ideas of geishas on her? Does she have to fight the simultaneous “dragon lady” and “submissive Asian woman” stereotypes? Yang also doesn’t really explore stereotypes of Asian-American masculinity specifically here (if anyone wants further, semi-fictional reading on this subject, the play Yellowface by David Henry Hwang is an excellent source).
I, too, agree that rejection is a part of accepting oneself. When you are told a part of your identity is undesirable, you try to deny you have it, or try to get rid of it. The monkey king repeatedly denies he is a monkey and attempts to assume the identity of a king, instead. Jin changes his hair in an attempt to reject his identity and conform to the white males’ identity. I did a research project in another class about an African American haircare brand and found that African American women have relaxed and straightened their hair as a means of rejecting their identity because natural hair was generally viewed negatively. When women are told they must be polite and inferior, they want to reject that stereotype and prove they can be leaders. If you don’t want to be stereotyped into a certain group, a common response may be to try to remove yourself from that group. This removal may come through changing a physical or mental aspect of yourself so you no longer fit into that grouping. After a period of rejection, when it is realized that you cannot remove yourself from your own identity, acceptance must be found.
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