Meaning behind the Story American Born Chinese reveals an idea that is subliminal throughout the book. In America, whether it is implicit or explicit, individuals are segregated by their religious or cultural perspectives. Individuals, or in this case, Jin Wang, had the ultimatum of choosing the side of American or Chinese. However what this book reveals is that there is the ever present third option of picking both and having both aspects of ideologies together. In this paper, I will use the appearance of Tze-Yo-Tzuh in place of Buddha, instances where Christian and Hebrew references are made in the Monkey King’s story, and finally Jin Wang’s and Wei-Chen Sun’s relationship; significant evidence found in American Born Chinese and other sources …show more content…
The Monkey King, who is teased for his monkey appearance, starts fights with the other gods who eventually ask Tze-Yo-Tzuh to help them with this situation. Morgan writes that “…the text identifies Tze-Yo-Tzuh as “He Who Is,” a Hebrew rather than a Buddhist concept. At the same time, Tze-Yo-Tzuh is called the “creator” of all things including the Monkey King. Such a concept is foreign to Buddhism (127).” When Tze-Yo-Tzuh introduces himself in American Born Chinese, “I am Tze-Yo-Tzuh. I was, I am, and I shall forever be (Yang 80),” we see an old man with a long white beard, an image associated with the “God” in the Bible rather than Buddha who has knotted dark hair and a golden presence. In the original text of Journey to the West, Buddha is the one who comes forth to speak with the Monkey King, as was discussed during Discussion Section 31 on Nov. 19th, and this is one of the major instances where the author, Yang, integrates Christianity into Buddhism. The idea of “God” is a large part of Christianity and having it integrated here, we can see how this was a large part of the author’s …show more content…
A recurring motif was found, “In Yang’s graphic novel, the monk Wong Lai Tsao travels 40 days and nights, a familiar number for readers of both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles… (Morgan 127).” The number 40 was found in multiple chapters of the Bible and this was paralleled by American Born Chinese. There is the panel with an image of the Monkey King helping Wong Lai-Tsao with his journey and in the background, we see what could be the Star of Bethlehem (Yang 160). As well as the third panel (bottommost) showing an image of what seems to be Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus receiving three gifts from Wong Lai-Tsao and his companions (Yang 215). These references are the more subliminal as any reader such as myself who is not so familiar with specifics in the Christian or Buddhist religions could have missed its
Imagine feeling and looking different from all those around you. Imagine if you weren’t understood the same way as the majority. In the book “American Born Chinese”, two characters, Jin and Monkey King who went through the same situations, but in different societies. The Monkey King insight into the impact of society on Jin as they both face social exclusion through experiencing internalized racism. Further as Monkey King transforms into another character, Chin-Kee, which Jin sees as an embarrassing Chinese culture.
Defining the American character is quite difficult because American identity is vaguely founded on shared values and ideologies, more so than a particular creed, race, or culture. In order to describe the American character, we will consider the dominate and distinctive qualities of Americans as interpreted by J. Hector St. Jon De Crèvecoeur and Thomas Paine. First, we will examine how Crèvecoeur illustrates Americans as industrious, prideful, and political in “Letters from an American Farmer.” Then, we will analyze from Thomas Paine's “Common Sense” how he depicts the prevalent qualities of Americans to be driven by justice, liberty, emotions, and individualism. Also, because both authors consider the American character and culture different
In Ancient China the people had observed that the seasons come and go. The animals will live, die and be reborn. They saw this as the natural order of things and incorporated into their teachings and lives. They were part of this natural order and nothing more. The Dao and the many poems that followed gave the people a way to understand this order better and think about their place in nature.
Do you remember when you were in high school and had that one close best friend? We can all remember that friend who was always honest with us. That friend who supports us, listens to us, and would always have our backs. Wei-Chen in American Born Chinese, is Jin’s best friend and he could always be counted on. The character Wei-Chen shows he is honest throughout the graphic novel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.
This is a book about Jin Wang who starts at a new school where he's the only Chinese-American student. Jin Wang just wants to be an all-American boy. Danny is an all-American boy: great at basketball,popular with the girls. But his annual visits by his cousin Chin-Kee who is really obnoxious ruins his reputation at school, leaving him to switch schools to start all over again.
Interview with the priest of the Chinese Congregation at Saint Peter's Church. May 13th, 2012.
In this article, the author begins by stating the growth of Protestantism is now booming everywhere in China, from cities to the most rural of areas. Gardam gives us a brief look at China’s past with religious regulations. He mentions the regulations that churches in China had starting in the mid 1950’s, when the Communist came to power. A decade later, Christianity would have another set back. In the 1960’s and 70’s, Mao Zedong started the Cultural...
The American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. The plot of American Born Chinese revolves around three stories: Jin Wang’s school life, Chin Ke’s stereotypical interactions with Danny, and the legend of the monkey king. Within this graphic novel, many plot elements are used to express the author’s work further so that it brings out emotions in its readers.
The 1920s were a unique period in the history of Chinese Christianity when there were a host of experiments to indigenize the Christian faith. A series of significant events happened in this decade that gave momentum to the indigenous church movement.
The traits of a friend have never truly been defined. Some are motherly, some are funny, others to kind for their own good. The bonds of friendship are built upon these traits and though not always a perfect match, but sometimes they fit like two pieces of a puzzle. In American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, the readers are taken on a trip through the life of a boy named Jin and his secret encounter with the chinese folktale of the Monkey King. Though they might not understand the true meaning of friendship, ultimately, Jin and the Monkey King both attain a new perception of what it is to be a friend.
Throughout human history, our beliefs have influenced our actions. This is why we have studies like the humanities. During the Tang Dynasty, different religions developing during the time had enormous influence on what was being produced during the era. When it comes to literature, poets like Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bo Juyi expressed their religions through their poetry during the Tang era. While it was not always directly mentioned in their poetry, there are connections between the Tang Dynasty poets’ works and their respective religions.
"How can she thing she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Insideshe is all American-made. It's my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?" (288).
Chang began his description of Chinese identity by stating the importance of where a person has lived. A Chinese youth who is American born or raised and then travels back to China will go through the process of acculturation and have to reconnect with their heritage. (Chang, 10) However, having a sense of both Chinese and American culture often gives a person a sense of belonging and a stronger cultural identity. (Chang, 10) Many Chinese that migrated to America brought their culture with them. They kept their Chinese identity by sustaining the same organization of family life and holding onto their ethnic identity. (Chang, 12) Since many Chinese people would travel back and forth between America and China, they often experienced a transnational family life. (Chang, 12) Therefore, many Chinese migrants felt a sense of their Chinese identity as well as a Chinese-American identity.
The United States and China are two very large countries that have cultures that are well known throughout the world. There are many differences between the United States and China, but there are many contributing factors that shape the cultures of these two countries. Language is universal, but there are different meanings and sounds, which vary from one culture to another. In China, citizens speak many languages, but about 94% speak the Chinese language. The difference in dialects was overcome by the written word and eventually a version of Mandrin became the “official speech” (The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 1996, p.304).
This is an ESL classroom of 7 students’ ages 15-19 ranging from low intermediate to advanced. The students were assigned to read the graphic novel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. They were asked to explore topics such as stereotypes, immigration, moving to a new location, and how art can help express emotions without words. After the unit they were assigned to interpret graphic arts in political cartoons.