The Monkey King

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Recommended: Reflection of society in literature

Throughout the history of existence, there have been those individuals who have separated themselves from society, whether that be emotionally or physically, in order to dwell on moral quandaries present inside themselves. In the case of American Born Chinese, the Monkey King does exactly this. In order to prove to himself and others that he is a mighty, powerful deity, he secluded himself from society to gain knowledge and increased abilities, only to succumb to the all powerful Tze-Yo-Tzuh. It is the Monkey King’s redemption arc, beginning with his selfish ambitions, that shows the importance of society and cultural representation throughout the entire novel, beyond the words, and into the real world. At the beginning of the novel, Gene …show more content…

The Monkey King did this, and all it brought upon himself were more trials and suffering. By taking himself outside of his society, it can be inferred that the society he left values selflessness, as well as faith and trust in the almighty, because those are the characteristics he left behind in order to pursue his own interests. His alienation give him the time to think about is selfishness, and all those he left behind. His arc from egotistical, arrogant king, to faithful, selfless servant helped drive the plot of the novel as a whole. The book is about embracing your true identity, and not being afraid to show those qualities. By taking the time to process the Monkey Kings true intentions, he was able to transform, and serve as a conscience for others struggling with the same issues. The problems the King faced are ones that any human being may face, especially those of a minority, so Yang using the King as a metaphor for those issues allows readers to understand how pushing away who we really are, only brings more struggles. The society American Born Chinese brought to life valued authenticity, and it only took lifetimes of being buried under rock for the King to

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