Click on the "comment" button below to leave your blog post. I suggest you type your response first in a word document, and then copy and paste it into the comment box. When using book titles in your post you should set the title off with the underscore key: _American Born Chinese_ (as the comment box does not recognize italics). If you are signed up to be a discussion leader, your blog post should be at least 500 words of original prose (do not duplicate anything other bloggers have already said here) in which you engage with the text for the week critically AND pose an original discussion question. If you are signed up to be a responder, your post should be 250 words in length and respond to, answer, extend, or disagree with a question or thought from another student's post. Be sure to write your full name and word count at the bottom of your post. The cut-off time for this blog post is Friday, February 19 at midnight (for discussion leaders) and Monday, February 22 at midnight (for responders).Discussion Leaders: Vincent, TeAnna, and Bryan
Responders: Michelle and Jonathan
In Gene Luen Yangs award winning graphic novel, _American Born Chinese_, issues of racial stereotyping, assimilation, and self-acceptance are all discussed and confronted in an intelligent and entertaining manner. Out of all the characters and subplots introduced in the novel the legend of the Monkey King deity and his path to becoming a spiritual emissary is most intriguing. The Monkey King is a representation or embodiment of marginalized people and their struggle to be taken seriously, even though their customs are sometimes mocked or ignored by society. The Monkey King is a powerful student of kung-Fu and a worthy representative of his kind, but his sensitive nature makes him vulnerable to verbal insults and he becomes increasingly self-conscious. When the Monkey King is denied the position of emissary he begins to resent himself, “The thick smell of Monkey greeted him. He’d never noticed it before. He stayed awake for the rest of the night thinking of ways to get rid of it” (20). The Monkey King forces his followers to wear shoes so that they will be viewed as worthy by other groups of emissaries. He increases his training in kung-fu which causes him to grow both bigger and stronger and he adopts the title of Great Sage.
ReplyDeleteThe Monkey Kings actions are done out of fear, shame, and insecurity. Although he becomes increasingly tyrannical and violent, he is still not taken seriously by other emissaries and ambassadors of Tze-Yo-Tzhu. The Monkey King has morphed into something that he is not and has turned his back towards his ancestry. His brazen attempts to change both himself and his disciples have caused him to lose sight of what it means to be a monkey. Tze-Yo-Tzhu tells the Monkey King “I created you. I say that you are a monkey, therefore you are a monkey” (64). Tze-Yo-Tzhu is telling the Monkey King, that it is unnatural for him to be anything other than a monkey and that no one will respect him if he cannot learn to love and accept himself. The Monkey King is promptly punished for insulting Tze-Yo-Tzhu when he is buried under a pile of mountain rocks. The rocks symbolize the Monkey Kings deepest fears and the contempt and hatred that he feels for himself. Yang makes the argument that self-hatred and confusion can keep marginalized people from reaching their fullest potential. Stereotypes are an effective way to discredit and spread falsehoods about various groups of people. If anything causes diversified people to assimilate and abandon their customs, it is fear and intimidation.
Because my post is slightly over what is allowed I decided to break it up into two separate sections.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most fascinating aspects of the Monkey King’s journey is what he must do, to not only escape but prove to himself that his unhappiness and insecurity have been caused because he has betrayed his natural form. A monk by the name of Lai-Tso tells the Monkey King, “The form you have taken is not your own, return to your true form and you shall be freed” (145). The Monkey King is placed in a unique situation, to become free he must give up the three things that he believes make him worthy of being an ambassador; size, alter-ego, and shoes. In reality, his size, alter ego and shoes are have shackled him to a narrow and ugly form of thinking. He eventually returns to his original form and in the process he is able to save Lai-Tso and serve his creator. This moment symbolizes that the Monkey King has regained balance with nature and abandoned his fear and over extension of pride. As a result he becomes a worthy representative of all living things and earns the right to grant wisdom to other oppressed subjects who are governed by their fear. When he speaks with Jin he states, “You know Jin I would have saved myself from five hundred years imprisonment beneath a mountain of rocks had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey” (223). The folklore of the Monkey King is critical to the story because he is a symbol of what happens to an individual when they focus on becoming everything that they are not. A race of people will never garner respect unless they stand together and represent the best qualities of their culture and debunk negative stereotypes. No amount of violence, insults, or power can change what a creature is naturally meant to be.
In what ways are Jin and the Monkey king connected as characters? In what ways does Jin over extend his pride and give into societies pressures of assimilation? Do the Monkey King and Jin feel the same societal pressure or are their paths different? (774 Words).
After reading Gene Luen Yangs graphic novel, _American Born Chinese_, I really enjoyed how the main characters of the novel are connected to each other. I would agree that their are many similarities that connect the characters the Monkey King and Jin. Gene Luen Yang does an excellent job in the novel connecting these two characters and the way pressures of society can make a person struggle with their true identity. Each one dealing with their own experiences of trying to find happiness and acceptance in their lives. Jin specifically dealing with assimilation into american culture, and the Monkey king trying to gain acceptance of the emissaries and ambassadors. Both these characters become focused on changing who they are based off of negative experiences or societal pressures. I would agree with the discussion that this is most evident in the story of the Monkey king, who learned to love his true self, and that acceptance that he was created a monkey and this was the only way that he would truly be happy in his life. Fear of a negative stereotypical views and humiliation are what I believe drives both Jin and the Monkey King to some type of self-hatred or contempt. I agree that this self hatred was what made the characters turn their backs on their ancestry. This story is an excellent look into the way that insults about a persons race, or stereotypical assumptions can have a large impact on people in society, causing some people to question their own identity or self worth. (258 words)
DeleteIn Vincent’s discussion of Gene Luen Yang’s, _American Born Chinese_, he says that Monkey King is, “a representation or embodiment of marginalized people and their struggle to be taken seriously.” I agree with this assessment, and would say that Jin and the Monkey King are connected as Jin’s story and struggles mirror the Monkey King’s. They both follow a similar path throughout their story.
DeleteIn Jin’s early life in San Francisco he is around other Chinese and is not exposed to mainstream America, he is himself and sees nothing wrong with it, much as the Monkey King when he is content as the King of the Flower Fruit Mountain. However, when Jin moves, he is suddenly surrounded by main stream America where he is one of only two Asian students, he is suddenly out of place and is treated differently just as the Monkey King is not allowed to attend the dinner party, and Jin is not allowed to join his classmates and is bullied by them.
The Monkey King is made aware that he is a monkey, "The thick smell of monkey fur greeted him. He’d never noticed it before.”(20). Jin gets this same feeling of anger and self-loathing when Wei Chen shows up. The teachers mispronounce his name like they did to Jin and Wei Chen’s FOB attitude make Jin more aware of his Chinese self and he doesn’t like it. “Something made me want to beat him up.”(36).
The Monkey King changes his appearance, he becomes more humanoid to convince the God’s he is like them, and he is not a monkey. Jin changes his appearance to mirror that of the blond boy Greg so that he will be like the other boys and then Amelia will like him. When Amelia finally does go out with him, Greg tells Jin he is not right for Amelia. This makes Jin angry, much like the Monkey King when he cannot beat Tze-yo-Tzuh, the creator. Both characters are punished, the Monkey King by being buried under a pile of rocks, he is not acting like a monkey which is the only thing he can be. Jin is also not acting like a Chinese boy, he gets angry at Greg and takes it out on his only real friend Wei Chen. Jin is punished by becoming what he thinks he wants, he becomes Danny, an American boy, but he is actually being punished, because as Danny, he loses his best friend, and also has to deal with Chin Kee.
The Monkey King and Jin personify the struggles of marginalized people, they are bullied, and face racism, stereotypes, fear and have a desire to assimilate to be like everyone else. They learn through their struggles down similar paths that being true to yourself and your friends is more important than losing yourself and your identity.
(472 words)
ReplyDeleteTo honor the death of Michael Prinz, the Division of the American Library Association created the Prinz Award for the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Prinz was an active member of YALSA, where he served on the Best Books for Young Adults Committee and American Library Association literary Award (YALSA). His occupation includes being a market consultant for Econo-Clad Books and a middle school librarian who lived in Kansas. The Prinz award honors Michael’s love for literature and passion to impact young adults through literature, which follows the YALSA’s mission statement “The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand and strengthen library services for teens, aged 12-18. Through its member-driven advocacy, research, and professional development initiatives, YALSA builds the capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve and empower teens” (YALSA).
Previous winners of this award include similar qualities such as literature consisting of realistic characters, emotional complexity, stands the test of time, and originality. In addition, the committee also looks at Story, Voice, Style, Setting, Accuracy, Characters, Theme, Illustrations, Design (including format, organization, etc.). The voting procedures are not as complicated as the eligibilities, but do require much evaluation and discussion. During the voting process, the titles under consideration must meet the criteria of the first ballot, where titles without any votes are removed from consideration. A second ballot is then conducted until a winner is declared.
Gene Yang’s book _American Born Chinese_ is a brilliant book that illustrates the stereotypes that Chinese people encounter and the many insults that cause humiliation. As a Chinese person, I can relate to the book on a personal level. The insults in the book are some of my experiences that I faced when I moved to America. To make things worse, I was Chinese, but without the culture. I hardly knew anything about China or the language. And, sometimes, I secretly wished I was American, because I think my life would have been better, different with more privileges and respect. Nonetheless, it was brilliant how Yang connected the three stories into one big picture. Like, when Jin transformed into Danny, he learned from the Monkey King that being “Jin” was not so bad, that it was ok to be different. The Monkey King had to learn the hard way that it was ok to be a monkey rather than The Great Sage, Equal of Heaven. Another idea that I found interesting was how Chinkee portrayed Asian stereotypes. Not only was he super smart, he had buck teeth and slit for eyes. His character was very obnoxious and he was always looking for a girl perfect for marriage. When the readers found out the Danny was actually “Jin”, it seemed like Chin Kee was the Asian aspects of Jin. The name “Chin Kee” also looks like the Asian insult “Chink,” which would explain Chin Kee’s characteristics. The language Yang used within the speech bubbles displays the pronunciation of “Chinglish,” which is an adaptation of Chinese speaking English. The grammar is not proper and the translation can be confusing. Having illustrations depicts how hard the insults affect Jin and Wei Chen, especially when they are introduced in class and the teacher pronounces their name wrong. The term “fresh off the boat” is also an offensive phrase that depicts immigrants who have not assimilated.