The Modern Monkey King

           In the recently published criticism from Dr. +Lan Dong, Gene Luen Yang is described as a porfessionally-trained comic publisher. Considering the fact that Yang's 2006 work titled American Born Chinese is the first graphic novel to win the Printz Award, it is evident that graphic novels are gaining respect in the literary community. Dong personally praises reinforces this achievement by describing the work as “an important cross-cultural rewriting of the classic Monkey King story for young adult readers.”

           The intertwined story lines of three main characters incorporate persuasive ideas about politics, ethnicity, and adolescence. Based on Chinese folklore, the Monkey King closely parallels the character described in Wu Cheng’en’s sixteenth century novel titled Xi you ji. Although the historical figure is rooted in Chinese Buddhism, Yang makes a number of references to Christianity and even Biblical verses to signify the modern western culture. Popular culture also has a significant presence throughout the story. The “Transformer” action figures act as symbol for the changing identities of each major character. To support her argument, Dong included several comic panels that came directly from the novel.

            Although Jin struggles to accept his Chinese heritage, Yang makes a deliberare reference to another group of early American immigrants by naming Mayflower Elementary School after the ship that carried the Pilgrims to Massachusetts. Denying their god-given traits, both Jin and the Monkey King recreate themselves to gain social acceptance. Pointing to the derogatory political cartoons of Asian Americans during WWII, Dong explores the possibility that Chin-Kee could reinforce racist representations that many Americans have tried to forget. In accordance with well-known racist stereotypes, Chin-Kee is depicted wearing a pigtail hairstyle, traveling with luggage that resembles oriental take-out boxes, and quickly answering scholastic questions in the classroom. Dong continues her discussion by citing specific examples of anti-Chinese sentiment drawings and legislation that were present in the twentieth century.

            According to First Second Books, the publisher of American Born Chinese, there is a disturbing lack of Asian American texts available in the young adult market. Even though the graphic novel from Yang is positioned in this segment, the cultural complexity of Jin/Danny and the universal message of self-acceptance make it difficult to identity a target audience. In order to transform back into their natural states, the Monkey King abandons his shoes and Danny “exorcises” his demons. Both escape self-imprisonment.