Theme of Identity in American Born Chinese Essay Example

Jin, one of the main characters in American Born Chinese shows the challenges most Chinese people face within their daily lives. Most of the characters struggle with finding acceptance within themselves. These characters have either dealt with racism, stereotype, or identity. 

Identity, one of the most important themes in American Born Chinese, shows the readers that when the characters learn to accept themselves others will begin to accept them as well. The author writes the book in a way that readers are able to understand the same problem the characters face, within three views the author provides in the book American Born Chinese. 

Monkey King, one of the main characters in American born Chinese shows us his difficulty with finding his own identity. In the beginning of the story the author portrays him to think very highly of himself. “But there must be some mistake! I am the Sovereign Ruler of Flower-Fruit Mountain, where the flowers bloom year-round and the fruits hang with nectar.” The author includes this quote in the storyline of the Monkey King because the Monkey King believes that whenever he's around, good things will occur. Throughout the story the Monkey King learns that he can’t always be the one that needs to be in power and not everything has to revolve around him. His issue with finding his own identity was him trying to be someone he wasn’t, he wanted to be accepted by others, so he believed he needed to make a new person out of himself, he wanted to become mean and powerful. Through the Monkey King the author teaches readers that when someone thinks highly of themselves, not everyone is going to think of them the same way. 

Jin, a Chinese boy that goes to school in America deals with finding his identity when everyone else looks different than him. His classmates make assumptions about where he is and what kinds of things the people within his race do. “He and his family recently moved to our neighborhood all the way from China! San Francisco’’, was a comment one of Jin Wang’s teacher made on his first day of school. As a result, this makes Jin feels uncomfortable and makes him want to be the same as the rest of the people in his school. Jin Wang doesn’t want to stand out from the rest of the students, he wants people to see his American side more than his Chinese side. Jin wants his school to be more diverse. Suddenly, a boy from Taiwan comes and joins Jin’s school, Jin turns him down as a friend, but quickly realizes that he got what he wanted, someone who looked like him. Wei-Chen Sun and Jin Wang create a close friendship and become good friends. Eventually, Jin Wang suddenly changes his appearance and from this he thinks that people will be able to see his American side more than his Chinese side. The author wants the readers to understand that only true friends will accept a person for who they are on the inside and not worry about the outside appearance.