The final part of the book
AmericanBorn Chinese has a twist at the end. Jin wanted to look more American so badly
that he sold his soul. It fooled many people until the Monkey King called Jin
out. Jin’s cousin turned out to be the Monkey King, and also Wei-chen’s father.
All of these twists and turns. Does your stomach hurt yet? That’s what happens,
among other symptoms, when I do things that do not align with my values.
In the end, then, this story seems
narrated. It is not really from the view of the youth in the story and instead
is a story that is told for lessons, as the twist shows. Not many adults appear
throughout the story besides the dinner party the Monkey King wants to attend,
and a parent or teacher here and there.
When it comes to stereotypes, the
characters are exaggerated with how they talk and the names used. Plus, there
are references showing the ignorance of others with such phrases as “fresh off
the boat.” The youth do not seem to have a choice and go along with the
environment or adults. Probably the most exaggerated is when Danny’s cousin
comes to visit. Even though his cousin
is supposed to be about the same age, the cousin is really the Monkey King, an
adult.
A metaphor throughout the stories is
the use of the
Transformer toy. Just like the characters do not want to be
their true selves, the Transformer is a robot that can change into another
form. The only difference is that the robot is a toy and the characters want to
permanently change. I thought the Transformer made a good representation of the
struggle. Jin even wanted to be a Transformer when he grew up, and seemed to
get his wish for a while in high school.
You make some good points. I never really noticed the absence of adults but they were rarely there and even more rarely mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you talked about the transformer toy. I also think that it was a really great metaphor to include as it really does fit with Dannys overwhelming desire/need to fit in- even if he has to change himself to do it.
ReplyDeleteI like the metaphor with the transformers. It's an interesting but accurate way to describe how the characters in the story feel.
ReplyDeleteI loved the ending of ABC I definitly was not expecting a plot twist like that. Many people face the problem of trying to satisfy their flesh and end up selling their soul. Just like Jin you see many people in the spotlight such as celebrities face similar problems. Jin was trying to have what the world told him he should have instead of being his own decider.
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