In the beginning on the story we are introduced to a character that is referred to as, “The Magical Monkey King.” With the story beginning the Monkey King’s introduction with, “When his eyes first opened they flashed rays of light into the sky,” and then going on to say, “All of Heaven took notice,” I had the feeling this particular monkey was going to be god- like in the sense he was going to for example be a monkey who had complete power over all humans. A monkey having complete power of humans would be the ultimate whoa god-like scenario I had imagined upon first reading this. However as the story goes on I learn that while this monkey is a king and practices the four disciplines, there was really nothing unexpected from him. He was a king over monkeys who liked food and knew Kung- Fu, which to me seemed like an expected obvious role for a monkey to play. “The Jungle Book,” and “Tarzan,” are the kind of stories I believe deserve introductions with such opening descriptions of the characters.
As a side note, the thing I enjoyed most about this reading was that for a brief time I had no idea the three stories were interlocked, which I thoroughly enjoyed because it wasn’t obvious until it was directly shown. Going on to the second portion of the story what first comes to mind are the transformer toys, the Chinese Herbalist and her creepy words, and the Asians being friends. I thought the Monkey King was rather clever in his transformer toy symbolism, because the monkeys switch their outer appearance to better suit the world they wish to be a part of. I really enjoyed the symbolism there, because like I said I had no idea the three stories were interlocked so it was a pretty special surprise to think back and realize the connection. The creepy thing the Herbalist said that really seemed so out there to me that I knew it had to have a major point was the comment, “It’s easy to become anything you wish… so long as you’re willing to forfeit your soul.”
After reading that I was creeped out a bit, and looking back I wonder if maybe that was the Monkey King transformed into another character simply trying to pressure or assure his son, through his son’s only friend, into following in his footprints. I also find it rather interesting that not only was there the whole transformer symbolism with the toy, but that toy was the only reason the two boys became friends. So I am thinking maybe, just maybe, this powerful monkey must have seriously had a knack for seeing the future, or at least up to a certain extent. I’m considering the fact that if the kids hadn’t become friends then the father would never have been able to somewhat stay in contact with his son, his only contact being through his son’s friend.
In the final portion of the story I kind of enjoyed the Monkey King’s sense of humor. He was providing a really stereotypical cousin of Asian descent. The monkey was making comments while still in human form such as, “Such pletty amellican girl wiff bountiful amellican bosom! Must bind feet and bear chinkee’s children!” I admit my family is Filipino, but I know almost nothing of the Asian culture. My idea of the Asian culture would be similar to that statement in the idea that I believe men and women marry without necessarily being in love, and that they may even marry simply for children so that children could help support the family, or to keep the family name growing, etc. I also found humor in the whole dancing in what appeared to be the library, singing the “She bang,” song most of us recall from popular tv show American Idol. Overall, the whole text of the Monkey King while being transformed as the cousin was rather stereotypical and therefore in a sense a bit humorous.
Does the fact that this car transforms into an exotic dancer make us like it any more?
Your blog was very well written. I also had no idea for a brief time that the character's stories were interlocked until it was clearly shown. I also felt it was creepy when the Herbalist said "It's easy to become anything you wish so long as you are willing to forfeit your soul" (Yang, 29). I did like, however, when Jin Wang mentioned that he wanted to be a Transformer when he grew up. To me, it represented that childlike innocence when kids believed they could be anything whether it was a Power Ranger, a Transformer or the thing I personally wished I could have been as a kid, a Sailor Scout from my favorite childhood televison show, Sailor Moon.
ReplyDeleteI like how you thought the Herbalist could have been The Monkey King in disguise, trying to send a message to his son through Jin Wang. That is a very interesting theory that I had not even thought of until you brought it up in your blog. It may be possible to see if your theory is correct after reading the entire graphic novel as opposed to just a few passages from it in the class. I also agree that if it wasn't for both Jin Wang and Wei-Chan sharing a common interest in their love for Transformers, they probably would have never became friends. I rather enjoyed The Monkey King's humor myself throughout the novel, particularly when he was disguised as Chin-Kee, who was my favorite character from the assigned reading.
I even chuckled at how creeped out the people around Chin-Kee get when he dances and sings "She Bang" by Ricky Martin on the table in the library, most likely referencing when it was sung on American Idol by contestant William Hung. I think it's really interesting that your family is Filipino. I have Japanese in my family but only through marriage, that I know of. However, we do have a close friend to my family that we do consider an extended member of our family who is Filipino himself.
Ha yeah I totally just ordered the book on ebay! I can not wait until I get a chance to actually read it... !:)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how innocent Jin Wang's transformer comment was. Even as a young child, Jin Wang, felt the trials of growing up different. In school he was treated different by his teacher, bullied by other kids and ate his lunch all alone. I don't think there was anything innocent about it. Even as a child, he didn't like that he was different. He didn't want to attach himself to anything Chinese. I would like to read the full book and get a better understanding of Jin Wang's character because I don't think we can fully understand him through only 3 short excerpts.
ReplyDeleteI think that the comment about wanting to be a transformer could appear to be an innocent comment, which makes it so clever, because there is so much symbolism going on through the transformer. The Chinese boy wants to be a transformer because he wants to be able to transform into whatever it is that could make him be accepted, aka the white world. The father giving his son the transformer toy was innocent but also very clever because as simple as it may be to give a son a toy or action figure, as a reader I have to wonder if the toy could be a reminder of who the boy really is despite of his transformation. The idea of the transformer toy bringing to two boys together also seems very simple in the idea that who hasn't made a friend off of sharing toys? Toys always bring kids together, don't pretend you don't know what it's like to be friends with someone just to use their cool toys!;) However the idea that the transformer toy brought the boys together is also again, very clever. It's a bit interesting that the boys became friends over their transformations. It's as if the Monkey King knew his son and the boy would meet, and as if there were some hidden message us readers were supposed to catch onto such as the transformer toy brought the two boys together because they both are transformers themselves. Again with the transformers symbolism, if you recall the son didn't want to be like his father because he didn't like the human world. Now, I suspect the Monkey King through his son's friend into the mix to hopefully persuade his son that not all people are bad and maybe give his son some encouragement by reminding his son if he transforms himself maybe he will see the good of the white people, because it was the idea of transforming that brought the kids together. On another note how cool would the Monkey King be if he were so intentionally clever? Well, if it were intentional maybe he is a pretty badass king after all.
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