Accepting Themes In The Book 'American Born Chinese' By Gene Yang

What were the important themes in the book American Born Chinese? This essay will explain the importance of expressing your feelings and accepting others. These two themes were very evident throughout the story. In American Born Chinese, the author Gene Yang wrote a story about a high schooler trying to find out how he can get better in school and deal with his cousin. There was also the story of an immigrant family from China who moved to San Francisco. The boy had a hard time trying to become used to life in America. In Gene Yang's acclaimed novel, the American-Born Chinese, the theme of accepting others and expressing feelings creates a storyline of how the protagonist, Danny, deals with his high school life and Jin's new life in America.

In the first section of the book, there was a story of the mythical monkey king and its kingdom. The monkey wanted his land of people to learn the highest and most responsible traits to be successful. The money said, “To find your true identity within the will of Tze Yo Tzuh...that is the highest of all freedoms”(Yang 68). This goes to show how important it is to find your true identity. The monkey king calls it the highest of all freedoms. What does it mean to find your true identity? For many people, this involves figuring out who you are and what makes you unique. It’s about identifying your passions and talents and then using them to create a life that feels authentic to you. Then during the story, one of the monkeys in the kingdom commented on feelings that related to the theme. He said, “Appa has feelings, too!”(Yang 89). This was when the monkeys were having an altercation with each other. It is also very important that you express your feelings. Holding in your emotions is not always the best thing. Often times people bottle up their emotions and have big outbursts. If you need help expressing your emotions just talk to someone. These were very important themes throughout the many

In the second story, the theme of family and working hard were very relevant. Danny was having a tuff time trying to fit in with his classmates. Danny also was struggling with schoolwork and bad grades. He also had a Chinese cousin who was always insisting to come to school with him. This made Danny uncomfortable and annoyed by his cousin. But, Danny's close family was always there for him during this time. One of the best athletes in the school had a talk with Danny in the gym about how he can become better and more understanding. One of the things he said was, “sometimes, a fight you cannot win is still worth fighting”(Yang 104). This was very relatable to Danny on how he just had to keep fighting no matter what the circumstances were. Times were tuff for Danny but he had to learn how to adapt to the situation. During the first story, there was a quote that related to Danny. “It's easy to become anything you wish . . . so long as you're willing to forfeit your soul.”(Yang 112). This quote was a very fitting quote to the situation that Danny was in. To become something you have to work towards