Would you change everything about yourself to fit in or gain respect? American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang that grapples with themes of identity and self acceptance. The three stories of the monkey king, Jin Wang, and Danny is how the author portrays these themes. By looking at how The Monkey King, Jin Wang, and Danny overcome obstacles, we understand the book's message about self-acceptance and personal growth. Danny has trouble with his image due to the insecurities surrounding his cousin. We can tell that his cousin embarrasses him when he has to take him to school and he makes sure to bring him in late so that no one will see them in the hallway together. Danny was so insecure about how people’s opinion of his cousin …show more content…
When the monkey king is invited to a party, he is refused entry because he has no shoes. The Monkey King attempts to reason with the guard but the guard remarks, “ You may be a king- you may even be a deity- but you are still a monkey” This made the Monkey King deeply insecure and was the start of his journey. This made the Monkey King deeply insecure and was the start of his journey towards being seen as more than just a monkey. This experience made the monkey insecure in his mannerisms and traditions that made him a monkey, it made him feel like no one could ever see him as a monkey no matter what he did. The monkey king went on a journey to prove himself but he still was seen as just a monkey, due to his stubbornness he was trapped under a mountain of rock and only when he went back to being a monkey was he strong enough to escape his rock prison. Here we can see that the monkey king just needed to accept himself to set him free from prison. In this section we see how the monkey king ends his struggle to be seen past his appearance and realizes how being “just a monkey” is powerful in it’s own