Moral Lessons In John Waley's 'The Monkey'

The Monkey may read as a comedy, but it still contains moral lessons that can apply to both the devout and the non-believing. Dig deeper into the novel's humor, and the constructive messages of respect and duty hidden within will be revealed. Whether it be in the human or animal realms, Monkey is always causing mischief or acting rashly; however, he adapts and controls himself better as the series progresses and his position in the world changes. The stark contrast between his actions in these realms shows both his power and his reaction to other's power in different situations. Monkey's recognized rank in the animal and human realms and how he to learns to conduct himself in them reflects the expected behaviors and power balances between various

Due to his amazing feat of jumping through a waterfall and discovering the "'cave of the Water Curtain in the blessed land of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit'" (Waley 12), the monkeys bow down to him as leader, and respect and admire him. They live in perfect harmony, "'not answerable to the law of any human king'" (Waley 14), though Monkey is still their "animal" king, so he makes sure to do his part. When a group of demons disturbed the monkeys, Monkey defeated the demon boss, saved the captured monkeys, and gave his citizens weapons after teaching them how to fight and defend themselves (Waley 29-33). He also throws banquets for other beast-monarchs and makes sure to give them gifts (Waley 38). As a king, Monkey realizes the importance of forming good relationship with other kingdoms. Later on, when he ends up in the Land of Darkness, Monkey makes sure to strike out the names of his brethren while fixing his own life-span ledger so that both he and his people could live forever without worry (Waley 40). Though free-spirited, Monkey does all he can to both provide for and protect his subjects, as a king should. His monkeys have a clear respect for him and are thankful for all that he's done. In the animal realm, he takes care of his people and makes sure to properly do his duties as their

Though he is no king in the human realm, he is far more powerful than any mortal, so in that respect he pays them less attention. Soon after Monkey meets Tripitaka and the white dragon-horse, Tripitaka asks Monkey to scout some houses to see if they can rest there. In the process, Monkey stops a man wearing a blue jacket to ask some questions while the said man tries to escape. The houses in questions are where the two meet Pigsy, but Monkey needs to rough up the passerby to get this information out of him. "'Unless you're clever enough to shake me off,'" he starts, "'here you'll stay'" (Waley 146-7). Monkey grabs onto the man until he talks-certainly not the epitome of respect. Later in their journey, in the country of Cart Slow, Monkey "[cries] out in a loud voice, 'Let your Majesty…hear what we priests have to say'" (Waley 227). While not outright rude, it's loud, demanding, and not a fitting way to address a king. As long as he gets what he wants, Monkey doesn't seem to care how he acts towards a human. The very first human Monkey interacts with, however, is a different story. This is because Monkey has not yet become an Immortal, so when he runs into a presumed Immortal, Monkey greets him with the upmost of respect. The man's ability, in Monkey's mind, is higher than his because only "'Buddhas, Immortals and Sages'" are "'not subject to Yama, King of Death'" (Waley 14). Even when the man, now