One of the aspects of transitioning from childhood to adolescence involves acceptance into a social circle with new peers and new roles.  Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel, American Born Chinese, illustrates the struggle for acceptance.  Jin faces the battle of keeping his Chinese culture and at the same time being accepted by his American friends as just another kid. These opposing forces are the root of Jin’s dream of being a Transformer.

Accompanying his mother on her weekly visit to the Chinese herbalist, the herbalist’s wife (a senior citizen), asks Jin what he wants to be when he grows up.  Jin excitedly tells her that he wants to be a Transformer. The old lady represents old world customs.  First, she is keeping track of bills on an abacus and not a calculator and her inability to pronounce the word transformer (Trans-fo-ma?”, she says), and does not know the definition of the word, “Transformers”, are two more indicators of her presence as a bastion of Chinese tradition.  “Jin then explains the concept behind the Transformer toy and changes it from a robot into a truck.  Jin then tells the old woman that his mother dismisses his dream.  “But Ma-Ma says that’s silly.  Little boys don’t grow up to be Transformers.” Jin’s mother wants to strip Jin of his ability of self-identification.  Jin also understands that being able to transform comes with a special ability that not too many possess.  The Transformer toy that Jin has “… got a trailer that magically appears whenever he transforms.”  Jin verablizes his ability to change because like the toy’s motto, he too is “more than meets the eye.”  He can follow Chinese customs and traditions with his Chinese friends and family and celebrate American culture when he is around the “typical” American society one is made to follow.  “It’s easy to become anything you wish… so long as you’re willing to forfeit your soul”, the old woman tells Jin.  To the old woman, tradition and culture is what defines a person and any desire to veer from its path is complete and utter destruction.  Jin, who was earlier excited to tell another person of his dream, becomes fearful and unsure of what his future holds.  While the mother and the old woman were raised in a society that shares one tradition and the same history, it is very simple to dismiss Jin’s dreams of being a Transformer.  The old woman and Jin’s mother fail to recognize the pressure Jin faces growing up in multi-cultural society.

Shame is just one of the many themes in the coming of age, graphic novel,  American Born Chinese.  It touches each and every chapter in one aspect or another.  The Monkey King was not good enough for the heavens party. Jin’s denial of his identity. The shame in not being able to reconcile one’s feelings about things not within their control. For instance, body odor. Everyone smells. Whether it be a positive natural scent or a result of poor hygiene, body odor is an uncontrollable part of life.  For The Monkey King and Jin, a scenario with their own smell is tied to the very shame they seek to overcome.

We are introduced to The Monkey King, ruler of Flower-Fruit Mountain,  at the beginning of the novel. We learn that he is unlike others of his kind. He is born of rock, skilled in kung fu, and has mastered the four major heavenly disciplines. Upon learning of a dinner party in the heavens, he confidently ascends to the heavens and waits for his introduction.  Much to his dismay, the heavens guardian would not permit his admission because he was a monkey.. a monkey who hadn’t worn shoes. His humiliation exacerbated by the laughing of the party goers, he unleashes his fury and dishonorably returns to Flower-Fruit mountain only to make an unsettling discovery.  “When he entered his royal chamber, the thick smell of monkey fur greeted him. He’d never noticed it before. He stayed awake for the rest of the night thinking of ways to get rid of it”.  (Panels 2-3, pg. 79 e.b.) This stench only confirmed what the guardian had said. Above all else, he was a monkey.

Jin moved to the suburbs, at the age of nine, from a predominately Chinese community. Upon realizing that he was only 1 of 2 Asian students, in his new school, he was determined in separating himself from the Chinese culture. He avoided the Asian girl in his class and adopted his white peers mentality. Even when he eventually befriends the new Taiwanese boy, his desires remain constant. As the story progresses, Jin develops a crush on his blonde-haired classmate, Amelia. Unfortunately he lacks the confidence to talk to her and his best friend, Wei-Chen, volunteers to assist Amelia in taking care of the class pets. When Jin discovers the two locked in the closet,  he successfully secures a date and finds short-lived confidence.  With Amelia riding passenger on his handlebars, Jin realizes the journey to the movie theater has left him with a case of body odor that would keep him from making a move. “When my parents were growing up in China, neither of them had ever heard of- let alone used– deodorant, so it never occurred to them to buy such a product for me.”(panel1, pg 320, e.b.)  As successful as he believed he had been in masking his identity, not having access to western hygienic products  was a reminder of his foreignness.

The Monkey King and Jin have been confronted by their identities on their own accounts.  The heaven’s guardian of made no mention to The Monkey King’s smell or even indicated that he had one.  He was unwilling to accept his nature until was met with it consuming his home.  Amelia did not appear to have picked up on Jin’s body odor. Even after he had returned with soapy pits, the smell would have only been masked and likely linger.  The two share a similar shame in their discoveries as the cause of their smell is linked to their identities. We lack any evidence in determining whether or not The Monkey King bathed, so we can assume that he would smell no different than any other monkey. Jin is more likely to have bathed regularly,  but body odor occurs when one does not apply deodorant. The Monkey King could have bathed if had chosen. Flower-Fruit Mountain is surrounded by water, as shown in his descent. While he might have had a smell, it would differ from other monkeys. Comparably, Jin could have purchased his own underarm deodorant. When he sniffs his arm pits (panel 1, pg 315, e.b) this provides us with evidence that this is not his first encounter with b.o..  In all of his attempts to blend in,  you would think that he would have considered asking his parents to buy him some. Because his parents were kept in the dark about the date, we know that he paid for it on his own and could have purchased it himself. Overall, these situations could have been avoided.

The scenes of their discovery share some similarities but are considerably different. It is evening when The Monkey King comes home as is met with a dark and smelly room. Rather than letting some of the moonlight in, he shrouds himself alone in this darkness. Consumed with shame, he allows it to motivate him. While Jin is battling with his body odor in a dark movie theater, the arrangement allows him to hide his shame from others. He is able to enjoy himself and find confidence, as well as a “solution” to his problem. Because Jin has spent much time consciously denying his identity, he is considerably less affected than The Monkey King.  He has never thought of himself as an actual monkey.

I believe that Gene Luen Yang included these  scenes to emphasize how we often experience shame as a result of our own mistakes. And that the greatest shame is the ones we inflict upon ourselves.