Identity Theme in American Born Chinese Essay Example

What is identity and why is it important? In American Born Chinese, the importance of identity is portrayed through the characters' thoughts and actions. From the beginning of the story, to the end of the story, the characters go through conflicts in their life that help develop their true identity. The obstacles that they go through transform them to realize the importance of certain aspects in their lives. The theme of identity grows and develops through the plot and characters of the story American Born Chinese. 

The topic of identity is first introduced when Jin shows his transformer toy to the Chinese herbalist’s wife and states that he would like to become a transformer when he grows up. The herbalist’s wife asked, “So little friend, what do you plan to become when you grow up?” (Yang 27). The boy answered with, “Well, I want to be a transformer” (Yang 27). A lot of people might overlook this and not realize the introduction to the struggle of identity development in the character of Jin. He started off young with already wanting to be someone other than himself. The theme of identity is portrayed through this point in the book because transformers are known to change physically, which is exactly what Jin goes through 

Throughout the story, many of the characters go through some type of situation that requires them to think deeply into who they really are or in other words, their identities. An example of this can be shown when Jin changes the way he looks to try and fit in, even though he is just fine the way he is. Jin’s friends say, “Why is your hair - mmph. Nothing! Nice perm!” (Yang 98). Jin goes through a point where he doesn't want anything to do with his Chinese culture, so he changes his hair to a perm. All of his friends were confused as to why he would change the way he looked. The truth is, Jin changed his style so that he would look more like the popular American guy in school. 

By the end of the story, all of the characters realize that they don’t have to be someone else to fit in. Jin realizes that his Chinese culture is actually really cool and unique. He learns more about his culture by going to the Chinese bakery shop. The Monkey King realizes that being a monkey isn’t as bad as he thought it was. He says, “You know, Jin, I would have saved myself from five hundred years’ imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey” (Yang 223). The Monkey King always hated being a monkey because he couldn’t do the normal human things, like go to a party. The parties required shoes and monkeys don’t normally wear shoes. Once he realized that being a monkey isn’t so bad, he got out of an imprisonment that kept him trapped under several rocks. Jin finally accepted that his Chinese culture is always going to be a special part of him, and he wouldn’t want to change what makes him who he is. 

The theme of identity developed strongly throughout the story by using the plot and characters’ actions to showcase the lesson. It not only taught them a lesson, but it also showed them that life is a basket of unknowns. The unknowns can make it difficult to figure things out, such as their identities, but it will eventually be revealed. Identity can be shown in many different ways through many different perspectives. The stages that the characters went through represented how they discovered who they really were. Once these characters realized that they didn’t need to change, they all settled in and finally knew what their true identity was. Identity is so important for a person to know who they are, and the characters in American Born Chinese clearly show that throughout the story.