Coming of Age Novel Conclusion Summary

I was in 5th grade when I first read American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, and I thought it was a silly graphic novel with no true purpose. The three main characters, Jin Wang, The Monkey King, and Danny all had ridiculous problems and did not deal with them well. When I decided to read it again as my Coming of Age novel, I realized I was wrong about American Born Chinese. The three characters all have one goal throughout the book: to fit in.
The Monkey King is a deity that has mastered Kung Fu. He rules all the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain.   However one evening he goes to attend a dinner party in heaven, and is outraged when the guard says he cannot be let in because he is a monkey. The Monkey King becomes obsessed with fitting in with heaven and even changing his form to look humanoid. Instead of ignoring the insults and leaving with pride, the Monkey King feels like he needs to please the people. It changes his views on his life: "When he entered his royal chamber. the thick smell of monkey fur greeted him. He had never noticed it before. He stayed awake the rest of the night thinking of ways to get rid of it" (American Born Chinese pg 20). In my opinion, the Monkey King should go on with his life and forget what Heaven said.
Jin Wang faces as much if not more racism and discrimination than the Monkey King. He moved all the way to a new state from San Fransisco, a place where he really felt comfortable. At first, he has no friends because all of his classmates have the idea that Chinese people eat dogs. Then a boy from Taiwan comes and befriends him. Then, Jin falls in love with a girl.
Danny has an annoying Chinese cousin that screws up his social life so bad, he has to change schools.
Danny and Jin definitely have stories about coming of age. Jin faces a lot of discrimination and teenage emotions. Danny just wants to have normal friends, maybe even a girlfriend, but every time he starts to settle in, his cousin comes and ruins everything. Danny could choose to tell his cousin to leave him alone, but he knows that his cousin doesn't mean to mess everything up. The Monkey King is laughed at because no one takes him seriously because he is a monkey. This is why I chose American Born Chinese for my coming of age novel. I think every teenager has gone through what Jin, Danny or the Monkey King  have gone through. It is a great and inspiring book that I recommend to anyone.