American Born Chinese

One of the first passages in 'American Born Chinese' which helps to illustrate the main theme is on page 16, where the Monkey King retaliates against all the dinner party guests since he is a monkey and therefore unworthy of heaven. He feels that he should be allowed there with everyone else but because he is a monkey who does not wear shoes he is considered uncivilized. This is just one example of how the Monkey King wants to fit in because he isn't happy with just being a monkey. He wants to be more but no one will take him seriously.

The second passage which helps to illustrate the main theme is on page 31. Jin is having his first day in an American school and things are not going smoothly. The kids there are already prejudiced against him, thinking about him in stereotypical Asian terms. They even think that since he is from China he must be related to the only other Chinese person in the class. Jin wants to belong with his new classmates but already he has been labeled as a weird kid just because of his ethnicity and the preconceived notions that people have about him.

The third passage which helps to illustrate the main theme is on page 51, where Danny's cousin Chin-Kee has just showed up for a visit. Before this happened, Danny was about to tell this beautiful girl named Melanie that he liked her and she seemed as if she was going to reciprocate those feelings. But when Chin-Kee arrives, Melanie changes her opinion because she doesn't want to associate with someone who is related to somebody as embarrassing as Chin-Kee is. Danny wants to be normal but because of his cousin he feels like a big freak.

The fourth passage which helps to illustrate the main theme is on page 96. Jin, Suzy, and Wei-Chen are together and making fun of Jin's inability to talk to Amelia, the American girl he has fallen madly in love with. Jin is grumpy about their teasing but doesn't seem to be especially bothered by it. However, when two of their classmates walk by and make fun of their strange accents, all three of them are embarrassed. Once again they are made an object of ridicule because they are different, even though it seems like they are fitting in at their school.

The fifth passage which helps to illustrate the main theme is on page 145 when the Monk is talking to the Monkey King. He has been trapped under a pile of rocks for 500 years because he went against the will of the one who created him by trying to be something he was not. The Monk tells the Monkey King that he can escape the rocks if he will just go back to the way he was meant to be. This shows just how badly the Monkey King wants to fit with the people of heaven--he is willing to remain trapped under the rocks in order to keep the ideal person he wants to be.

In case the passages hadn't helped to determine what the main theme of the novel is; it is not fitting in with your surroundings. Each character is trying to