D+Block+Themes

Welcome to the D Block theme page!

Below, write your first name and initial of your last name. Then, paste in your thoughts regarding the theme that was most poignant to you in American Born Chinese. Be sure to explain what the theme is, how it was shown, and why it is or is not a good message to portray to society. Of course be sure to edit for punctuation, spelling, and paragraph structure. (Bonus points for students who add a visual representation of the theme of their choice; it is a graphic novel!)

__**Jory L.**__ Transformation was definitely the theme that stood out the most to me in American Born Chinese. The whole entire book was based around transformation, as it mostly revealed in the end. Each of the main characters transformed emotionally throughout the book. The monkey king goes from being immature to very mature while Jin goes from trying to be someone else to actually becoming someone else. The physical transformation was a lot less realistic, but very metaphorical. The way that "Chin Kee" turned into the monkey king and how Jin turned into Danny is impossible. However, it does mean a lot deep down.

Cam A. A theme that i thought was important was maturity. People in the book were very immature in the way they treated the Asian kids. Rather than accept them they did the easy thing and made fun of them. Also the monkey king was too immature to accept that he wasn't the most powerful super man of all time.

Jessie K. The theme that was most poignant to me was transformation. There are three main transformations. One is Wei Chen from monkey to human. Another is the monkey king transforming from human back to monkey. The third and final is when Jin Wang goes from being Danny back to being Jin. Danny to Jin

Chelsea J.  ** Envy is an emotion that shows signs of jealously, amongst one another. An example of envy in the book would be how envious Jin became once Wei-Chen started dating Suzy. Jin then only wanted Suzy more and went through a transformation in the process. This theme is most poignant to me because, I can relate to it more and understand what it truly means. Regardless, of how hard we try and banish it, envy will always thrive in our society. We will always be envious of each others cars, clothes,boyfriends, and even families. I don't think it introduces the greatest morals but, it is something natural for all of us. **

Isaac G.

An important theme represented in __American Born Chinese__ is self-control. We see examples of it used throughout the book. The first example is in the very first chapter itself when The Monkey King is denied entrance to the dinner party because he doesn't have any shoes. Enraged, he beats up the guard and everyone else at the party. A smaller example of this theme in the book is when the American kids make fun of any of the Asian-American characters. This is a failure on their part to restraint themselves from saying racist stereotypes. "Danny" shows self-control when "Chin-Kee" starts hitting on his girlfriend Amelia. The Monkey King's lack of the ability to retain self-control is repeated when he visits Ao-Kuang, Dragon King Of The Eastern Sea and steps on him, again with Lao-Tzu, Yama, and The Jade Emperer. In the end, The Monkey King's lack of self-control and other themes combined get him trapped under a mountain of rock for 500 years. Jin soon gets a fond liking of Amelia and eventually asks her out on a date when he gets a jolt of confidence and is not able to use self-control any more. "Chin-Kee" repeatedly answers questions perfectly and "Danny" gets more embarrassed with him throughout the day. "Chin-Kee" does not use self-control in this part because he does not let anyone else in the class get a chance, but rather, finishes the teacher's sentence each time. Of course, "Chin-Kee" relieving himself into Steve's Coke is a humorous addition to the story and another example of, failure to use self-restraint amongst the characters. Go forward in the book, and the reader sees that Jin's confrontation with Greg shows an important use of self-control. He asks Jin to not ask Amelia out again. On almost every block on pages 182 and 183 there are lighting bolts as a visual representation of Jin's anger towards Greg after what he said. The reader sees the lightning bolts growing and covering more and more with each new block as Jin recollects what he would have liked to say to Greg during that conversation. When he finally reaches Amelia, her, Greg and another girl are there. After he sees Greg there, the lightning bolts die off and Jin's anger does as well. He used a lot of self-control here to not explode at Greg with his anger, worsening the situation. Jin's success at controlling himself dies off almost immediately when he walks out of this scenario and onto the next. He sees Suzy crying and after a short conversation with her leans in to kiss her. she reacts by punching him. He failed to use self-control here. Wei-Chen also punches him when Jin starts insulting his friend without thinking. The angry side of Jin is shown here and it comes out without any regards to Wei-Chen's feelings. The last major example of self-control in __American Born Chinese__ is when "Danny" and "Chin-Kee" get into a fight, where "Chin-Kee's" head is soon knocked off. They both let all their feelings out, especially "Danny" and no self-control is shown here. It is the big fight scene in the book, and the characters aren't thinking straight during this scene.

Self-control is an important theme in __American Born Chinese__ and an important life lesson to have. The failure to use it can get one into lots of trouble, and it all happens so quickly they won't even notice it. As seen, in the book though, the failure to use, or the success at using self-control helped greatly to progress the story.

media type="custom" key="5375019" Dustin Todd-

For The Theme In __American Born Chinese__ the one the stood out the most is tra nsformation. Jin Transformed into something that he is not and The monkey king transformed into something that his not to fit in. Both times it did not work for them. They were forced to turn back to who they are. They did not want to but they did what they had to. Win-Chen changed to fit in and it worked for him, but he did not want to turn back when he was told to. He then ran away and did not want his father to see him.