PlotQuestions-Forrest

ABC - What's happening?** Chapter 1 **

1. What are the psychological transformations the Monkey King experiences in the first chapter? The Monkey King goes from being a kind and gentle ruler to becoming an arrogant and proud leader. This is all because he wants to be recognized as a deity rather than a monkey, even though that’s what he is! He quickly learns the twelve disciplines and now firmly believes he has transcended the name, “Monkey King.” 1. p 23 - 24 What is the message of the parable? What is its relevance to ABC? I think that the mother was trying to give her son different experiences throughout his childhood, so he would be a more educated and well-rounded person. When they got to the university, they stayed there for a long time… I think this relates to ABC because Jin had to move as a child from Chinatown to what appears to be a suburban school and had to get used to the new situation, just like the boy in the parable. 2. p 27 - 28 What is the significance of the conversation with the herbalist? His response? Her "warning?" How does this work as a foreshadowing device? I think that the conversation was really important because it shows a big part of Jin’s personality; he wants to fit into society and he wishes he could change himself so he __could__ fit into society. Her warning clearly hits Jin, as you can see the look on his face is a look of shock. I think that this worked a foreshadow to show the different transformations that occur during the book, such as Chin-Kee actually being the Monkey King. Also, the Monkey King has transformed in himself; at the end of the book, he seems to be less arrogant and has gone in a full circle to where he began at the beginning of the book. 3. p 30 - 31 What do we learn about Jin's new life in comparison to his life in San Francisco's Chinatown?
 * Chapter 2 **

He is miserable. In Chinatown, he had friends who he played with and watched cartoons with. Now, he is in what appears to be a suburban school with mostly white kids and he is a loner. He eats lunch by himself and is teased a lot for eating dumplings and for having buck teeth. I feel sorry for him because I had a situation like this except reversed. At my old school, no one liked me but then I came to Crefeld and now it seems like everyone likes me, so I thought that that was interesting to compare: my life and Jins. 4. p 33 The kids who calls Jin "bucktooth" is drawn with buck teeth himself. What purpose does this serve? I think that the kids who call Jin “bucktooth” are insecure about the way they look and since Jin is an easy target, they take out their anger on him, rather than dealing with it in a good and healthy way. 5. p 36 What happens that makes Jin want to beat up Wei-Chen? Basically, just the fact that he arrived made Jin want to beat him up. He was in the same position as him a few months ago and everyone teased him, so he feels like, “Well, they teased and bullied me, so why can't I tease and bully Wei-Chen?” 1. What does the use of the clap clap clap and ha ha ha mean to you? Why does the author do this? What about the title, "Everyone Ruvs Chin-Kee I think that the use of the clap, clap, claps and the ha, ha, has are representing Chin-Kees happy, go-lucky attitude and the fact that it almost seems like he likes tormenting Danny. He is amused and happy by the situation he’s in. I think the author wanted to portray Chin-Kee as one who is trying to be nice and cheery because he thinks that people will accept him this way, but it just makes things worse. I think the title means that Chin-Kee really wants people to like him, and maybe he even believes they do. I’m not totally sure why the title is what it is, especially since people seem to hate him…hmmm…? 2. What stereotypes are exploited in this section? Make a list of them. Be sure to note stereotypes for both Chin-Kee and Danny. Well, to begin, when Danny and Chin-Kee go to school, Chin-Kee raises his hand in every class to answer questions, which represents the stereotype that Asians are super-smart. He tries to act American, especially around Melanie when he first arrives at Danny’s house when he flirts with her. He is an obnoxious slob who just wants to fit in. Danny is the typical jock; he’s on the basketball team, has short hair, wears “normal” clothes, is embarrassed about his love toward Melanie and is embarrassed to be seen with Chin-Kee, because he is worried he’ll be teased for being seen with an loud and obnoxious Asian cousin. 1. p 62 - 63 examine the way that the Monkey King is illustrated. In what way does his transformed appearance reflect his transformed character? In many ways, his personality has changed parallel to when and how his appearance and power has changed. When he was first introduced, he was a kind ruler who cared about his followers. But when he went to the dinner party in heaven, everyone laughed at him and he let his rage come through and he fought every single deity there. From that point on, he became more bitter and arrogant, and his greed grew and grew. Soon, he was so powerful, he managed to get all the way to the Five Pillars of Gold, past “reality” itself. Throughout the book, his power grew and grew, but then he got buried under a mountain of rock. Once he released himself because Wong Lai-Tzao needed help, he was no longer arrogant and proud. It seems like his punishment fit him well… 2. What happens to the Monkey King each time he is laughed at by another god. Can you connect this to question #1 from chapter 1? Every time the Monkey King is laughed at, he gets more and more angry, which relates to question 1 from chapter one – his mind is saying, “Ok, I’m being laughed at and it’s making me angry.” He shows off more of his power so that the gods stop laughing at him and take him more seriously. 3. p 80 - 81 explore again the theme of the Monkey King's psychological profile. What might he be experiencing here? At first, it seems like he is actually going to listen to Tze-Yo-Tzuh’s words, but then his arrogance and firm believe he is right in everything comes through and he says, “I don’t care who you say you are, old man. I can still take you. This was a bad idea on the Monkey King’s part: he was punished severely. 1. Look at the Melanie in the Chin-Kee chapters and Amelia Harris in Jin's chapters, they are nearly identical. What other connections can you trace between these two story lines? Well, the two main male characters, Jin and Danny, are both in love with Amelia and Melanie. The two girls have a lot in common, as well as a lot of differences. For example, they both had boys who liked them, but Amelia went out with Jin and Melanie told Danny it would be better if they were friends.
 * Chapter 3 **
 * Chapter 4 **
 * Chapter 5 **

2. p 89 What differences are there between Jin and Wei Chen in how they are represented? What psychological information can we infer about Wei Chen when he dates Suzy Nakamura? What lesson is Wei Chen teaching Jin? Jin is pretty much willing to do anything to get a girl, including having Wei-Chen lie to his parents for him. Wei-Chen seems to have a little more cockiness and confidence while dating Suzy. I believe this because he made fun of Jin with Suzy, and I had always thought of him to be a nice person. Wei-Chen seems to be teaching Jin a good lesson about friendship, because he is always trying to help Jin get Amelia. He is like good moral support for Jin and eventually, this gets them together! J 3. p 90 - 92 Why the dashed lines around the speech balloons? What other kinds of lines are around the speech balloons throughout the story? What information does the line convey? It seems like the dashed lines are speech bubbles that only certain characters are supposed to hear. For example, when Chin-Kee is whispering to Danny that he put pee in Steve’s coke, the speech bubble has dashed lines. Speech bubbles that are rectangular and aren't connected to a certain person are just giving information: no one is talking to anyone. 4. p 104 - 105 Jin says "everything was a blur," how does the author show this? There is a white, splotch border around the scene. 1. Returning to the question of stereotypes, what other stereotypes do you notice in this section? Look at all of the characters. As I mentioned before, Chin-Kee is insanely smart, and most people think Asians are supposed to be super smart because they get pushed really hard in school. You see the boy pulling his eyes to the side to make slits, making fun of how Asian eyes tend to be. Chin-Kee had noodles in his lunch, which is the stereotype that all Asians eat noodles!
 * Chapter 6 **

2. p 123 Why does Danny try to distance himself from Chin-Kee? How does he do it? He is embarrassed by Chin-Kee’s behavior and tries to distance himself from Chin-Kee by not talking to him very much, except for if it was in a nasty way. He also acted like he hated Chin-Kee to try and get people to feel bad for him. He ditches him after the detention to hang with Steve in the gym. 3. p 126 - 127 What clues can you find to explain why Chin-Kee comes to visit? Why, do you deduce, is it that Chin-Kee comes to visit? Well, Danny says Chin-Kee comes every year, so that gives us a general time. I believe Chin-Kee comes because he wants to experience American life. However, it also seems like he enjoys tormenting Danny, and Danny hates him, because when his mother said he was coming he dropped his book and had this look on his face like, “Oh crap…” 4. p 128 Why does Danny say, "so I can pee in it?" What psychological impulse might make him say that? I think that his anger toward Chin-Kee has clouded his clear thinking and just the fact that he is such a huge influence when he visits because everyone looks at him and makes fun of him to his face or behind his back. 1. p 139 Why has Lai-Tsao found favor with Tze-Yo-Tzuh? I think Lai-Tsao has found favor with Tze-Yo-Tzuh, because of his kindness and compassion for the villagers even though they’ve treated him like crap 2. p145 What does Lai-Tsao mean when he talks to the Monkey King in panel #4? Well, it seems like Lai-Tsao meant that since the Monkey King practiced kung fu, it made him a different person than he was before. If he returned to his true form from before, it would be like a reversal, therefore, the release of kung fu. If the Monkey King returns to his true form, he will be able to escape because the symbol preventing him from doing kung fu would be moot, since it will be a //release// of kung fu. 3. Why does the Monkey King choose to release himself and follow Lai-Tsao? He cannot sit idly by while the trolls or demons cook Lai-Tsao. He feels a burst of compassion and anger and returns to his true form so he can rescue him. He seems to realize how kind Lai-Tsao was to him and realizes that there are better things to do than to be trapped here. 4. p163 How do the two voices get represented on this page? To whom do they belong? How do they relate to each other? The voice of Jin’s mother is represented in the “info” boxes in the sense that no one is actually talking in the scene but it’s just some background information. Jin is trying to get Wei-Chan to lie to his mother for him so he can go on a date. These two voices are very ironic, because in the bubble where Wei-Chan agrees to help Jin, the blurb from Jin’s mom says something about study now, date later. 5. p 175 panel #4 The author shows kids laughing while Wei-Chen is talking to Amelia. What does the juxtaposition of this panel with the other panels on the page do for the reader? I guess this was just a way of showing what else was going on in the room while they were talking so it didn’t seem like they were having a private conversation or anything. It makes the energy not as tense. It was like the author was trying to “casualize” the scene.
 * Chapter 7 **

6. p 180 - 183 How does the author emphasize Jin's emotions? What other examples of this have you noticed throughout the book? When he seemed to get angry on pages 180-183, he had lightning bolts come out of his head. When Wei-Chan and Suzy were making fun of him, he got lines on his cheek that seemed to represent him blushing or being upset. 7. p 187 Why does Suzy say she feels embarrassed all of the time? Why do you think Jin kisses Suzy? I think Suzy’s embarrassment mostly came from her sadness about not being included and she blames it on being an Asian girl. I think this because she said she was embarrassed right before she told Jin that Timmy called her a chink. I think Jin kisses Suzy, because firstly, it seems like Amelia was told bad things about Jin by her “best friend” and also that he told Jin not to ask Amelia out again. Secondly, it seemed like he feld bad for Suzy and wanted to comfort her, but kissing her was driven by his love for Amelia. 8. 191 Why does Jin reject Wei-Chen? What might be going on with Jin, from a psychological point of view? He rejects Wei-Chen because he feels bad, but doesn’t know how to deal with the situation properly. Another part of it may be jealousy that Wei-Chen has a girlfriend in the first place and he doesn’t. I think Jin is becoming a more angry and arrogant person, because he feels attacked by all fronts, from Amelia, her friend, Suzy and now Wei-Chen. 9. 193 - 194 What is the significance of the dream? Make sure you look at all the illustrations carefully and study them for subtle meaning. The significance of the dream is that it shows how much he loves Amelia and how much he wants to be the blond guy. He wants to be “American,” meaning he wants to be white and have a girlfriend. He finally believed in himself and he knew Wei-Chen needed to hear the truth…

10. p 198 What has happened here? What was your own emotional/psychological reaction to this moment? This was a very intense part of the book, where Jin wakes up and he is no longer Jin: He is actually Danny! This 1. p 213 Who is Danny? Who is Chin-Kee? What does this mean? What are their true forms? Danny is Jin and Chin-Kee is actually the Monkey King. The Monkey King is the emissary of Tze-Yo-Tzuh. Honestly, I have no clear idea what this is supposed to mean, but it was interesting to find out who the characters really were.
 * Chapter 8 **

2. p 215 As it turned out, the star was the star of Bethlehem and the three boxes were the three gifts from the three wise men. What significance does this hold for the story //American Born Chinese//? I had a really hard time with this question but I guess it seems that it was relating to the Monkey King’s transition back to being a more kind-hearted person on his journey with Wong Lai-Tsao. This is a big turning point in the book and it leads to the Monkey King talking to Jin after they both transform back to their true states. 3. p 221 What does the Monkey King mean by a "sign post to your soul"? I think that the Monkey King meant that he was there to try and help Danny/Jin become more accepting people. Chin-Kee was a very hard person for Danny to accept since he was trying to fit in. He sent Wei-Chan for Jin to help him by being a supportive and kind friend. He first didn’t accept Wei-Chan, but once they found a similarity, they clicked and eventually, he helped Jin get Amelia. However, Jin repaid him by kissing Suzy, which was definitely a bad choice.

4. p 223 How might the 4th panel apply to Jin? I think that this means that Jin has tried so hard to fit into the American society, he has forgotten what is like to just be himself. I think the Monkey King is trying to tell Jin that he should be happy with who he is and not try to be someone else.

5. p 226 Jin reveals that he can't read Chinese. What do you think is significant about that? He has become so Americanized over time that it is getting harder and harder to understand his native tongue.

6. Jin doesn't know why he's going to the bakery, but he goes night after night. Why? He is curious about the card and wants to see what’s going to happen if he goes to the shop.

7. This book ends with a conversation about milk tea. Wei-Chen is speaking Chinese. Why does the book end like this? What can we infer about these two characters? What predictions do you make about each of them? I think the book ends like this because it was good to see Jin and Wei-Chan together after their fight, Jin’s transformation, Chin-Kee actually being the Monkey King, etc. I thought it was a good way to tie the events that occurred near the end of the book together. If the book continued, I think that these two characters are going to be friends again. I think that Jin would become a much more important character involving Tze-Yo-Tzuh, the Monkey King and Wei-Chan. He definitely has good potential ^.^