True Identity

In American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, learning to trust, accept and respect one’s self -- even in the face of oppression -- is a major theme. The Monkey King faces issues, and learning to respect his true identity helps him overcome the challenges. To respect one’s true self is to be confident and proud of who they are, and not what other people think they should be. By being their true self, the Monkey King eventually accepts his true identity.
The Monkey King finds out that there is a dinner party happening one night and flies up to heaven. He lines up for the dinner party in heaven for a very long time and as he walks in the room, the guard takes him aside and tells him he cannot let the Monkey King enter because he has no shoes.
He uses his powers to convince the Dragon King he is not a monkey, and the Dragon King gives him a Magic Cudgel when he is convinced. Following that, he visits and attacks Lao-Tzu, Yama, and the Jade Emperor. The gods, goddesses, spirits and demons then complained to the emissaries of Tze-Yo-Tzuh. When the Monkey King meets Tze-Yo-Tzuh, they argue about the Monkey King being a monkey, but Tze-Yo-Tzuh did not make a mistake when he created him. “You are a monkey,” he tells the Monkey King. “Therefore, you are a monkey” (p. 69). This is the second time the Monkey King was told that he is and will forever be a monkey. When Tze-Yo-Tzuh says that, he is trying to convince the Monkey King that he is still a monkey, no matter how many disciplinary acts he has mastered. The reader is reminded of who the Monkey King really is underneath his shape-shifting when Tze-Yo-Tzuh tells the Monkey that he is a monkey. This also relates to the theme because Tze-Yo-Tzuh is also reminding the Monkey King of his true self, and that accepting his true identity will benefit him more than trying to fit in. The pattern of someone telling the Monkey King shows how important being his true and accepting his true self
He was told to ‘pick up’ the Monkey King to join him on his Journey To The West. He explains to the Monkey King that “[t]he form you have taken is not truly your own. Return to your true form and you shall be freed ... [because] to find your true identity ... within the will of Tze-Yo-Tzuh ... that is the highest of all freedoms” (p. 145 and 149). When Wong Lai-Tsao explains what the Monkey King needs to do, he is telling him to return to being a monkey because that is who he really is, not a human. If he can accept his true form, he can reach freedom from both the mountain of rocks keeping him stuck and from all the other problems he has faced while being in a human form. He is saying that the Monkey King is in a form that does not belong to him, and he has to find his true identity to find freedom. This and and what Tzu-Yo-Tzuh say differ because Tzu-Yo-Tzuh is reminding the Monkey King that he is a monkey, not a human, while Wong Lai-Tsao is telling the Monkey King to change back to a human to be free. This connects to the theme because the Monkey King has found and accepted his true identity as a monkey. As he does that, he also fits in because he is more respected by others. He is also not someone trying to copy other people. In this graphic novel, learning to trust, accept and respect one’s self is very