As much as the public is informed about anti-racism efforts in today's world, Gene Luen Yang proves in his novel American Born Chinese graphic that racism exists in considerable force today. Through three intertwined stories, Yang demonstrates the ostracism and fear that alien cultures receive from a so-called "normal" society, where those who blend in are accepted. Its objective remains to prove the assertion that “racism damages the ego, degrades the identity of cultures and individuals and leads to forced assimilation under the thumb of the so-called normal public”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The statement above represents the journey of each character in the book, as they experience racism, lose their sense of ego, and undergo forced assimilation. . The Monkey King is perhaps the oldest protagonist depicted in the book, almost a deity, his story resonates most clearly as a personification of the beginning of the thematic statement. At the beginning of the story, the Monkey King is detained by a guard on the grounds that he is a monkey and is refused admission to a celestial festival: "You may be a king - you may even be a deity - but you are still a monkey… Good evening sir” (Yang 15). The Monkey King then gives in to an animal nature, beating the assembled population and then departing for his mountain, issuing a decree the next morning that all under his kingdom must wear his shoes. Primarily, this serves to highlight damage to the ego due to racism, with the Monkey changing the fundamentals of his kingdom to better emulate accepted culture. He feels less, degraded, an ancient form of racism which strikes a holy being and which resonates deeply throughout his history. The consequences of impacting an individual as such are not only manifested in this specific story, it is seen in the other two intertwined plots of the book as well as in real life. Those who are hurt often lash out and attempt to change themselves, often for the worse. Human nature is to try to please everyone as well as yourself, and to appease a whole, you often have to give up a part of yourself, a part that makes them who they are and defines them. as an individual. Elsewhere in the narrative, Danny is a representation of Jin's wants and desires personified, a typical sitcom white man, all-American. However, it clearly represents the secondary part of the thematic statement; how racism degrades the identity of individuals. Danny literally represents a shift in identity, with Jin creating a distinct character that reflects the expectations of American society, namely his peers. His change is fully illuminated on page 198, where he is named Danny. The consequences of identity change are numerous, because as mentioned in the thematic statement, identity change leads to a loss of culture and identity. Danny, or Jin, effectively gives up his identity, or as the herbalist's wife puts it, his soul. The loss of one's soul is an analogy to the loss of culture; he abandons what makes him unique for what homogenizes him. However, most significant in his loss of identity is Chin-Kee. Chin-Kee not only personifies stereotypes, he further personifies the regret of losing the unique characteristics that made Jin who he was. Chin-Kee's constant presence represents a constant return to the characteristics that Danny and Jin wish to hide, and his actions represent their inability to.