American Born Chinese Transformation Quotes

A lot of transformations in the book are kind of unnecessary—for example, the Monkey King's ability to get smaller (he hardly even uses that power). Which is why you've got to wonder: is it really all that necessary for Tze-Yo-Tzuh's emissaries to disguise themselves as vagrants in order to test Wong Lao-Tsai's virtue? Here's a thought for you: If Tze-Yo-Tzuh really does know what goes on in his subjects' hearts and knows "all their days" (he says this to Monkey), then why would he need to transform his emissaries into other beings in order to test Wong Lao-Tsai? Shouldn't he already know that Wong Lao-Tsai is a really solid guy? Kind of a head-scratcher in our opinion…

We can't talk about transformation without mentioning the earth-shattering change Monkey goes through after meeting Wong Lao-Tsai. Let's see: he calls Wong Lao-Tsai Master, and he also offers to fly Wong Lao-Tsai to the nearest town so that he can get medical attention for his wounds. But what's even more surprising is that he changes back to his normal size (he really is a little monkey like Tze-Yo-Tzuh says).

So: Jin is actually Danny. Clearly that's a big plot twist, but what about the old herbalist lady? Why does Jin dream about her before he becomes Danny? Here's an idea: If the Monkey King is a guide to Jin's conscience/conscious self, then maybe the old lady serves as a guide to Jin's unconscious desires. And while she may seem a little evil and scary, we think she might be necessary too since she leads Jin to figure out that things aren't actually all that different when he's Danny, particularly when it comes to his fears.