Matt Rosenthal
English 1012
Prof Caroccio

I like the overall message that this "traditional" myth, taken from Gene Luen Yang's "American Born Chinese," has about God having the final say. It portrays God's omnipresent and all-powerful nature in Chinese culture. The Chinese have great reverence for God's power, and understand that even the most powerful entity, even those who come close to Heaven and master all of the "disciples," still answer to God, as he created everything.
The monkey king's story is almost tragic. He attempts to be like the other deities, even though he is far away from them (on Flower-Fruit Mountain). But they still do not allow him to take part in their dinner parties. The monkey king becomes so enraged, he returns home to train and eventually surpass the power of all the great deities, except for God himself (notice HIM, God is a dude in Chinese culture). The monkey king's story may represent (of many things) Chinese views on the futility of trying to reach perfection, as nothing can be as perfect as God.