There is a common symbol found throughout ancient culture, the triumvirate. From the Christian Holy Trinity, to the Islamic Wudu and Salat, to the First Triumvirate of Rome, etc., the number three is important. Why do we care about this? Because in American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, and The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, three is the number of the self. Both novels explore their themes and ideas through the idea of ​​a triumvirate, or three-part identity. This is best summed up in the Judeo-Christian interpretation of the first three numbers, where the beginning is perfect singularity, two is dualistic chaos, and three is perfect synthesis. It is one and two, chaos and order, synthesized by three. This concept of three representing synthesis is an excellent example of its meaning in the books, where the authors show that the characters have three aspects to their identity. Although identity is infinitely complex and discrete, the three sections into which the authors divide it are as follows: an internally idealized self-image, the idealized version of oneself constructed in one's mind; two, the externally created image and identity, the version of self created by society's stereotypes and ideas; and three, the true inner self, someone's real identity, not socially unchanged, but self-made. The idealized internal image and the externally created one are constantly in conflict, but united in an attempt to change the third. Both works use their own themes and literary structures to show us the power that society has over individual identity and agency, and that when social identity and self-image distort one's true self, one must remember that your true identity is who you are. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, is a story told, similar to our main theme, in three parts. It begins in a mystical Chinese kingdom, where the Monkey King is born from the rock to rule all the other monkeys. He masters the prerequisite disciplines to become divinity and is ready to participate in a celestial dinner, reserved for those who belong to divinity. He arrives, but a guard refuses him entry. This moment, as we will see later, is representative of the aspect of identity represented by the king. The guard, while apparently treating him with the utmost courtesy, refuses him entry, first citing his shoes, but then stating outright, “Look. You may be a king, you may even be a deity, but you are still a monkey” (p.15). In this sentence the guard implies: "you are not wanted or accepted, leave". This refusal leads the king to leave paradise in anger and embarrassment, but upon his return, the meaning of the guard's words is cemented by his thoughts: “When he entered the royal chamber, the strong smell of monkey fur greeted him. He had never noticed it before. He lay awake the rest of the night thinking of a way to get rid of it” (p.20). This is accompanied by him sitting on his throne, alone, surrounded by darkness. This is the symbol of his determination. He only noticed the smell for the first time because he became aware of the fact that he, as a monkey, is considered a lower class citizen in the deific society, a metaphor for the white-dominated society. This is the Monkey King's identity crisis, he is a monkey, but because of how other deities think of monkeys, he doesn't want to be. Even though the deities don't force it on him, he has taken their mental image of what a "good god" is and wants to become one. The monkey king is representative of the internally idealized self-image. He used external sociological perspectives on conceptsabstracts such as "the ideal monkey" and "the ideal god" and set himself the goal of becoming them. He said: "My ideal identity is this, because I want my ideal identity to reflect the ideals of others for me. It is Yang's way of telling us why people become internally idealized images of themselves, why they give up their essence to become what I am not, for acceptance and for love. Our next story is that of our main character, a little boy named Jin Wang, born to Chinese immigrants who came to America to go to school. He was born in Chinatown of San Francisco and grew up there with several friends, all of Chinese descent. During a weekly visit with his mother to a Chinese herbalist, Jin waits out front, with the herbalist's wife, playing with a Transformer toy one day she asks him : “Such a little friend, what do you think you will become when you grow up?” (p.27) Jin tells her an idealized fantasy of being a transformer, and she responds with a simple statement: “It's easy to become anything you want…as long as you're willing to give up your soul” (p.29). This is symbolic of the core identity conflict: you can achieve your goals of becoming an idealization, if you are willing to become iconoclastic towards your true self Yang is telling us that the result of trying to accept your self-image internally idealized and make it who you are, you lose your rights to your true self, your “soul.” This concept of internally idealized self-image taking over true identity is also illustrated in a quote from Toni Morrison's novel , The bluest eye: “Some time ago Pecola had thought that if her eyes, those eyes that held images, and knew what they saw, if those eyes of hers were different, that is, beautiful, she herself would be different » (p. 46). This quote illustrates that the main character, Pecola, has internalized an image of perfection and beauty, in this case, as stated throughout the text: “Beautiful eyes. Beautiful blue eyes. Big, pretty blue eyes” (p.45). This is a unifying theme of the two texts; they use their characters' thoughts to show how society influences their perception of themselves and others. We see that the Monkey King is told that he is inferior because he is a monkey, so he wants to become what others consider the ideal, a great and powerful sage who is not a monkey, but is “civilized.” Pecola sees this cherry-cheeked, idolized girl with big blue eyes, and is entranced, seeing her as the epitome of society's beauty, as illustrated here: "She has never been able, after her film education, to look at a face and not assign her a category on the scale of absolute beauty, and the scale was one that she absorbed completely from the big screen” (p. 122) society conveyed a message, through films, directly into her mind; beauty is in scale, this is where you fall, if you had blue eyes, you would be here instead." Both of these characters, despite being in a world and a species apart, represent the same idea of ​​what happens to reality. someone's self when the idealized image of themselves surpasses their true identity. As mentioned above, in Morrison's text, Shirley Temple is the "ideal beautiful American girl", but in Yang's novel we see the darker side of the images created. externally, the racist stereotype. He is featured in a Saturday morning cartoon titled "Everybody Ruvs Chin-Kee". From the beginning, we see the stereotype of Asian accents swapping l's for r's, and Chin-Kee's name resembles both the Chinese demonym and the racial slur "Chink." We also see that at the bottom of each panel that takes place during the show thereit's laughter, and while Chin-Kee's mouth is almost always open, the laughter isn't his, it's the laughter of children, laughing at a racist stereotype. This is representative of what aspect of identity Chin-Kee, the externally created image, symbolizes. Because this is an image created by society, children accept it as truth and something to laugh at. Chin-Kee, in his physical appearance, is also a walking stereotype. He constantly jumps around, has caricatural buck teeth and a calf-length braid. He drools constantly and when he sees Melaine, he is openly perverted towards her. In everything from his appearance to his suitcases being Chinese takeout containers, Chin-Kee is a stereotype. It exists to show the negative result of an externally created image. Due to society's pessimistic and fault-finding nature, negative aspects are amplified and everything else is downplayed, similar to the internal effect of adopting an internally idealized self-image. Yang uses this to show the relationship between the one and two of identity, to show how they are connected and interrelated, and Yang only restates this later. Morrison continues this trend of stereotyping, but in his novel, the focus of the externality created identity is not a direct negative; however, by definition, when creating a standard, something must be inferior to something else. The following quote illustrates this concept perfectly: “Along with the idea of ​​romantic love, she was introduced to another: physical beauty. Probably the most destructive idea in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity and ended in dissolution.” While in Chin-Kee and Yang's text this external image is brash and loud, Morrison shows a more subtle side of it, which seems more dangerous. Powerful words like “envy, insecurity and dissolution” set a tone of mourning and loss, central tones of the book. Morrison aims to create a pervasive feeling, as if this physical beauty, an abstraction of a specific figure, (e.g. Shirley Temple) is the idealized external identity, it is dangerous, it can corrupt your true self, hiding who you truly are underneath a shadow. miasma of darkness and dissent. While Morrison's identity-based miasma may ostensibly be limited to abstract ideas of physical beauty, it simply is not. It's a pervasive theme, and although in different forms, we see it manifest in both novels. In Yang's text we see it manifest as the result of senseless violence. Because of the way the Monkey King is treated, he first, the day after his embarrassment, declares that all monkeys must wear shoes, and the first panel of this section shows them stumbling and unable to jump between trees . This is Yang showing the effect of imposing an internally idealized image on oneself. Although it is not shown, it can be assumed that the king himself has the same problem, but does not repeal his decree. It's debilitating, but due to the society here, the demigods deny him entry and citing his lack of shoes, he goes through with it. He then retreats to a cave to master the other eight celestial disciplines of kung-fu and when he returns, his appearance has physically transformed into a more human form. In the fields of psychology and psychotherapy, changing one's appearance can indicate a change in one's core identity and being. Here it indicates a fundamental continuation of identity change. The Monkey King then receives a message, saying that he has been sentenced to death, but when he arrives at his execution and announces his changed name: "Now I will be called: The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven" (p.60), he is welcomed with laughter and derision. The author uses itto convey to us the Monkey King's changed thoughts and ideals, how they have been displaced by the social structure, but how due to his physical appearance a display of strength is necessary. We see the King continue to rage throughout the land, defeating Lao-Tzu, Death, and even the second highest God of Taoism. Ultimately defeated, the celestials flee from the emissaries of Tze-Yo-Tzuh, the creator of all. When the King meets him he is immediately arrogant and contemptuous. Saying that he is beyond even Yo-Tzuh's reach and that no one created him. Then it is revealed to him that: “It was I who formed you inside that rock” (p.70). This is implicative of Yo-Tzuh's symbolic place in the web of identity. He is the purest form of the true self, as he knows everything and created everything in its original form, therefore, by implication, he created everyone's true identity. Despite this, in keeping with his previous actions, the king is dismissive, claiming that he can easily escape Yo-Tzuh's reach. He flies high, seemingly escaping God's outstretched hand, racing rapidly across the entire universe, beyond its boundaries, toward five golden pillars, seemingly at the end of creation. He proceeds to write his "name" and urinate on the pillar, to illustrate his supposed dominance. He returns to Yo-Tzuh, laughing contemptuously at his successes, but is shocked to see that those golden pillars at the end of creation were Yo-Tzuh's five fingers. He flew past what he thought was every boundary, and was still tied up. This is Yang showing us the underlying power of true identity. Yo-Tzuh didn't even lift a finger, yet he was substantially more powerful and far-reaching than the king. Even when externally created identity factors battle, true identity remains, ever-patient, ever-present. Although this display of power is somewhat humiliating for the kings, he refuses to believe Yo-Tzuh. This is the symbol of the internally idealized identity that refuses to accept its origin. Since it is something held in the mind, he insists that it must be created primarily by the mind. Contrary to this, Yo-Tzuh tells the king, “I make no mistakes, little monkey. A monkey I wanted you to be. You are a monkey” (p.81). Of course, the Monkey King, so altered by society, that God himself cannot shake his resolutions, rejects this and seemingly with sadness, Yo-Tzuh seals him in a mountain of rock, with a golden seal preventing his Kung-Fu, the magic with which he became the "Great Sage" While the "Great Sage" is the internally idealized identity, we have yet to touch in depth on our main character in Yang's work, Jin. We return to Jin in middle school and see that he has begun to fall in love with a girl named Amelia, and seeing that she is best friends with a boy who previously (p.33) had shown Jin some compassion in the face of racism, Jin he begins to see that boy, Greg, as an ideal. He sees Greg's image in his mind, then Greg and Amelia, then just Greg's perm. This is a sign of Jin internalizing what he thinks is an American social ideal, permed hair, and the next day, physically making it a part of himself. The next day, we begin to see a visual motif, Jin's hair literally crackling with lightning, representative of his confidence, gained because he feels more in tune with society. This begins an identity switch between Jin and the Monkey King. The King's point of view is shown to us in the parable of a humble monk named Wong Lai-Tsao. After showing compassion to Yo-Tzuh's disguised emissaries for many years, they reveal themselves and give Wong a sacred task: to deliver three packages to the west and along the way find several companions, the first of which is a familiar human-shaped monkey.The entire story, as well as the rest of the Monkey King plot, is based on a famous 16th century Chinese novel: Journey to the West, which details the story of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong and 3 others delivering Buddhist sacred texts , after Wong was freed from the punishment he got by going on a celestial rampage and rebelling (sound familiar?). This connection to one of the four great novels of classical Chinese literature is significant, as the text promotes themes of virtue and cooperation between spirituality and identity. When Wong begins his journey, he travels far across the country, eventually arriving at the Monkey King's Mountain, in the middle of a demon-infested land. Despite his knowledge of the demons that are about to attack him, Wong tries to speak to the King, convincing him of his place, summarized here: “To find your true identity… within the will of Tze-Yo-Tzou… this is the highest of all freedoms” (p. 149). This quote, combined with the fact that it is said as Wong is about to die, pushes the king to realize that he doesn't need Kung-Fu and magic to return to his true form, i.e. his true identity, he just needs to accept himself . for what it is. While the king escapes and frees Wong, he is ecstatic, but before taking him with the seriously injured monk to the rescue, he must do one thing, take off his shoes. This indicates his total rejection of his previously adopted identity, he is no longer "The Great Sage", he is what Yo-Tzuh intended, a monkey, and as we all know, why would a monkey need shoes? This is the place where Jin and the Monkey King switch. They walk a mile in each other's shoes before coming together. This starts with a lie. Jin wants to go out with Amelia and needs Wei, his best friend, to lie that he is at his house, since Jin's family has a "no dating until graduation" rule. Wei, who we later learn is forbidden from lying, is forced into an idealized self-image, that all-American world that Jin has made part of himself and removed from his true self and beliefs. This is further evidence of Jin's identity transformation. As evident from the back cover: "He's just an all-American boy in love with an all-American girl" (back cover). Jin simply wants a “normal” and “American” life even though they are both abstract and unattainable concepts. This idea is present in both novels: in Morrison's text, the idea of ​​a social ideal, as previously stated, is represented by Shirley Temple. Because Claudia doesn't like Shirley Temple, she is ostracized, as illustrated here: “Frieda and she had a long conversation about how pretty Shirley Temple was. I couldn't join them in their worship because I hated Shirley” (p.35). Claudia sees this as internalized American racism. Due to the fact that she, a black girl, does not admire Shirley, a white girl, she is alienated. This internalized belief, although held not by Pecola, but by Claudia, is an expression of Pecola's deeply held belief about blue eyes. She is shown to have a fiery and powerful belief about eyes, as illustrated here: “Every night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes. For a year he had prayed fervently. Although a little discouraged, she was not without hope. For something so wonderful to happen would take a long, long time. Thus thrown into the binding belief that only a miracle could lift her, she would never know her beauty. He would only see what there was to see; the eyes of others” (p.47). The repetitive and apparently psychotic nature of this practice, its evident uselessness, and the fact that Pecola repeats it every night, with fervor and force,shows the belief she has: that if she prays and believes she will be considered beautiful, because in Pecola's mind :Blue eyes => Beauty => Social acceptance This logical sequence expresses Pecola's internally idealized identity. In her identity crisis, struggling with the externally created image of an ugly black girl. Pecola faces the insurmountable struggle of overcoming her own psychological barrier that she perceives as external, with only a feeble belief and a pathetic prayer to protect her. He is trying to climb a mountain with a ladder. This is symbolized in the disjointed way Pecola's story is told, a third-person omniscient point of view, representing Pecola's crisis. The narrator is someone omnipresent and all-encompassing, and he knows almost everything about her, but notice, the narrator never actually examines her thoughts, we never see a direct thought dialogue from Pecola's head into the narrator's perspective, this is representative of the fact that Pecola is fighting her crisis internally. Because she subconsciously knows that she can never change her eyes, i.e. become beautiful for herself, she has internally blocked her mind to allow her to create her own fantasy. The parallel theme to this is in Yang's text. Jin's conflict does not serve as a mountain and ladder, but Jin instead forms an external physical shell, in the form of Danny. Due to abuse from his classmate Greg, who asked him to stop dating Amelia, implying that Jin is a bad influence on her, due to his race. After quietly and sadly accepting Greg's "favor," we see Jin proceed through the day, his perm crackling, a symbol of his determination, but when he suddenly approaches Greg, who is standing with Amelia, that fire goes out. He's had to build up that electricity and fervor for the entire day, and Greg, sitting there passively, shuts him down. It is the symbol of the power that someone who is “universally” accepted by society has over an outsider. Jin tried really hard, even physically changing his appearance with his hair, and this boy, who is and has been shown to be part of the popular and accepted kids in elementary school, “defeats” him in less than a second. This expresses in Jin's mind that no matter what he does, people who are American and white, or more abstractly accepted by society, are better, universally, no matter what. As a last ditch attempt to feel acceptance, while sitting with Suzy, waiting for Wei, as she begins to cry at being called Chinese, he, with frizzy hair, leans in and kisses her. She immediately punches him, yelling at him, asking him why he would do that, and walks away. Then he is visited at Wei's house, upset and wanting to know why his best friend just tried to kiss his girlfriend. They begin to fight, eventually ending with Wei punching Jin and walking away. That night, he remembers the herbalist's wife, all those years ago, telling him what to do to become everything he wanted. This triggers a fusion of identities within Jin. His internally idealized image creates a physical shell, Danny, the cartoon boy, which is an externally created image. This physical change represents two things, first, a change in the dominant identity, which for Jin has always been, in most cases, his true identity, now it has become his internally idealized image and the externally created image . Secondly, it represents a fusion of worlds and plots. Yang does this to show how these stories are all aspects of the same identity, how they are interconnected and incomplete without each other, but if they are thrown out of balance,.