American Born Chinese Lesson Plan

Who is the Monkey King, and why might Gene Luen Yang have chosen to start off the story with a tale plucked right out of the annals of Chinese mythology?

It is likely that most students won't have encountered the Monkey King before. If they haven't, the teacher can use this question as an opportunity to briefly introduce them to the literary pedigree of one of China's most famous folk heroes. But the second part of this question is equally important, if not more so: why, in a book that is supposedly devoted to exploring Asian-American identity, does the story start with a fantastical tale about a monkey deity? Some students may suspect that there is some foreshadowing at...