Monkey
The epic tale of Monkey - Journey to the West is a classic story of pilgrimage and adventure. Monkey - Journey to the West is an allegorical telling of the Monk Tripitaka's journey to India in search of the Chinese Buddhist scriptures. Further, the novel is mingled with Chinese fables, fairy tales, legends, superstitions, popular beliefs, monster stories as well as whatever the author could incorporate from the three religious themes of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Most readers would describe it as a supernatural novel about a world of fantastic invention, in which gods and demons threaten and compete for supremacy. It is, in fact, a journey to the enlightenment of the three religious themes.Monkey - Journey to the West is a story that discusses religion, superstition, and the morality of right and wrong. This story has many underlying religious themes that could only be determined when delving into the story by trying to comprehend why the Monkey King does what he does.Initially it may appear difficult in attempting to comprehend why Monkey acts the way he does. Eventually, one learns it is also a social satire in that Monkey personifies the rebellious spirit against the then untouch
Hsuang-tsang experiences the chaos caused by Mao's Red Guards during the time of the 'cultural revolution'. Monkey begins to realize that his prior wants and needs are not suitable to this pilgrimage at this point in the story. He explains to him how Monkey, within his own spiritual soul, has opened his inner being to understand and accept the trust and forgiveness of others. As Kherdian explains, the entire journey in the novel can be interpreted as a spiritual model "of the struggles of self-cultivation and the accumulation of merit on the spiritual path" (viii). This realism is transformed into fantasy when Colonel Sun, the pragmatic ancient soldier accompanies the young hero on his venture to the West. This innocence is the idea that only goodness can occur from the search for the lost Buddhist scripture. Up until this part of the tale, the reader perceives Monkey as a greedy, ungrateful, and undeserving immortal. Monkey becomes a disciple of the Patriarch who tries to be very generous by teaching Monkey different methods to achieve immortality. In 1976, Chinese citizens could not visit the United States freely and this honest hero has no choice but to leave his country and enter the West illegally. The reader comes to understand the reality Hsuang-tsang's harsh life in Mao's era of the 'cultural revolution'. All Monkey does is to learn those methods and abuse them, until the Patriarch dismisses him from the group. On the other hand, Pigsy embodies uncontrollable sensuality and pure appetite and also represents the vitality and energy necessary on the spiritual path (Kherdian viii). He fights because he is arrogant thinking that he can win. The reader comes to understand that this story is a "profound allegory of the religious quest and as a picaresque adventure novel" (Kherdian viii).
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Acceptance Essays
