Discusses the character and the spirit of the monkey character in the Chinese story, “The Journey to the West”.
This paper begins by briefly summarizing the 16th century legend about a Buddhist monk and his journey to India. The paper then goes on to analyze the character, spirit, and flaws of Monkey, the main character in the story.
“The story of Monkey, his myth, parallels the growth of man and the growth of a religion at the same time (Hanabakate, 2003). Monkey is born from a rock and becomes par with the gods (Hanabakate, 2003). The beginning of his life is filled with one act of defiance after another as he fights his way to the top (Hanabakate, 2003).”