Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book | Themes

Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book Themes

Ethnicity Wittman Ah Sing is both more quintessentially American, and more Chinese, than his reader is. An overarching theme of Kingston's work is that the two are compatible. Wittman, as a Chinese American, is both 100% American and 100% imbued with his own distinctive brand of Chinese culture, honed by five generations in America. When Wittman insists his play is not "East meets West," as approving critics insist, but "West meets West" he is inviting the reader to redefine their ethnically limited version of what constitutes an American to include the traditions and culture of many races.

As an American, Wittman abhors his father's cheapness, Judy Louis's plainness, and the Chinese propensity to bring bundles and boxes of fragrant food on journeys and pretend the delicious aroma is coming from someone else's luggage. As a person of Chinese ancestry, Wittman longs to be accepted for all these qualities, plus his skin color, the shape of his eyes and toes.

Although the novel deals extensively with racial slurs and ethnic stereotyping, only two actual incidents of prejudice are portrayed in the novel. The first is Wittman's painful memory of not being cast in the lead role in his high school senior play, although he had earned the honor. The second is an ambiguous event, where businessmen Wittman can barely hear, seem to tell a joke that ends, "Every Mexican has one" in an expensive restaurant. Wittman interprets the joke as an ethnic slur, with the punch line "Every...
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