Essay: Journey to the West

Pages: 4 (1437 words)  ·  Bibliography Sources: 0  ·  Level: College Senior  ·  Topic: China / Chinese  ·  Buy This Paper


[. . .] The Monkey's decision to kill these devils was influenced by the belief that he was trying to protect Xuan Zang, but Xuan Zang didn't understand it. The Monkey ended up going back to Flower Fruit Mountain and didn't want to come back to the journey. After the Monkey left, Xuan Zang, Zhu BaJie and Sha Wujing went on their journey, met the devil, and the devil caught them up. Finally, Zhu Bajie went back for the Monkey to save them and the Monkey killed the monster. After this, the four of them continued with the journey together.


In the novel, Xuan Zang was a goodness monk who wanted to use the truth to influence the devils rather than kill them. However, the Monkey insisted on justice and was brave and aggressive since he was a relatively arrogant man. Therefore, the two characters have different personalities which caused them to have numerous disagreements in the beginning of the novel as they couldn't be considerate of each other. When the Monkey was alone because Xuan Zang let him go, he still was concerned about their safety. When the Zhu Bajie looked for him to save Xuan Zang, he saved him because he was concerned about them though he initially hesitated. We can see the nature of the Monkey is goodness since after many times of suffering, the Monkey and Xuan Zang started having a more harmonious relationship.

After so many difficulties, it is evident that the Monkey began to hear the words of Xuan Zang and even think about them. On the other hand, Xuan Zang also understood that the Monkey was concerned about his safety and went all the way to protect him even to an extent that he disregarded his own safety. In the journey, the Monkey defeated all the devils. The Monkey role was favorable to everyone not only because he defeated all the monsters, but also because he is brave and has a kind heart. They often have misunderstandings and arguments in the journey, but finally they are together against the devil and eventually found the Buddhist sacred texts they were looking for After reading the whole novel, we can see the Monkey and Xuan Zang were two most important characters in the novel. These two people worked together despite having their own advantages and disadvantages because of their individual personalities. The Monkey was brave and aggressive, but also arrogant and didn't like to deal with the internal contradictions of team. Xuan Zang was goodness, but he couldn't distinguish true and false and liked listening to gossip. Although he was compassionate, Xuan Zang couldn't distinguish between good or bad. Since they come from different backgrounds and have different personalities, experiences, and positions, contradictions and conflicts between Zuan Zang and the Monkey were inevitable. In the face of the monster, all Xuan Zang could do was to chant Buddhist scripture or rely on the Monkey because the Monkey was brave to fight with monsters. From this point, we can see that Xuan Zang couldn't finish the journey without the Monkey. On the other hand, without the influence of and intervention from Xuan Zang, the Monkey couldn't have changed his overbearing stubborn personality.

"Journey to the West" is one of the most outstanding Chinese novels and a piece of literature that is full of fantasy. The author use a series of fairy tales shaped a hero image of the Monkey. As a result, the novel is not only popular among children, but also considered as an interesting story by many adults.

In conclusion, "Journey to the West" is a piece of literature that provides important lessons regarding how individuals can work together regardless of their differences in personality. One of the major themes from this novel is that even though people have intrinsic differences, they work together as a team to achieve common objectives. Xuan Zang and the Monkey successfully found the Buddhist sacred texts through working together though the constantly quarreled because of their differences in personality. As evident in the novel, success in accomplishing a common objective requires developing a harmonious relationship despite the differences. Secondly, this novel demonstrates that every individual has unique attributes that can be combined with those of others to achieve desired… [END OF PREVIEW]

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Cite This Essay:

APA Format

Journey to the West.  (2017, May 22).  Retrieved May 20, 2019, from

MLA Format

"Journey to the West."  22 May 2017.  Web.  20 May 2019. <>.

Chicago Format

"Journey to the West."  May 22, 2017.  Accessed May 20, 2019.