OTHER CHARACTERS
THE MAN IN THE YELLOW SUIT
The Man in the yellow suit is The Yellow Dragon. He is the
Dragon of the Western District and presides over the Dragons
of the other 3 districts. These Dragons are mortal men. The
Yellow Dragon is the subject of Mei’s assassination
attempts.
GUBO
Gubo is the first of the next generation of immortals created
by Monkey himself.
PALANKA
Palanka is Gubo’s girlfriend. She is the second of the
generation of immortals created by Monkey.
Palanka is also the daughter of The Yellow Dragon.
NERO
Nero is a mysterious misfit who appears in Time Zone 3.
He is jealous of Gubo’s relationship with Palanka and
tension develops between the trio.
MS. YOUNG
Ms. Young is The Chief of Police who first starts to track
Monkey as he appears in public more frequently.
MS. HOU
Ms. Hou works with The Yellow Dragon. She also works for The
Metal Dragon.
She appears in certain places as a servant or guide. She often
helps Monkey on his way.
NOTES ON CHARACTERIZATION
The Metal Dragon, as one of the main male characters of ‘Monkey’
is probably the best example of the approach to characterization
in this work.
He at first appears to be a stereotypical authoritative middle
aged figure, but he gradually reveals a more complex set of
feelings and intentions through seemingly contradictory and
‘dualistic’ actions and responses. These actions
and responses link his intentions to the intentions of the
figure that stands behind him, Yama.
Yama’s intentions, which reveal themselves closely behind
those of The Metal Dragon, link her to the figure that stands
behind her, which is the most mysterious presence in ‘Monkey’,
referred to simply as ‘The Beast’.
This illustrates the idea of diffusing of a larger entity
through small groupings of the main characters.
When The Metal Dragon bows out of the action at the end of
the first act, fragments of his character are spread over
a number of secondary middle aged male characters. Thus his
presence is still felt through the second act until he returns
in the third act.
The relationships between many of these secondary characters,
in a much simplified way, reflect the hierarchy of the main
characters. So a feeling of worlds within worlds and ‘macrocosms’
that reflect larger situations is created.
Monkey and Mei’s relationship, by comparison to The
Metal Dragon and Yama’s is a good example of how the
hierarchies can be highlighted by mirroring them. The Metal
Dragon and Yama’s relationship is revealed gradually
through inference and gesture, while Monkey and Mei’s
relationship is shown more clearly through direct actions
and dialogue.
Monkey and Mei in front, followed by The Metal Dragon and
Yama, shadowed on both sides by ‘The Beast’.
In ‘Monkey’ everyone has their doppelgangers and
their gods.
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