In the story, “The Rules of the Game,” by Amy Tan, a little girl named Waverly grew up in Chinatown with her working father, two older brothers, and a mom whose English was not as well-spoken as theirs. Waverly had always seemed to be advanced, for at an early age she was taught the art of invisible strength, which is mainly a strategy for winning arguments. Her mother would teach her new things, scolding Waverly when she did something wrong. However, once Waverly learned how to play the strategic game of chess, her mind opened to new possibilities. After being taught chess by her two older brothers, she found herself buying chess strategy books from the local library. Later on, Waverly challenged some old men to a game of chess and won all …show more content…
Waverly's mother would always attend them, smiling proudly every time she chose to compete. Whenever Waverly practiced, her mother always loomed above her shoulder, observing how she prepared for her upcoming tournaments. Despite her mother's supportive and proud behavior, Waverly expressed anger and annoyance, like when her mom randomly started begging to strangers that she was her daughter. Waverly's relationship with her mom played a vital role in her journey to succeed in playing chess. Firstly, mother and Waverly had a caring relationship. In some instances, Waverly's mother can be found appreciating her accomplishments, expressing pride. However, mother and Waverly also had a disciplined relationship. Throughout the story, the mother motivates her daughter to be accomplished and successful, punishing her for her bad behavior. Finally, these relationships benefited Waverly's ability to succeed in chess, for her mom motivated Waverly to try harder while also punishing her for her wrong …show more content…
The discipline and appreciation that Waverly's mother expressed was what impacted her journey to success in chess. For example, not far before Amy competes, she feels insecure that her parents will disown her if she fails to win the chess games. However, her mother gives her a piece of good advice, “Is shame that you fall down nobody push you” (Tan 5). Waverly's mother informs her that it isn't a shame if loses while trying her best, but it is a shame if she falls down because no one is pushing her to try. She wants Waverly to have an inner desire to win, not to rely on the motivation of others to bring her up in tense situations. After Waverly is given this valuable piece of advice, she proceeds to show her best results in the tournament, beating everyone she competes against in
They had the potential to become friends, both having similar backgrounds. However, June resents Waverly’s achievements and Waverly
This quote from the text stands out to me because it shows that Waverly’s mom cares more about herself than her community. Every Saturday, Waverly and her mom would go to the market. Not to purchase anything, but for Waverly’s mom to show off her daughter who became a national chess champion. Instead of focusing on how her family felt about Waverly’s sudden success and helping them cope with Waverly’s busy schedule, the mother chose to flaunt Waverly and boast about her accomplishments.
Her mother`s words were vital for her success. Contrastively, her mother, was unimpressed by the number of pieces she would lose before defeating the opponent. She tried explaining herself to no avail, saying its part of the strategy as long as you corner your enemy, her mother, shunned her and instead repeated the same deed at the next tournament. An angered Jong more often than not felt her mom was getting in her
Her mother is not portrayed like this, she is seen as having a no-nonsense attitude, making her reliable but not as likable. His biggest form of manipulation is flattery. Her dad keeps pelting her with compliments, gifts, and surprises like when he treats her to dinner at a new diner, “‘There’s a new diner, opened right around the block. Let’s treat ourselves, Ashes, and go out on the town. ’(page 2).
From trading pieces of candy for chess pieces, to playing in local tournaments, she transforms into a proficient chess player. Her skills were unmatched in her early years, and she was quickly seen as the first female Grandmaster at the age of twelve. This is her departure from what would appear to be a “normal” life. Furthermore, she meets a mentor, Lau Po, and improves at playing chess. This mirrors the Hero’s Journey, in how both a Hero, and Waverly, must traverse through calls of action, meet a mentor, and transform.
Waverly is taking her mom’s advice because at first she was losing a lot of pieces and was barely winning, and now she is still winning, just with more security. Waverly has taken her mother’s advice even though she was annoyed by her mom telling her what to do and how to win even though she was already always
In the “Royal Beating” Flo lists all of the ways, she feels that Rose has been disrespectful towards her (Munro 1134) and then goes and gets Rose’s father to punish her. Once the punishment has been dealt they go back to normal and their lives go on. In “Rules of the Game” the way Waverly describes her mother’s reaction you know that she is very angry at her. “My mother’s eyes turned into dangerous black slits. She had no words for me, just sharp silence.”
Leaving her parents started her success because with that came her living a comfortable life supporting herself. Moreover, when her dad tries to teach her how to swim, his method is to throw her in the middle of the water so she is forced to swim. She writes, “Dad kept telling me that he loved me…that one lesson every
. . she was always waiting right around the bend with a new way to prove to me how little the whole thing mattered to her” (278). Sissy craves nothing more than her mother’s love and attention, but she realizes that Rose can never give her them. In her childhood, Sissy did not care if the attention she got from her mother was good or bad, as long as Rose acknowledged that she was there. Sissy is very loyal to her mother, loving her, craving her attention.
She was frighteningly strong, half caring for me toward the piano as I kicked the throw rug under my feet.” Her mom was carrying her over to the piano to force her to play it even though she hated it. Secondly, her mom wants her to be perfect and amazingly talented. In the text it states,” Before going to bed that night, I looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink and when I saw only my face staring back- and that it would always be this ordinary face- I began to
One day, Waverly’s mother took interest in her passion for chess so she decides she would go and see her play. “My mother joined the crowd during the outdoor exhibition games. She sat proudly on the bench, telling my admirers with proper Chinese humility” (Tan, “Rules of the Game”). Waverly’s mother is finally supporting Waverlys dream of playing chess after much persuasion. Likewise in a similar scene, an old man suggested that Waverly’s mother allow her to play with him.
In contrast, her dad wants her to be a firm leader who is assertive and respected. Yahairia then makes a connection to her experience playing chess that a queen can be both “deadly and graceful” This perspective contradicts her
Ever since Carrie was young, tennis was basically the only thing she did and the only thing she was trained in. Her father was a world-famous tennis player and has been training her her whole life. Carrie only plays for her father’s approval, he is the person she looks up to the most. Javier, Soto’s father, in turn believed Carrie to be his one true meaning in his life which created a healthy and gratifying father-daughter relationship that was truly beautiful to read about. “Being your father is the best thing that has ever happened to me. . .
She is a mother based on the birth of her children, but she does not possess the nurturing qualities of a mother. However, she exemplifies a masculine role through ruling by fear and dominance and not
She credits her success to her mother’s lesson of the power of invisible strength. She recounts how “my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games.” (p. 89) Waverly goes on to have a lucrative career as an attorney, while her mother 's power over her gradually wanes reminiscent of the Taitai’s power over Lindo.