Analysis Of Rule Of The Game By Amy Tan

950 WordsOct 2, 20174 Pages
In life, each person has to follow rules at some point. The rules can relate to school, home, religion, etc. Our society follows rules everyday to make their life better. Throughout the short story, “Rule of the Game”, the author, Amy Tan describes the title using life experiences of the protagonist, Waverly Jong. This story is about a young girl, Waverly who lives in Chinatown, San Francisco and is passionate about chess. While exploring the world of chess, Waverly learns that in life she will have to follow rules made by others to achieve success. Waverly follows rules while playing chess and her mother creates rules for her to succeed. In order to become a successful chess player, there are many rules to follow. Before playing…show more content…
Lastly, being a chess player involves being strategic. While Waverly is versing an American man, she says, “ ‘Blow from the South’, it murmured. ‘The wind leaves no trail’. I saw a clear path…lean away from the wind so he is easier to knock down’ ” (Tan 4). Waverly is using methods taught by Lau Po to knock down her opponents knight. She imagines that the wind is blowing, knocking down the knight. This relates to the title because Lau Po is teaching Waverly his rules of winning a chess tournament. Therefore, chess is a game that involves many rules and strategies to be successful. Waverly’s mother is creating rules for her daughter to become a better chess player. First, Waverly’s mother becomes possessive of her daughter’s chess tournament achievements. When Waverly wins her chess tournament, she says, ‘Ma, it’s not how many pieces you lose’, I said . ‘Sometimes you need to lose pieces to get ahead.’...but it was my mother who wore the triumphant grin” (Tan 4). Waverly disagrees with her mother’s thought as she believes that to win something, you have to lose something. This is significant to the title as Waverly’s mother is creating a rule for her daughter to follow so she can win every tournament she participates in. Second, Waverly’s mother wants to watch her daughter practice chess. While Waverly is practicing, she says, “ ‘Ma, I can’t practice when you stand there like that’, I said one day. She retreated to the kitchen and made
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