Skip to main content

In what ways do Waverly and her mother differ over their hopes and dreams for Waverly's future in "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan?

Waverly doesn’t really see chess as her ticket to a bright future as much as her mother.  Her mother is proud of her, in the appropriate Chinese way.  Waverly is enjoying the game for the game’s sake.  She gets tired of her mother holding her up as some kind of prodigy.  She feels like her mother is making too much of a big deal out of her success.

Waverly went from knowing nothing about chess to being amazingly successful.  Magazines had her on their cover and local shopkeepers displayed her success in cakes in their windows.  However, the success came at a cost for Waverly.  She felt that her mother became more and more controlling. 


At first, it was just that her mother didn’t really seem to have the same priorities.  She did not even really seem to understand how chess worked.



"Ma, it's not how many pieces you lose," I said. "Sometimes you need to lose pieces to get ahead."


"Better to lose less, see if you really need."


At the next tournament, I won again, but it was my mother who wore the triumphant grin.



Mother and daughter had bigger issues, though.  Waverly’s mother took pride in her success.  She believed that her daughter could win any tournament and beat anyone.  She enjoyed parading her around the neighborhood.  Yet she also pushed her to win “better” by losing fewer pieces.  Nothing could be good enough.


Waverly did not want to be her mother’s trophy.



But there was one duty I couldn't avoid. I had to accompany my mother on Saturday market days when I had no tournament to play. My mother would proudly walk with me, visiting many shops, buying very little. "This my daughter Wave-ly Jong," she said to whoever looked her way.



She finally got fed up and told her mother that she didn’t like to be paraded around like this.  Her mother was hurt, saying Waverly was ashamed of her.  Waverly and her mother didn’t have open communication.  She didn’t know how to tell her mother that she just wanted to enjoy playing chess, and she didn’t want to be her mother’s prodigy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

Discuss movements that were inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and list one success for each group.

African-Americans contributed in a very big way during World War II. These contributions were demonstrated at home and on the battlefield. After the war, African-Americans properly felt it was time for them to achieve equality with white Americans. During the 1950's, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born and it had a number of successes (integration of the military and Brown vs. Board of Education as examples.) This success inspired other activists to demand change... African-Americans contributed in a very big way during World War II. These contributions were demonstrated at home and on the battlefield. After the war, African-Americans properly felt it was time for them to achieve equality with white Americans. During the 1950's, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born and it had a number of successes (integration of the military and Brown vs. Board of Education as examples.) This success inspired other activists to demand change for their agendas. Two examples of moveme...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Martel's Life of Pi, how does writing a diary help Pi Patel build on his leadership skills?

At the end of chapter 73, Pi first divulges the fact that he had started a diary after about a week alone at sea. Pi claims that he wrote about "practical stuff" (208) such as what he caught for food, foreseeable problems and solutions, Richard Parker, and reflections about specific events that occurred. In a sense, Pi is the captain of his ship; therefore, he must take responsibility for himself and his crew. He can... At the end of chapter 73, Pi first divulges the fact that he had started a diary after about a week alone at sea. Pi claims that he wrote about "practical stuff" (208) such as what he caught for food, foreseeable problems and solutions, Richard Parker, and reflections about specific events that occurred. In a sense, Pi is the captain of his ship; therefore, he must take responsibility for himself and his crew. He can do this by writing down events, problems and solutions, and reflections to look back on when confronted with repeated problems. It can ...
Post a Comment
Read more