Rules of the Game

Ashley Esteva

GSR102

Rules of the Game

            I think this is a very relatable story for children who grew up in immigrant or multicultural homes. When Amy Tan describes this story she shows how she grew up and how her life was. Her mother tried to bestow upon her the knowledge she needed and the social skills that would help her through out her life as well as the discipline she would need to keep herself focused. I think it is very poignant to that she explained that she never knew she was poor. I feel many young children do not understand if they are poor or not. When one is so young we sometimes assume everyone else lives like this. Growing up I moved around a lot because my father was in the navy and we did not always live in the best neighborhood or have adequate housing. However, I never understood why I only got hand-me-down clothing and never new clothes. I never understood why my mom was always so cautious about what she made and how much of it she made. Not to say that I ever went hungry, that is not true, but I did not always have a snack when I got home or some times for dinner we would have soup or rice or pasta for a week or two straight. Just like the character Waverly Jong she did not understand her circumstances until she was much older. I really was surprised to see how much Waverly became enthralled in the game of chess. Her brothers got the set as a Christmas present from a local church. She immediately became so absorbed in it and wanted to learn all of the ins and outs of the game so well that she could beat anyone. She kept her focus strong and was a gracious victor. However I start to notice how she starts to loose her temper with her mother. Her mother starts to hover and tries to have her “loose” less chess pieces during her matches. I think Waverly is trying to get out of her family’s shadow more specifically her mothers shadow. I was quite surprised though when Waverly snapped at her mother telling her basically to stop bragging about her because it was embarrassing her. It’s sometimes hard to tell a parent that their actions in regards to you make you uncomfortable. Sometimes it unintentionally hurts their feeling and then once it is said you have to recoil and try to figure out how to recover from the mistakes you have made. At the end of the story that’s what Waverly finds herself needing to do, recover from her actions.