Rules Of The Game By Amy Tan Essay

Words: 654
Pages: 3

American culture is not always something to be loved by people of foreign countries. There are people who see it as something to forbid, avoid, and misunderstand. “The Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan reveals a young girl of Chinese origin, Waverly, living in California. In the story, the girl’s mother is strict about the ways of Chinese tradition and teaches her the importance of not being involved in American styles so much. She also teaches her the importance of “invisible strength,” which is the belief that keeping arguments to oneself is the best way to defeat an opponent because as the mother says, “the strongest wind cannot be seen, (Tan, page1).” Waverly comes to a point where she is stuck between choosing between her own traditions and the American lifestyle and is in a mental fight with her mother. Towards the end of the …show more content…
She no longer had the support she had before from her family and she was “alone,” (Tan, page 8). This was one thing the girl lacked. Because of her lack of support, she was light and could have easily been defeated. She even said, “I felt myself growing light...until everything below me disappeared and I was alone,” (Tan, page 8). After running away, the girl has learned why it was important to respect her family and this was essentially how Waverly’s mom was showing her that she can’t win without her family there with her. Another evidence is, “Opposite me was my opponent, two angry black sits… her black man advanced across the plane slowly marching to each seclusive level as a single unit. My white pieces screamed at this curried and fell off the board one by one, (Tan, page 8).” The girl was nervous and was in a huge dilemma. She didn't know what she was doing because of the anger that was inside her. Because of this she had already lost most of the battle and there wasn't much of her left that could possibly win her