In Amy Tan's short story "Rules of the Game," Waverly, the
daughter of Chinese immigrants, uses chess to subvert her parents' traditional ideas.
Her mother wants her to be quiet and traditionally Chinese. Her mother tells her the
"strongest wind cannot be seen," meaning that Waverly should not complain or make her
needs overtly known. Waverly, who has several brothers and is the only girl in the
family, uses chess as a way to avoid the usual tasks and role that would fall to her as
a girl. After she wins a tournament, she no longer has to do the dishes. When her
brother complains, her mother says, "Is new American rules." In other words, by using
chess, Waverly feels like she can subvert her mother's Chinese rules and live by
American rules.
However, Waverly feels like her mother is
taking over her glory. She gets angry with her mother for always telling people that
Waverly is her daughter, and the mother reacts by ignoring her. When Waverly closes her
eyes, she visualizes her mother as her opponent. Waverly's conflict with her mother is
that she wants to use chess to define herself as an American and as the type of girl who
has freedom. Her mother, on the other hand, wants Waverly's chess success to be part of
her family's glory. In a traditional Chinese way, she thinks her daughter's chess
victories are not just about Waverly but about the whole family. The idea of
individuality versus family commitment is at the center of the mother-daughter
conflict.
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