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Invisible Strength In Amy Tan's Rules Of The Game

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“If I lost, I would bring shame on my family.” Could you imagine the pressure from family to succeed in a whole new country? The pressure of adapting and learning a whole new culture can take its toll on a person. In “Rules of The Game,” A young Chinese girl is trying to find self-determination from her family. Waverly and her mother have differences in culture and how they live. She leans more towards the American lifestyle as her mother takes pride in being Chinese. At the age of six, Waverly’s learns the key strategy to winning arguments as well as showing respect to others from her mother teaching her the “art of invisible strength." She uses this strategy to take arguments, gain respect from others and to win at the game of chess. Amy Tan ironically uses the skills of playing chess to demonstrate how Waverly learns the game of life. Waverly’s mother has taught her a lesson even though they don’t see eye to eye on things. When they were at a store, she decided to test her ability of art of invisible strength. Waverly …show more content…

Her mother says, “Is shame you fall down nobody push you.” Meaning Waverly can't blame anyone for her lack of success but herself. Choosing between American and Chinese culture causes Waverly to feel lost in life her way of life. The Chinese cultural values her mother tries to teach clashes with her new American lifestyle. Their tradition only allows an obedient child to live in the household. They will not tolerate misbehavior. Every member in the Chinese family is responsible to take on the honor of the cultural tradition. The American culture focuses more on being independent and one’s own values rather than taking on family legacy. Waverly’s American lifestyle leads her to not having her family’s support towards her winning in chess games. Her disobedient behavior makes her lose faith in which she gained from her mother’s Chinese

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However, this was not done in Waverly’s favor. Waverly felt as if the attention was unnecessary, and that her mom was very selfish to use Waverly’s fame to improve the impression that other people had of her. The mother put all the focus on herself, as

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In “Rules of the Game,” the author directs her focus on the strained relationship between an immigrant mother and her daughter born in America but of intense Chinese background. The narrator, Waverly Jong describes her encounter at the marketplace with her mom; who taught her the art of invincible strength. She explains how her mother termed it as a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others stating that the strongest wind never meets the eye. This lesson proves pivotal in Jong’s spectacular chess expeditions that saw her crowned national champion as well as defined the latter`s relationship with her mother, whom she often saw as an opponent. Jong becomes entrapped in her conflicting environments, forcing her to adjust accordingly to both her physical and social environment.

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When Waverly first met Lau Po, she lost many games but did not give up. “I lost many games and many Life Savers”. This quote explains how towards the beginning of Waverly’s chess journey, she kept on losing games over and over. Therefore, Waverly thought that she could never get better at this point in the story. She did not realize that each time she lost she got better and learned from her losses.

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She credits her success to her mother’s lesson of the power of invisible strength. She recounts how “my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games.” (p. 89) Waverly goes on to have a lucrative career as an attorney, while her mother 's power over her gradually wanes reminiscent of the Taitai’s power over Lindo.

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“Rules of The Game” by Amy Tan divulges into the story of young Chinese-American girl Waverly Place Jong, named after the street that she lives on in San Francisco’s Chinatown. In her small two-bedroom flat, she lives with her two brothers Vincent and Winston, along with her very traditional Chinese mother. Raised under the strict influence of her mother, Waverly grows up under the impression that success and honoring your family are the two most important concepts in life. With these beliefs instilled in her, she puts forward her best effort into everything-- whether it’s her talent for chess or placating her mother. This becomes evident throughout the story in terms of what Waverly’s character reveals.

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In the story “ Rules Of The Game” by Amy Tan, Waverly’s mother teaches her invisible strength, and invisible strength means that you have lots of strength inside but u never show it. For example the story says, “ I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength”. This shows that she can make it through everything she can think of because she has invisible strength but never shows it, and that is a good thing. This is important because if she never has invisible strength she would never win any chess matches. In summery, Waverly has invisible strength because she wins a lot, but she never shows it in front of her opponents, and that is a good thing because if she does she can be easily defeated like her opponents can find ways

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She takes pride in her Chinese ethnicity, acting as a role model for her child. Waverly not only learns to have confidence in her culture, but gender as well. Later in the story, a male opponent looks down on her because she is a female. However, she does not let that discourage her, and is triumphant at the end of the game- thanks to her mother’s advice. Waverly’s successes are possible because of the one who gave birth to

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