The Importance Of Waverly's Mother In The Rules Of The Game

As the short story “The Rules of the Game” progresses, Waverly Place Jong’s mother begins to become an overbearing obsessive parent because she didn’t have much as a child and needs to feel powerful by living through Waverly’s success. At the beginning of the text, Waverly’s mother treated her kids equally when Waverly is referencing the lesson of biting her tongue on a shopping trip she went on with her mother, and Waverly mentions, “My mother imparted her daily truths so she could help my older brothers and me” (Tan 1). Because of this statement, it becomes clear that Waverly’s mother pushed to give her kids the luxuries she didn’t have growing up in China, which is important to understanding the need for power because she wants her children to accomplish the things she

As the short essay continues, however, Waverly’s mother stops treating her kids equally when Waverly starts winning all of her chess tournaments, and her mother then forces Waverly’s brothers to do the dishes so Waverly can focus on chess to which her mother says, “ ‘Meimei play, squeeze all her brains out for win chess. You play, worth squeeze towel’ ”(Tan 6). This statement suggests that the real reason for the change is that Waverly’s mother begins to realize Waverly’s chess abilities will take them further in life than her brothers because through Waverly’s success, Waverly’s mother will gain more power in society by taking pride in the idea of her raising a child prodigy. The equality change from wanting success for all her kids to only focusing on Waverly’s success helps us to better understand the author’s implicit message that when people seek power they must understand how to wield that strength so it isn't