Amy Tan; Conflict between Origins

The short story “Rules of the Game” from the book The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan, is the story of a 8-year-old Chinese American girl named Waverly Jong who lives in San Fransisco's China Town. The chess game appears for her as a true revelation as she begins to play. As Waverly begins to win more and more tournaments, her Chinese heritage moves aside for the American culture. In this story, the symbolism, the setting and the conflict between Waverly and her mother, Lindo Jong, illustrates the distress of Waverly who is torn between Chinese and American origins.

In “Rules of the Game”, the symbolism has an important role in the separation of Waverly between Chinese and American origins. The first symbol appears from the beginning of the story. Lindo teaches Waverly the “art of invisible strength” (Tan 89) and explains her that it is “a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games” (Tan 89). In fact, when Waverly asks for a bag of plums, Lindo tells her daughter “Bite back your tongue” (Tan 89). The next week, Waverly does not say a word and her mother, at the end of the shopping, gives her a bag of plums. As Convintree explains, “this silence could be perceived as a very passive act, but her [Waverly's] mother teaches her that silence can still be very intentional and in fact enact positive change” (269). In addition, another symbolism is the chess game, which is also the most important element of the story. At the first view, the chess game represents the American part of Waverly because it is an American game. However, “the game of chess also takes on a mythical quality reminiscent of Waverly's Chinese heritage” (Galens, ed. 260). Effectively, Waverly uses the art of invisible strength to win the chess tournaments. In fact, the game of chess represents the conflict between American and Chinese Origins. When Vincent,