Short Story Rules Of The Game
In the short story “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan, Waverly Jong, the narrator, explains that she was a child when her mother taught her "the art of invisible strength," a strategy for winning arguments and gaining respect from others in games. Waverly and her two brothers live in San Francisco's Chinatown. When Waverly's brother Vincent receives a chess set at the church Christmas party, Waverly quickly becomes interested in the game of chess. She begins to win local tournaments and becomes a national chess champion. Waverly usually accompanies her mother to the market on Saturdays and Mrs. Jong enjoys walking down the busy street, boasting that Waverly is her daughter. One day, Waverly becomes embarrassed and feels used by her mother. Waverly
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Although power itself is immaculate and invisible, the effects of power come alive in a mother-daughter struggle, a male-female tug-of-war, a conflict between Asian and American values in an immigrant family, and the opposition between black and white in a chess game. Throughout this story (and various other stories from the Modern Voices unit), a theme that is evident is one surrounding female empowerment. There were many instances in the story when the theme of female empowerment could be seen, but a specific example in the story is when Waverly is describing how why won multiple chess tournaments and became famous, “They ran a photo of me in Life magazine next to a quote in which Bobby Fischer said, ‘There will never be a woman grand master.’ ‘Your move, Bobby,’ said the caption.” This shows how Waverly (a female) is challenging a man’s statement about chess, which was primarily a man’s game. By winning many tournaments, Waverly is showing the world that women are as strong as men (if not stronger) and supports women in their ongoing struggle for equality with men. This theme can also be depicted through a work of art with various elements that contribute to a greater understanding of the theme. Through this analysis, three elements of a work of art (created by the author of this analysis) will be discussed: the queen (chess piece), the red color of the queen, and the black and white checkerboard
Although power itself is immaculate and invisible, the effects of power come alive in a mother-daughter struggle, a male-female tug-of-war, a conflict between Asian and American values in an immigrant family, and the opposition between black and white in a chess game. Throughout this story (and various other stories from the Modern Voices unit), a theme that is evident is one surrounding female empowerment. There were many instances in the story when the theme of female empowerment could be seen, but a specific example in the story is when Waverly is describing how why won multiple chess tournaments and became famous, “They ran a photo of me in Life magazine next to a quote in which Bobby Fischer said, ‘There will never be a woman grand master.’ ‘Your move, Bobby,’ said the caption.” This shows how Waverly (a female) is challenging a man’s statement about chess, which was primarily a man’s game. By winning many tournaments, Waverly is showing the world that women are as strong as men (if not stronger) and supports women in their ongoing struggle for equality with men. This theme can also be depicted through a work of art with various elements that contribute to a greater understanding of the theme. Through this analysis, three elements of a work of art (created by the author of this analysis) will be discussed: the queen (chess piece), the red color of the queen, and the black and white checkerboard