Rules of the Game - Paper 1

Grace Shi
English 2305
March 2, 2008

Rules of the Game

One of the most important things a person can represent a name for would be their heritage. When people are able to dedicate pieces of art or works of writing to their heritage, one can truly admire another’s culture for what it really is. An example of such tribute to a culture can be found in Amy Tan’s short story, “Rules of the Game”. She incorporates her Chinese heritage into the characters, the setting, and the themes of the story. Tan uses exquisite methods in her style of writing to portray these exact topics.

The main characters of the story are a girl by the name of Waverly Place Jong and her mother, who raises a traditional Chinese family and thus are reflected in the values that the daughter learns from her mother in different situations in their life. Minor characters include the people that the mother and daughter both interact with and the son of the family, who is Waverly’s older brother Vincent. Amy Tan uses creative writing skills to portray these characters as those that one can imagine vividly. She uses great diction to portray the culture and lifestyle of a Chinese family and she includes the vernacular of a Chinese immigrant who doesn’t speak English very well in the mother of the family’s dialog. The reader can tell that the children of the family are first-born Chinese Americans from Chinese immigrant parents by the dialog portrayed in the story. The grammar that Waverly uses is quite clearly better than her mother’s grammar. The amusing thing about the mother’s dialog is that it is a quite accurate in the depiction of a Chinese immigrant. Amy Tan also includes descriptions of mannerisms that also strike a familiar chord in a reader who has either witnessed such behaviors. Waverly’s mother character has many traditional mannerisms that often replicate the more obviously known behaviors that a Chinese woman would exhibit. Tan’s style of writing also allows the reader to distinguish just about how old Waverly is, although her age is already mentioned in the first sentence of the story. The words that Tan has Waverly use indicates the young mind of child and the inquisitive nature that Waverly provides also is used as an indicator of her young age.

Amy Tan also includes many descriptions in the settings throughout the whole story. She incorporates city names with ease into the story in the narrator’s words while describing general information about the character’s lifestyle. By stating that they lived in “San Francisco's Chinatown”, one can already imagine the Chinese majority population in the near area of the family’s home. She includes traditional Chinese sweets and foods that most likely the reader, if not familiar with the culture, will find strange, such as “salted plums” or “dim sum”. The imagery used in describing the setting paints a picture in the reader’s mind that encourages the further imagination. The chaotic and bustling atmosphere of the market is brought to life with Tan’s literary usage. She includes many specific details with regards to Chinese traditions, sayings, and objects in creating the story line. The narrator is sure to include objects of Chinese culture such as the red jade that Waverly’s mother gave to her for luck, bone chopsticks that the family uses to eat with, and the rice itself that the family eats for dinner. Also included in the narrator’s descriptions are the less than commonly heard Chinese style foods that are heard yelled across the marketplace.

In the Chinese culture, respect for one’s parents is valued much more than the obvious respect that parents already deserve. One theme of the story that is recurring throughout the story is the relationship between daughter and mother and its hardships that come along with the good. Waverly’s mother comes off to the reader as one who is strict and wise. She possesses an atmosphere that is intimidating to Waverly and is capable of annoying her children with her know-it-all comments and assertions just like any other parent is. Waverly expresses this annoyance when she gives the example of how her mother shows her off to everybody when they go to the market on Saturday. She lets this annoyance get to her mind and eventually blows up at her mother, although she does this unintentionally. With this act of anger, the respect issue is highlighted as Waverly’s mother is in turn upset by her daughter’s rude reaction and words. She responds in a dangerously calm manner that automatically lets the reader, as well as Waverly herself, know that she is in extreme trouble. Tan reveals Waverly’s mother’s wise side with the strange, off-the-wall philosophical comments that seem to only make sense in her own mind. She repeats one quote throughout the short story, “Strongest wind cannot be seen”, which is in itself extremely profound. In this quote, she refers to the “invisible strength” that she successfully teaches Waverly throughout the story.

Amy Tan does an excellent job at bundling together the Chinese culture with literary techinques found within the characterizations of individual characters, the settings of the multiple scenes that the story occurs in, and the outlying theme of mother-daughter relationships having to do with respect. She uses delightful imagery, creative diction, and the multiple literary techniques she includes within descriptions to accentuate and acknowledge the Chinese culture. Out of any method of tribute, Tan selects a great way to show off her talent in the means of writing plenty of stories with regards to her Chinese heritage. She does an excellent job at allowing the reader a glimpse into the mindset and the experiences of a Chinese American young girl and in result, create a wonderful story full of culture and humor combined.