“Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan Essay

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Introduction

The book “Rules of the game” is by Amy Tan an Asian-American writer. The book was enthused after the author’s trip to China when she met her half-sisters. The story is narration by young girl, Waverly who later turned out to be a prominent chess player. Waverly lived at Waverly Street (the origin of her name) with her brothers and mother. Mrs. Jong, Waverly’s mother, teaches her the “art of invincible strength”. It is one of the tools given to Waverly by her mother in order to live a better life in future as compared to their poor state of living they had. She does not want her children to notice their poor for that reason she does her best to provide them with a three to five meals a day just like the other children get.

The opening page of the story basically explains the rules of the “game” and the strength of a woman, as we see Waverly (a female), rising above many boys and men beating them in chess and winning various tournaments. She does that by learning and following the rules of the “game”. The opening page generally shows the life of the young girl who at the end of the book the reader expects a success story of the narrator.

Explication of “Rules of the game”

At the beginning of the book “Rules of the game” Waverly who’s the narrator has a rather good relationship with her mother. Her mother Mrs. Jong is quite supportive of her daughter’s chess playing. She teaches her the “art of invisible strength”, which is tool that Waverly could use in her later life. Primarily the book speaks about the rules of a chess game which the narrator, Waverly masters with amazing skill. During her training her mother provides her with ample space by giving her the room she shared with her brothers to herself. The open page shows the struggle of a young girl to fame. A reader expects a success story at the end given that no hard work goes unrewarded. She learns everything she requires to win any chess game and at the age of eight she gains success and fame in the game. At a tender age she manages to major to achieve a lot in her life.

Self-control which her mother refers to as the “art of invincible strength” is taught to Waverly by her mother. Waverly compares it to the wind which is invincible yet extremely influential. Despite its invisibility it could flatten an entire community; hence making it the most powerful. On the other hand the “art of invisible strength” could refer to the strength of a woman. Women are believed to be the weaker and for that reason some are denied conventional paths to leadership. In such cases women could use their persuasive abilities to control and mold events. Through their men women can influence decisions made in boardroom meetings. In that case women are invincible yet very influential; thus the line “The woman behind the man”

Conclusion

Generally, the opening page of Tan’s book “The rules of the game” talks about her daughter’s success in chess, but on the other hand it describes life and its rules. By following the rules in life one can achieve whatever goals he/she has in life just like Waverly achieves her dream of becoming a master of chess. Despite life rules being ever-changing one could still learn the basic rules and apply them to beat one’s challenges in life. One can also learn from other people’s experiences just Waverly learns from her opponents like Old Lau Po from the park.

Works Cited

Tan, Amy. Rules of the Game. New York: Gale, 2010. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2021, December 18). "Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rules-of-the-game-by-amy-tan/

Work Cited

""Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan." IvyPanda, 18 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/rules-of-the-game-by-amy-tan/.

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IvyPanda. (2021) '"Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan'. 18 December.

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IvyPanda. 2021. ""Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rules-of-the-game-by-amy-tan/.

1. IvyPanda. ""Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rules-of-the-game-by-amy-tan/.


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IvyPanda. ""Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rules-of-the-game-by-amy-tan/.

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