Rules of the Game

Waverly Jong, the narrator of this section, explains that she was six
years old 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 on Waverly Place in San
Francisco's Chinatown. The children delight in the sights, sounds,
and smells of Chinatown, the sweetness of the pasty red beans, the
pungent smell of the herbs doled out by old Li, and the sight of the
blood-slippery fish that the butcher guts with one deft slice.

Waverly's brother Vincent received a chess set at the Baptist Church

Christmas party. Waverly took to the game immediately, delighting in
its strategy. After her brothers lose interest in the game, Waverly
learns complex plays from Lau Po, an old man in the park: She
begins to win local tournaments. By her ninth birthday, Waverly is a
national chess champion. Her fame spreads; even Life magazine
runs an article on her success. Waverly is excused from her chores,
but there is one task she cannot escape: accompanying her mother
to market on Saturdays. Mrs. Jong delights in walking down the busy
street, boasting that Waverly is her daughter. One day, mortified by
what she perceives as exploitation, Waverly argues with her mother
and dashes off.
 Waverly and her mother struggle for control. Waverly thinks of her
mother as an adversary (opponent) : "I could see the yellow lights
shining from our flat like two tiger's eyes in the night," she says. To
Waverly, her mother is like a tiger, waiting to pounce (leap).
Predatory, the older woman can destroy with one swipe of her
powerful claws. Waverly clearly imagines herself the victim in their
struggle. When she reenters the apartment, she sees the "remains of
a large fish, its fleshy head still connected to bones swimming
upstream in vain escape." Waverly sees herself as the fish, stripped
clean by her mother's power, unable to break free.

Waverly, however, is young; she has not realized that as her mother
teaches her the "art of invisible strength," Mrs. Jong is equipping
Waverly with the very tools she needs to win the battles of life that
she will encounter when she grows up. The "art of invisible strength"
is self-control. Waverly likens it to the wind, invisible yet powerful
beyond belief. The wind can whip up fierce storms and flatten
(become flat) entire communities, yet leave no trace of its presence.
In its power and invisibility, it is the strongest of opponents. The
"strongest wind cannot be seen," Waverly's chess opponent tells her.
Like the human will, it cannot be seen or traced.

In another sense, the "art of invisible strength" represents female

power. Women who have been denied conventional paths to power
traditionally use their ability to persuade, to shape, and even to
control events. If a woman cannot sit in the boardroom, she can
shape events from her home.

The struggle for control between Waverly and her mother is

symbolized in the dreamlike chess game in the final page of the
section. Waverly's opponent in this game is "two angry black slits."
When Waverly confronts her mother during their shopping expedition,
Mrs. Jong's eyes turn into "dangerous black slits." In the final line of
the section, Waverly thinks, "I closed my eyes and pondered my next
move." Her mother has taught her to use her will to shape events.
She now knows that getting what she wants should not be left to fate;
rather, she herself can shape events to serve her purpose.
The theme of heritage is also an important element in this section.
Mrs. Jong takes great pride in being Chinese. She explains that
"Chinese people do many things. Chinese people do business, do
medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people. We do torture.
Best torture." Her joy in Waverly's accomplishments is evidence of
her great pride. Mrs. Jong delights in showing off her daughter to
everyone; Waverly is her legacy to the world. Mrs. Jong feels
responsible for her daughter's success. Waverly, on the other hand,
thinks that she has accomplished everything on her own. She does
not yet understand her mother's point of view.

Again, and again……………

The story is narrated by Waverly Jong, a Chinese American woman

who recounts her childhood as a young Chinese daughter of
immigrants growing up in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.
Jong is named after the street where she lived in a flat above a
Chinese bakery, but she is known as Meimei, meaning ‘Little Sister’.

When he explains the rules of a chess game to her, she asks

questions about it. She goes away and researches how the game
works. She learns that one must always have a sense of the
endgame when one begins playing a game, and that chess is a
‘game of secrets’ in which one must ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’.

However, Meimei dislikes the way her mother parades her around in
town and shows off her famous daughter. Meimei confronts her about
this, telling her mother that if she wants to show off, she should learn
to play chess herself. When her mother grows angry at this, Meimei
runs away through the streets. When she returns home, her mother
blanks her and turns the whole family against her. The story ends
with Meimei viewing her mother as her adversary, as though they are
playing a vast game of chess against each other, and Meimei dreams
of floating out of the window and escaping.

‘Rules of the Game’: analysis

Tan’s title, ‘Rules of the Game’, is cleverly double-edged, referring to

the ‘game’ of chess and its rules (which are explained by Vincent
when Meimei first begins playing it), but also suggesting the ‘game of
life’. By the end of the story, with Meimei plotting her next ‘move’
against her mother, the extended metaphor which runs through the
story – chess as a metaphor for life itself.

Yet this lesson is not one that is taught once and then done with.
When Meimei becomes a national sensation, her mother wishes to
parade her celebrated daughter around and show her off. That’s the
very opposite of ‘invisible’ strength. There’s a sense that she wants
her children not to have to be invisible in the first place, but to be
visible, successful, and integrated into American society through their
successful pursuit of ‘the American dream’.

Tan weaves examples of this power of invisibility through ‘Rules of

the Game’. Meimei recounts the time when a white tourist persuaded
her and other Chinese children to pose outside a Chinese restaurant
with a roast duck in shot in the window behind them.

‘Rules of the Game’ is about the conflict between two different

generations of Chinese women from the same family. It is also about
the clash between Chinese and American.

Meimei’s mother tells her daughter that the ‘American rules’ which
govern the children’s chess set require her daughter to find out how
to master those rules herself: going to a new country requires
learning a whole new set of rules, laws, and codes.

It is significant that when Meimei goes to visit the ‘Santa man’ who
gives the children their Christmas presents, she is aware of her two
different ages: she is seven years old according to the ‘American
formula’ but eight years old in the Chinese calendar. Even the ‘rules’
governing her age are different.
“Rules of the Game” Theme Analysis: Culture Clash
Waverly is an American born girl with a Chinese born mother. As
such, she feels the force of both cultural influences.

The earliest lesson she relates to us, “the art of invisible strength”, is
based on a Chinese proverb about a strong wind being unseen. Her
mother instructs her to hold her tongue. This is different from the
American way of asserting yourself that Waverly would be exposed to
elsewhere.

Every day starts with the smell of “fragrant red beans”, “fried sesame
balls”, and “sweet curried chicken crescents” from the Chinese
bakery.

Her family lives in Chinatown, so they’re surrounded by Chinese

shops, including one that deals in Chinese herbal cures—an
alternative to Western medical treatment. We also see a contrast to it
later when Waverly finds the chessmen to be “more powerful than old
Li’s magic herbs.” The fish market is full of live produce that is
prepped right in front of the customer, which is a contrast to the more
behind-the-scenes workings of an American shop.

When her mother critiques her play, Waverly is annoyed but can’t say
anything. This is a big contrast to her outburst while shopping. Her
annoyance has built up enough to overcome her “invisible strength”,
and make her feelings known. This point also fits into the culture
clash section.

After this outburst, Waverly is ignored by her family. They’re using

“invisible strength” on her, and she feels outmatched. She’s not yet
ready to assert her independence. This is represented by the fish on
the dinner table that was “swimming upstream in vain escape.”
Waverly’s outburst and subsequent flight were also in vain. She has
to return to her mother.
 “Rules of the Game” Analysis Questions
1. What is the significance of the title?

The literal meaning is obvious. Waverly has to learn the rules of the
game of chess. She also learns the figurative “rules”—strategies and
etiquette that allow her to succeed.

The other meaning is also made very clear. Waverly’s mother talks
about learning the American rules to succeed as an immigrant.
Waverly also learns the “rules” of balancing her cultures and dealing
with her mother. These are the “rules” of life.

2. Waverly’s mother uses both of her names in the story. What is the
significance of the change?

Her mother calls her Meimei, her Chinese name, most of the time.
The exception is on their Saturday market outings. She tells everyone
in earshot that this is her daughter “Wave-ly”. In public, she uses her
American name, the name the community knows her by, and the
name that’s associated with accomplishment. Her mother wants
some credit for Waverly’s achievement, so she can’t call her Meimei.
No one knows a chess champion by that name.

Rules of the Game Themes

TThe main themes in “Rules of the Game” are mother-daughter

relationships, secrets and silence, and the American dream.

 Mother-daughter relationships: The story charts the

complex relationship between Waverly and her mother,
Lindo, with the two coming into conflict over Waverly’s
success as a chess champion.
  Secrets and silence: Waverly is drawn to chess by the
secrets the game seems to hold, while she learns the art
of silence and “invisible strength” from Lindo.

 The American dream: Waverly’s chess career can be

seen as a fulfillment of the American dream of finding
opportunity and success in the United States.

Rules of the Game Characters

T The main characters in “Rules of the Game” are Waverly

Place Jong, Lindo Jong, and Lau Po.

 Waverly Place Jong is the story’s narrator and

protagonist. As an adult, she looks back on her childhood
in San Francisco’s Chinatown and her career as a chess
champion.

 Lindo Jong is Waverly’s mother, who immigrated to the

United States from China. Her pride in Waverly’s success
ultimately leads to conflict between the two.

 Lau Po is an elderly man who plays chess against

Waverly and teaches her everything he knows about the
game.
Quotes

 I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible

strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments,
respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us
knew it at the time, chess games.

 Waverly begins the story by crediting her mother, Lindo,

with teaching her “the art of invisible strength.” This is
Lindo’s “strategy” for navigating basically any and all
aspects of life. Though she originally instructs her
daughter to use this strength in everyday situations,
Waverly is later able to apply this skill set to chess. Lindo
advises her daughter to “Bite back [her] tongue,” or to
remain silent, which could be seen as a form of
obedience. However, the silence is only a strategy that
allows the subject to attack from an unknown, secretive
position. As Lindo says, “Strongest wind cannot be seen.”
Lindo’s advice to Waverly in this quotation becomes
ironic later in the story when both mother and daughter
attempt to use this skill to compete with one another.
“Neither of [them] knew” that Waverly would apply
invisible strength to chess, nor do they know that each
will attempt to use it against the other.

 I learned why it is essential in the endgame to have

foresight, a mathematical understanding of all possible
moves, and patience; all weakness and advantages
become evident to a strong adversary and are obscured
to a tiring opponent. I discovered that for the whole
game one must gather invisible strengths and see the
endgame before the game begins. . . . A little knowledge
withheld is a great advantage one should store for future
use. . . . It is a game of secrets in which one must show
and never tell.
 In this passage, Waverly talks about the elements of
chess that capture her attention and interest. She is
drawn to the strategy required of chess, and she
appreciates that she must plan ahead and “have
foresight.” This leads Waverly to spend time in her room
imagining potential matches and working out the best
moves to beat her opponent. She also seems to enjoy the
competitive nature of the game and the possibility that
she could best another person at it. Waverly describes
the “great advantage” that her mother taught her:
“invisible strength.” She can now use that early lesson to
win chess games; she can practice and strategize quietly
on her own, look unassuming, and silently and steadily
wear her opponent out. Waverly thinks of chess in terms
of “secrets” that she can know and keep from her
opponent. Her perspective that success in chess can be
built on “show[ing] and never tell[ing]” allows her to
apply her mother’s lessons on invisible strength and
channel them into chess victories.

 I went to school, then directly home to learn new chess

secrets, cleverly concealed advantages, more escape
routes. But I found it difficult to concentrate at home. My
mother had a habit of standing over me while I plotted
out my games. I think she thought of herself as my
protective ally.

 After her early experiences practicing chess on Waverly

Place, Waverly becomes more serious about strategy and
spends more time alone. She reads about chess and
imagines matches so that she can think through the
endgame and plan moves accordingly. Some of the same
wording that has recurred throughout the story is present
here as well, words like “secrets,” “advantages,” and
“escape routes.” She has one key disadvantage at home,
though: her mother’s meddling. Lindo has always seemed
to take a proprietary role over Waverly’s chess playing,
 overseeing her practice and bragging about her
daughter’s winnings in public, much to Waverly’s
embarrassment. Waverly feels..

[T]here was one duty I couldn’t avoid. I had to accompany my mother on Saturday
market days when I had no tournament to play. My mother would proudly walk
with me, visiting many stores, buying very little. . . . One day, after we left a shop I
said under my breath, “I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your
daughter.” My mother stopped walking. . . . “It’s just so obvious. It’s just so
embarrassing. . . . Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off,
then why don’t you learn to play chess?”
Waverly feels annoyed and embarrassed by Lindo’s bragging about Waverly’s
success for two reasons. First, Waverly knows that American culture views showing
off as unseemly. Second, Waverly feels like Lindo is trying to take credit for
Waverly’s accomplishment. As Lindo feels her own and Waverly’s identities are
tightly linked, she expects to be admired for Waverly’s talent. Waverly, however,
wants full and sole credit for her accomplishments in the American way.

I discovered that, really, my mother had changed. She no longer hovered over me as
I practiced different chess games. She did not polish my trophies every day. . . . It
was as if she had erected an invisible wall and I was secretly groping each day to see
how high and how wide it was. At my next tournament, while I had done well
overall, in the end the points were not enough. I lost. And what was worse, my
mother said nothing. She seemed to walk around with this satisfied look, as if it had
happened because she had devised this strategy.
Here, Waverly reflects on losing a chess tournament and what may have contributed
to her lackluster performance. When Waverly gets chicken pox, Lindo seems to
forget the fight they had over Lindo’s excessive involvement with Waverly’s chess.
But when Waverly goes back to chess, Lindo pulls back. While less attention was just
what Waverly wanted, Waverly suddenly struggles to win. She believes her mother
prevented her from winning via a secret strategy. In reality, Lindo probably liked
the idea that her support had helped Waverly win after all.

[S]he would say a word about something small, something she had noticed, and then
another word, and another, each one flung out like a little piece of sand, one from
this direction, another from behind, more and more, until his looks, his character,
his soul would have eroded away. And even if I recognized her strategy, her sneak
attack, I was afraid that some unseen speck of truth would fly into my eye, blur
what I was seeing and transform him from the divine man I thought he was into
someone quite mundane, mortally wounded with tiresome habits and irritating
imperfections.
Waverly fears her mother’s criticisms because she takes them seriously. What she
needs from her mother, but does not hope for, is a willingness to go easy on her
fiancé, Rich. The fact that Waverly can anticipate her mother’s criticisms of Rich
suggests that she herself sees his flaws. As mother and daughter are very much alike
in their high standards, Waverly must ignore Rich’s flaws in order to be happy with
him.

He saw all the private aspects of me—and I mean not just sexual private parts, but
my darker side, my meanness, my pettiness, my self-loathing—all the things I kept
hidden. So that with him I was completely naked, and when I was feeling the most
vulnerable—when the wrong word would have sent me flying out the door forever—
he always said exactly the right thing at the right moment. He didn’t allow me to
cover myself up.
Waverly explains what she loves about her fiancé, Rich. She reveals that despite her
clever, successful, and seemingly effortless appearance, inside she does have self-
doubt. The flaws she recognizes in herself include “meanness” and “pettiness.” Her
frenemy, June, would probably be surprised to learn that Waverly acknowledges
and dislikes those aspects of herself. Waverly has behaved in unkind ways to June
seemingly without any qualms. Unlike June and others, Rich sees and loves the real
Waverly.

“You mean you still go to that guy on Howard Street?” Waverly asked, arching one
eyebrow. “Aren’t you afraid? . . . I mean, he isgay. . . . He could have AIDS. And he
is cutting your hair, which is like cutting a living tissue. Maybe I’m being paranoid,
being a mother, but you just can’t be too safe these days. . . . You should go see my
guy . . . Mr. Rory. He does fabulous work, though he probably charges more than
you’re used to.”
Here, Waverly displays her skills for petty one-upmanship. A flattering comment
about June’s appearance serves as an opening to question her judgment, point out
her childlessness, and call into question her financial status. She also shows a
paranoid fear of AIDS, although at the time of the book’s writing, fewer people
understood how AIDS was transmitted. From June’s perspective, Waverly has not
changed since the two were children.

She looks in the mirror. She sees nothing wrong. “What do you mean? Nothing
happened. . . . It’s your nose. You gave me this nose. . . . Our nose isn’t so bad. . .. It
makes us look devious.” She looks pleased. “It means we’re looking one way, while
following another. We’re for one side and also the other. We mean what we say, but
our intentions are different. . .. They just know we’re two-faced. . .. This is good if
you get what you want.”
Lindo has noticed that she and Waverly share the same nose. Lindo had thought she
damaged her nose in a bus accident, and she does not like the look on Waverly, but
Waverly thinks the feature was inherited and likes her nose. Suggesting that the
nose looks devious shows Waverly’s lack of interest in conventional “goodness.” She
feels proud of her own, and her mother’s, ruthless nature. Perhaps character, rather
than an accident, changed Lindo’s nose over time.

“Bite back your Tongue”

(Waverly Jong’s Mother, “Rules of The Game”)

The narrator’s mother admonishes the narrator with the statement “Bite Your
Tongue” when the narrator depicts imprudent mannerisms such as crying for
plums. The statement is typical of operant conditioning; the narrator’s mother uses
the conditioning to impart “invisible strength” in her daughter which enables her to
restrain herself from adverse behaviors.

“The chessboard seemed to hold elaborate secrets waiting to be

untangled. The chessmen were more powerful than old Li's magic
herbs that cured ancestral curses.”

( Waverly Place Jong, Rules of the Game”)

This quote offers Waverly Jong Place’s assessment of chess. According to Jong, Chess
is sophisticated and compelling. She is drawn into chess from the day that Vincent
brings the chess set home, that is why she maintains that her brothers allow to learn
and compete with them.

“Why must you always ask stupid questions?..This is a game. These

are the rules. I didn't make them up. See. Here in the book."

(Vincent, “Rules of the Game”)

Waverly Jong Place’s inquisitiveness about the rules that govern chess infuriates her
brother Vincent. A. This means that Vincent has a fixed mind-set whereby he thinks
that following all the rules that are outlined in the guidebook without questioning
them is a manifestation of astuteness.

“I learned why it is essential in the endgame to have foresight, a

mathematical understanding of all possible moves, and patience; all
weaknesses and advantages become evident to a strong adversary
and are obscured to a tiring opponent. I discovered that for the whole
game one must gather invisible strengths and see the endgame before
the game begins.”

(Waverly Jong, “Rules of the Game”)

The chess game necessitates logical reasoning and fortitude. Waverly Jong Place
discerns the top-secret to being an efficacious chess player by conducting a research
which solves all the queries that she has about the chess game. She does not put
your faith on what her brother say about the game and the guidelines in the
guidebook. She goes the extra mile of unearthing keystones of the chess game
independently. Waverly Jong Place’s methodology of learning chess portrays
acumen.