Analysis Of Amy Tan's Rules Of The Game And The Road

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Should successful parents give up everything, including their happiness for their children? Some parents do this way, but the answer should be no because it is human nature to love their children, but it is inevitable for people to spoil their children. In Amy Tan’s Rules of the Game, it tells the story between a traditional Chinese mother from rural China who emigrated to the United States around 1950s and a daughter who grew up in the United States. Tan describes in detail the way the mother educates her daughter Waverly as an oriental female. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is also telling a story about a parent and his child, and it reflects how a father teaches and takes meticulous care of his son in a harsh and dangerous environment. Both …show more content…

In Rules of the Game, Mother never revealed her own opinion to Waverly directly. Waverly grew up in the United States, and she also represents the western culture’s conflict with eastern culture, which is the mother. The mother affected Waverly with Chinese thinking, and Waverly understands the meaning when she plays chess. Therefore, the mother’s teaching can affect Waverly for a long term. Maybe when Waverly becomes an adult, she can combine two different cultures and realize her mother’s love. It is also like the words in the story, “strongest wind cannot be seen” (Tan, 1490). The mother has a stronger inner world, so she teaches her daughter by invisible strength. However, in The Road, the father did everything for his son, even though something should be done by his mother. McCarthy uses a lot of words to describe the father’s behavior and the attitude from his son at the same time, but the story does not describe the son’s behavior for their survival. The father has too much ego of educating his son and ignoring his son’s thinking. According to both stories, the influence from parents can be positive and negative. As successful parents, they should not only educate their children with knowledge, but also give more practical

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