“Anyone can have a child and call themselves a parent. A real parent is someone who puts that child above their own selfish needs and want.” – unknown. “Rules of the Game,” a short story crafted by Amy Tan, depicts a conflict between mother and daughter. Waverly, a young female chess prodigy, lives in San Francisco’s Chinatown with her family. As Waverly develops into a great chess player, the pressure and control of her mother becomes too much to handle. Waverly’s mother has a mentally abusive relationship with her daughter. The Mother fails to give Waverly room to grow and she puts an unhealthy amount of pressure on such a young girl.
The Mother is very critical of the strategy that Waverly uses to defeat her opponents. When Waverly
…show more content…
wins her first chess tournament, her mother’s first words are, “Next time win more, lose less.” Despite the fact that this is Waverly’s first victory, her mother is still not satisfied. Moreover, the Mother is actually displeased with Waverly’s performance and expects her to do much better the next time she plays. Waverly is very frustrated by her mother’s comments and she is confused on what she has to do to please her mother. “The controlling mother doesn’t acknowledge her daughter any more than the dismissive one does. These mothers micromanage their daughters, actively refuse to acknowledge the validity of their words or choices, and instill a sense of insecurity and helplessness in their offspring” (Streep). Waverly’s mother refuses to acknowledge and recognize the success of her daughter. Therefore, Waverly develops insecurities with herself and she becomes very irritated with her mother. The Mother’s dissatisfaction with Waverly’s success places a lot of pressure on Waverly and provides an unhealthy atmosphere for Waverly to live in. Waverly’s mother enjoys twisting the success of her daughter and treating it as a victory of her own. When Waverly wins her second consecutive tournament, the Mother begins to enjoy the victories. Waverly says, “At the next tournament, I won again, but it was my mother who wore the triumphant grin.” The Mother is still unimpressed by the Waverly’s chess playing, although she smiles to take in the feeling of victory. After the tournament, Waverly is annoyed and saddened, because her mother will not compliment her on winning. “When parents become intrusive in their children’s lives, it may signal to the children that what they do is never good enough…As a result, the child may become afraid of making the slightest mistake and will blame himself or herself for not being perfect” (Anderson). Waverly is beginning to realize that it does not matter how well she performs, because nothing will ever be good enough for her mother. Even if she does win with perfection, the glory of perfection will all be absorbed by her mother. The Mother’s twisting of Waverly’s victories into her own triumphant, is sending a very dark and depressing message to Waverly. The only time Waverly’s mother recognizes her is when they are in a public setting, and other people are there to listen.
The Mother walks through the city streets boisterously proclaiming that her daughter is a chess champion. She says, “This is my daughter Waverly-ly Jong.” Waverly quickly informs her mother that she is uncomfortable with her bragging to everyone. Despite the fact that Waverly is embarrassed, her mother does not care about how Waverly feels. Waverly finally snaps, when she says, “I knew it was a mistake to say anything more, but I heard my voice speaking, ‘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 understands that she is being used by her mother. She feels as if she is an animal in a zoo, who is behind a glass window, and out in display for all to see. For the first time Waverly is able to express how she feels about her mother’s control and mental abuse. Furthermore, Waverly insists that her mother is going to have to learn to play chess herself, if she wants all the attention. This climatic scene should be followed with a happy-ending; a moment of mother and daughter bonding, although the contrary occurs. The Mother is certainly not going to allow Waverly to insult her by expressing her opinion. Regardless of how upset Waverly is, the Mother will not stop publically proclaiming Waverly’s greatness. The Mother needs the attention of other people, “Most studies will show that mothers and fathers hell-bent on this image of perfection desperately need the world to take note of their kids’ awesomeness. It’s a way of saying, see, my kids are great. Therefore, I am great. Look at me. See? I’m a great parent. Really, I am” (Gault). Waverly’s mother desperately desires to be seen as successful and perfect. Announcing to everyone in the city that Waverly is a chess champion is her way of calling attention to herself. The only time Waverly gets the slightest
recognition from her mother, is when she is in an open and pubic setting. Furthermore, this recognition is embarrassing to Waverly, and is a pretentious way the Mother attempts to better her reputation. When Waverly runs away from home because she is so upset with her mother, her mother wants nothing to do with her. Eventually, Waverly makes it back to her home, and the Mother is not relieved that her daughter has returned. Instead, the Mother says, “We not concerning this girl. This girl not concerning for us.” A truly loving mother would embrace their child and show compassion and love toward them. Nonetheless, the Mother acts coldly and neglects to ask her daughter about how she is doing. Waverly clearly is going through a difficult period time in her life and she needs someone caring, and she needs a mother that listens to her. Waverly says, “I walked into my room, closed the door, and lay down on my bed. The Room was dark, the ceiling filled with shadows from the dinner time lights of neighboring flats.” After running away from her mother and running away from home, Waverly retreats to her quiet, dark, and gloomy bedroom. The Mother’s lack of attention to her daughter creates a very unhealthy mother and daughter relationship. “Many neglected children never learn important basics of healthy, trusting, and loving relationships, increasing the likelihood that they'll struggle with relationships of all kinds later in life (Vardigan). Waverly is not learning the basics of a healthy relationship. By neglecting Waverly’s feelings and emotions, the Mother is causing serious mental damage to Waverly. Waverly’s potential as an incredible chess player is squashed by the exceedingly high expectations and strictness that her mother places on her. At the end of the story, Waverly is lost in her own imagination, as she ponders chess, her future, and her relationship with her mother. She says, “Opposite me was my opponent two angry black slits. She wore a triumphant smile… My white pieces screamed as they hurled off the board one by one. As her men drew closer to my edge, I felt myself growing light. I rose up into the air and flew out the window.” Once again Waverly is playing chess, although this time she is playing against her mother. This chess match is taking place in Waverly’s head and she feels as if she cannot win. Waverly’s mother is too powerful and she is crushing Waverly in her dream. Waverly is overwhelmed, and she dreams of flying away and escaping everything. The pressure and constraints placed on Waverly have made her resent playing chess. Therefore, the potential that Waverly has in playing chess is destroyed by her mother. The Mother is very critical of the strategy that Waverly uses to defeat her opponents. Regardless, of how well Waverly performs, her mother will never compliment her daughter. Waverly’s mother enjoys twisting the success of her daughter and treating it as a victory of her own. The only time Waverly’s mother recognizes her is when they are in a public setting, and other people are there to listen. When Waverly runs away from home because she is so upset with her mother, her mother wants nothing to do with her. Waverly’s potential as an incredible chess player is squashed by the exceedingly high expectations and strictness that her mother places on her. If Waverly’s mother is a caring mother, then she should place Waverly above her own selfish needs and wants. However, Waverly’s mother is a self-interested and narrow-minded parent who creates an abusive relationship with her daughter.
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke can be interpreted in a few different ways. The most obvious one being that he was dancing around with his father, having so much fun that he did not want to stop. His father is very drunk though, which leads us to believe that it is no just a fun story of him and his father dancing one night. What Roethke is really trying to show us, is the abusive relationship he had with his father.
The adults and the children share the fact that they both play games, but a difference also exists between them. The children enact their entertainment, knowing that the games could get violent, but in the end, when the games are over, all the players are able to return home. On the other hand, the adults play their adult games, hurting anyone who does not play by the given rules, and not everyone is fortunate enough to return home. The children pretend to be violent at times, but the adults actually are violent. As the children move through the novel, they use these games to develop from their innocence to a level of experience by actualizing the realities of their games through the lives of the adults.
Throughout Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club, the reader can see the difficulites in the mother-daughter relationships. The mothers came to America from China hoping to give their daughters better lives than what they had. In China, women were “to be obedient, to honor one’s parents, one’s husband, and to try to please him and his family,” (Chinese-American Women in American Culture). They were not expected to have their own will and to make their own way through life. These mothers did not want this for their children so they thought that in America “nobody [would] say her worth [was] measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch…nobody [would] look down on her…” (3). To represent everything that was hoped for in their daughters, the mothers wanted them to have a “swan- a creature that became more than what was hoped for,” (3). This swan was all of the mothers’ good intentions. However, when they got to America, the swan was taken away and all she had left was one feather.
The major themes related directly to the entire context of the story. The formidable mother-daughter conflict going on throughout the story exposed the clash of their cultural roots. The conflict showed the theme where the mother does not understand the game of chess and does not accept Waverly playing it. Also, it showed it when Waverly felt embarrassed by her mother using her as a trophy metaphorically. Another theme is the symbolic games of chess that Waverly played. Without the use of symbolism the story would have lost a major impact on the plotline. Also, Amy Tan used setting to her advantage to fully show the tone of the story and created a scene of emotion. Its major theme of mother-daughter relationship made it possible for young children to relate the short story to their own
The author explains father and daughter bond. The girl is eleven years old, and her father teaches her chess on this age because his father taught him when he became the same age as the girl. He thinks he knows a lot bout chess, so he wants his daughter to become a good player like him. The girl spends most of her free time with her daddy playing chess, and she tells her
In society, both past and present, there has been a history of domestic violence within marriages or relationships. Nowadays, in most cases if someone is abused by either a spouse or a partner, there are people that you would be able to reach out to for help, such as: family, law enforcement, and even support groups. Just imagine how it was for someone being physically, mentally, or even verbally abused back in the late 1800s or early 1900s and being totally defenseless; not having anyone to turn to in your time of need. In those days, it was rare for a woman to seek out for help or even leave her spouse after several occasions of being abused. Most people did not intervene in a family's personal life or some people just did not care. Young girls would be married off once they hit a certain age and sometimes never returned to their families. Celie is abused numerous of times and the only people who come to her
Waverly's family is below the poverty level. They live in a flat above a pastry shop in Chinatown, and the Christmas presents she received are from people just giving old possessions away. The chess set that her two brothers receives is even missing two pieces. Waverly's mother first shows her overbearing pride when she tells the brothers to throw the chessboard away because it is just a pity gift that some Americans just want to throw away. "She not want it. We not want it,' she said, tossing her head stiffly to the side with a tight proud smile" (161). The mother is just ignorant sometimes. She is ignorant because she has to show others she has dignity and pride. Waverly's mother needs to do this because deep down she actually has none at all. Many times when people do not have something, they pretend that they really do possess a lot of something. Waverly's mother is so ashamed about her lack of pride and dignity, she uses her position of power to portray to her children that she did. She uses her children to make her feel better about herself. Waverly's mother is ashamed of how she lived a life of poverty and, the absence of purpose and success in her life. The worst parts about this are her lack of remorse and the despicable abuse of power within her own household. Waverly's mother unveils this aspect of her character throughout Waverly' journey to become a chess master.
In the story “Two Kinds”, the author, Amy Tan, intends to make reader think of the meaning behind the story. She doesn’t speak out as an analyzer to illustrate what is the real problem between her and her mother. Instead, she uses her own point of view as a narrator to state what she has experienced and what she feels in her mind all along the story. She has not judged what is right or wrong based on her opinion. Instead of giving instruction of how to solve a family issue, the author chooses to write a narrative diary containing her true feeling toward events during her childhood, which offers reader not only a clear account, but insight on how the narrator feels frustrated due to failing her mother’s expectations which leads to a large conflict between the narrator and her mother.
Tan succeeds in her use of pathos as she manages to make her mother seem helpless. This is quite a feat, as her obvious strengths have already been displayed in situations such as when yelling at the stockbroker. Tan supports her depiction of her mother as a victim by bringing up how people “did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.” (37)
She always getting into a fight with her mother all the time about her beauty, because she has a habit of looking at herself in the mirror wherever she found one, “…she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into the mirror or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was alright.” (126). Moreover, her mother always compares her with her sister, June, which makes she feel even more hatred toward her mother, “Why don’t you clean your room like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed – what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don’t see your sister using that junk.” (126). Her mother, whenever she gossips on the phone with her aunties. They always admire June over her, “June did this, June did that, she saved money and helped clean the house and cooked, and Connie couldn’t do a thing, her minded was all filled with trashy daydreams.” (126). To them, June is always the best, because she is good at almost everything and Connie cannot do anything right. Therefore, when Connie’s mother says something or complaint about her beauty, she rolls her eyeballs and wishes that her mother was
Throughout the story of Waverly and Lindo, the pair was forced to adjust to certain situations. In other words, they had to approve of questionable factors in order to achieve a goal. During Waverly’s childhood, Lindo made it clear that in order to have a pleasant lifestyle they must, “do business, do medicine, do painting. Not like lazy American people. We do torture. Best torture”(Tan 91). Lindo explains to her daughter, that they must adapt to their current situation in order to achieve success. On another occasion, Lindo scolded Waverly for letting her opponent capture too many of her chess pieces. Even though Waverly provided a vivid explanation, she still told her to, “win more, lose less’’(Tan 97). Waverly knowing that she would not get through to her mother, decided to leave the conversation on that note, rather than arguing and making the situation worse. Consequently the reader can infer, that Waverly had a tough childhood because of having to overcome the challenge of dealing with her misunderstanding mother. Finally, the eventful journey finally comes to an end after Waverly gets married. Nevertheless, the lessons of the mother are portrayed through Waverly, but in a much more realistic and respectful manner. From childhood to adulthood, Waverly never seems to lose sight of her morals or take them for granted, for she is the only daughter of Lindo. This may be the case, to why Waverly may have felt that her
Mama is a powerful, strong witted person. She has a lot of control in this play and dominates as a woman character. This is unusual because this is usually a male’s position in life. She is a woman, “who has adjusted to many things in life and overcome many more, her face is full of strength”. In this play she is illustrated as taking over for the head of the family and controls the lives of everyone in her house. Rules are followed to Mama’s extent. She controls what is said and done in her house. After Walter yells, “WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE LISTEN TO ME TODAY!” (70). Mama responds in a strong tone of voice saying, “I don’t ‘low no yellin’ in this house, Walter Lee, a...
Mother-Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club In the Joy Luck Club, the author Amy Tan, focuses on mother-daughter relationships. She examines the lives of four women who emigrated from China, and the lives of four of their American-born daughters. The mothers: Suyuan Woo, An-Mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-Ying St. Clair had all experienced some life-changing horror before coming to America, and this has forever tainted their perspective on how they want their children raised.
As soon as Mama appears on stage, before she speaks a single word, the stage directions tell us, the audience, that Mama is a strong woman (40). She has endured many things, among them the loss of a child, and now the loss of her husband and yet she preserves. As the play progresses we learn that Mama has managed to act as the head of the family in extremely tough times, working day in and day out. Instead of choosing to be bitter about her l...