46 pages • 1 hour read
Amy TanRules of the Game
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1989A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Literary Devices
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character who actively opposes the protagonist, creating conflict within a story. Antagonists can be hostile in their opposition and intentional in their obstruction, or they can be subtle in their confrontation with other characters. They are the protagonist’s greatest adversary and can take on the form of another character, an idea, or even a town or a business. The challenges they create propel central characters into some action or internal shift.
If Waverly is this story’s protagonist, then her greatest adversary is certainly her mother. After Waverly wins her first chess trophy, her mother antagonizes her by telling her to “win more, lose less” (Paragraph 44). When Waverly protests that losing pieces is sometimes a smart tactic in chess, her mother pushes back: “Better to lose less, see if you really need” (Paragraph 46). From hovering over her while she practices her chess moves to parading her down the busy streets for neighbors to see, Waverly’s mother consistently coaxes and annoys her so that she (literally) cannot sit still. Her mother’s influence constantly moves Waverly forward.
Personification
Personification is to bestow human characteristics upon non-human entities, calling attention to their influence in the story. Like metaphors, personified objects present layered meanings to amplify a character’s evolution. In this story, wind, buildings, and chess pieces are personified in tense moments to elevate Waverly’s internal battles and growth.
The wind speaks to Waverly during her first chess tournament, “whisper[ing] secrets only [she] could hear” (Paragraph 41). The wind guides Waverly with specific suggestions about her chess moves, leading her to victory over her opponent and her first chess trophy. When Waverly returns home after having embarrassed her mother in public, “[she] could see the yellow lights shining from [their] flat like two tiger’s eyes in the night” (Paragraph 71). Knowing that some form of punishment awaits her, the “tiger’s eyes” of Waverly’s home signal that her mother’s punishment will most likely feel intense or threatening. As Waverly imagines a chess game with her mother at the end of the story, a battle for autonomy and voice, she shares that “[her] white pieces screamed as they scurried and fell off the board one by one” (Paragraph 78). Her mother’s intimidating opposition causes Waverly’s chess pieces to “scream” and run away, reminding readers that Waverly has just done the same thing while shopping with her mother in Chinatown. Waverly’s fear of her mother’s retaliation is reflected in the screaming chess pieces of her imagination.
Setting
The story is set in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1958. The history of Chinatown is fraught with racism, violence, and tragedy. From anti-immigration laws to famous gang wars and prostitution to the devastating 1906 earthquake, this community rebuilds itself repeatedly.
Yet to see the community through a child’s eyes dulls the sharper edges of its historical meaning. Waverly describes the daily morning scents wafting into their home above a bakery and the nearby playground that, she says, offers “slides well-shined down the middle with use” (Paragraph 6). She shows childlike curiosity about a local restaurant where children believed “bad people emerged […] at night” (Paragraph 8). Chinatown is Waverly’s playground where she roams freely and unafraid, offering readers an inside view of a multilayered and engaging community.
Syntax
How the characters speak offers insight into the generational aspect of blending cultures. Waverly’s mother does speak English, illustrating that she is potentially not the first generation to arrive in America since many first-generation Americans speak only their first language. Her syntax, however, reveals that perhaps she is not as fluent in English as her children, whose syntax is grammatically correct. The meaning of Waverly’s mother’s syntax is twofold: it places her generationally in this Chinese-American story, and it forces readers to dissect and analyze the meaning of what she is saying.
When Waverly tries to learn about chess, her brothers attempt to bar her from participating, becoming annoyed at her repeated questioning of the rules. Their mother interjects, “Every time people come out from foreign country, must know rules. You not know, judge say, Too bad, go back. They not telling you why so you can use their way go forward […] Better you take it, find out why yourself” (Paragraph 27). Waverly’s mother not only highlights the difficulties of immigration, but also the importance of gathering knowledge for yourself. Waverly’s mother’s advice moves the story along. As readers receive that dialogue through disjointed syntax, they are invited to reflect on its meaning, considering the many consequences her advice might have.
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