Arising Conflict

In the short story, “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan, the protagonist chooses a path into the conflict she faces. The protagonist, an eight year old Chinese-American named Waverly Jong, is shown on numerous occasions to position her mother as her adversary. These instances show the seemingly unending barrage of “invisible strength” between the two. Furthermore, Waverly not only portrays the battle of wits but displays open hostility to her mother and thus we can understand that the predicament she faces was of her own doing.

“The art of invisible strength,” as Waverly’s mother calls it, is better known as self-control. The struggle for control between Waverly and her mother is best shown through the imaginary yet symbolic chess game that was concocted at the end of the story. Waverly’s opponent, her mother, is imagined as “two angry black slits.” (Tan 1430) This figurative speech is a prime example of Waverly’s portrayal of her mother as her opposition. Moreover, the following sentences show the imaginary battle between the two and how her mother won the match before the game has even started, “She wore a triumphant smile…her black men advanced across the plane…my white pieces screamed as they scurried and fell of the board one by one.” (Tan 1430) This dreamed up chess game even displays a childish gesture showing Waverly as the good battling the evil with herself being the white pieces against her mother as the dark.

“Strongest wind cannot be seen,” is another term used multiple times in the story, again meaning self-control. Waverly learnt what this actually meant at the beginning of the story when her mother scolds her for pointing at a store she wanted to go into. The next week they enter the store when Waverly had said or done nothing. However, as Waverly learnt this in the beginning, she must learn this again when she loses her “wind” throughout the story because of all the special treatment and over-confidence that she experience. Near the end, she openly...