Rules of the Game
Synopsis:
Waverly Place Jong is a chess prodigy living in San Francisco’s Chinatown with her Chinese immigrant parents. She is named after “Waverly Place,” her family’s address and, therefore, their claim to the United States. Waverly is diminutively nicknamed as “Meimei” (Chinese for “little sister”), whereas her two brothers have resonant, victorious names—Winston and Vincent.
Waverly and her mother, Lindo Jong, have an ongoing psychological battle, each surreptitiously trying to gain the upper hand. Although Waverly was born in the United States, her mother has instilled in her many Chinese rules of conduct. One important rule is that one must remain silent to win. The story’s opening focuses on silence and on how controlling one’s emotions endows one with a secret strength like the wind.
Waverly Place Jong is a chess prodigy living in San Francisco’s Chinatown with her Chinese immigrant parents. She is named after “Waverly Place,” her family’s address and, therefore, their claim to the United States. Waverly is diminutively nicknamed as “Meimei” (Chinese for “little sister”), whereas her two brothers have resonant, victorious names—Winston and Vincent.
Waverly and her mother, Lindo Jong, have an ongoing psychological battle, each surreptitiously trying to gain the upper hand. Although Waverly was born in the United States, her mother has instilled in her many Chinese rules of conduct. One important rule is that one must remain silent to win. The story’s opening focuses on silence and on how controlling one’s emotions endows one with a secret strength like the wind.
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Visiting Chinatown Chess as a Metaphor
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The Author: Amy Tan
Worksheets
Saying Thanks To My Ghosts (Audio Included): This I Believe is an international organization engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives.
Rules of the Game - Brainstorming | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Rules of the Game - Questions and Quotes | |
File Size: | 75 kb |
File Type: | docx |