Amy Tan's 2nd Intoduction Story

In the beginning of the second section, Amy Tan's short introductory piece serves as the overall, main message that she wants the reader to understand. The short story tells of a daughter who ignores her mother's warnings to not ride her bike around the corner where she might fall and no one would hear her cry out. The mother's predictions were correct and her daughter fell shortly after the conversation ended. I believe her lesson is this: One needs a supporter to learn from in order to succeed; at least until a specific age.

In the first story, "Rules of The Game", at a young age, Waverly Jong is obsessed with the chess. With her mother's support, she eventually became the best Chinese player in Chinatown; winning home trophy after trophy. However, their relationship began to falter. Waverly's mom enjoy bragging about her daughter's success to others- embarrassing Waverly. Waverly exclaimed her feelings rudely and ran away from home. In the end of the story, she returns home and is left alone in her bedroom with no more support from her mother. In her mind, she pictured her mother as her chess opponent. She says,

" Her black men advanced across the plain, slowly marching to each successive level as a single unit. My white pieces screamed as they scurried and fell off the board one by one" (p.101).

In her mind, her mother is in control of the game and is defeating her. Since Waverly is definitely better at chess than many people and also her mother, this ironic scene symbolized that her mother was the creator of Waverly herself. Her mother's encouragements and strengths allowed Waverly to become the champion she is today. From her mother, she learned how to succeed. However, in the last paragraph, she proved that she doesn't need her mother any longer and is able to advance. She says,

"I felt myself growing light. I rose up into the air and flew out the window. Higher and higher, above the alley, over the tops of tilted roofs, where I was gathered up by the wind and pushed up toward the night sky until everything below me disappeared and I was alone. I closed my eyes and pondered my next move" (p.101).

The freedom Waverly feels is independence. Her mother has taught her success, which can also be the success of becoming independence. She feels that she has the strength that her mother processed, the strong wind, and that she is able to continue her passion alone. The comparison of her new found freedom and chess infer that she has regained strength and is still able to rise when she falls. This story shows that the daughter's gained success and independence from her mother, and now is able to move on by herself.