UDL – Foreign Language Faculty

Introduction to British and American literature

Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

University of Dalat
Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American Literature

Assignment 1:
Report on

Rules of the
Games
Amy Tan

Instructor: Ms Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy

Student: Dang Hoang Van Ha
Number: 0623747
Spring 2009

Dang Hoang Van Ha

AVK30D
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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

IMAGINE
Research on Amy Tan’s writing Career

Amy Tan was born February 19, 1952 in Oakland, California.

She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, graduated from
high school in Montreux, Switzerland, and received her
master's degree in Linguistics from San Jose State University.
Her father, John Tan, was an electrical engineer and Baptist
minister who came to America to escape the turmoil of the
Chinese Civil War. This was where he met Daisy, Tan’s mother.
In China, Daisy had divorced an abusive husband but lost
custody of her three daughters. She was forced to leave them
behind when she escaped to the US before the Communist
takeover in 1949. Her marriage to John Tan produced three
children, Amy and her two brothers.
Throughout much of her childhood, Tan struggled with her parent's desire to hold onto
Chinese traditions and her own longings to become more Americanized. She wanted
to become a writer rather than her parent’s expectations of being a doctor and concert
pianist. Tragedy struck the Tan family when Amy's father and oldest brother both died
of brain tumors within a year of each other. Mrs. Tan moved her surviving children to
Switzerland, where Amy finished high school, but by this time mother and daughter
were in constant conflict.

In 1988, Amy Tan earned good living writing speeches for business
executives. She worked around the clock to meet the demands from her
many high-priced clients, but there was no joyful in the work, and she felt
frustrated and unsatisfied. In her mid-thirties, she took up writing fiction. A
year later her first book, a collection of interrelated stories called The Joy
Luck was introduced. Together with The Kitchen God's Wife written in
1991, The Hundred Secret Senses (1995), The Bonesetter’s Daughter
(2001) and Saving Fish from Drowning (2005). All of them are best-seller
and the film of The Joy Luck Club was an unprecedented success. Although
they are primarily concerned with the lives and concerns of Asian-
American women, her stories have found an enthusiastic audience among
Amy Tan receiving Golden
Americans of all backgrounds, and have already been translated into 23
Plate from Phyllis Grann,
languages. Additional, those works bring her a number of award such as Chairman of The Putnam
National Book Award, finalist Los Angeles Time Fiction Prize, American Berkley Group.
Library Association’s Notable Books, New York Times Notable Book,
Golden Plate and furthermore.

Most of Tan’s stories were written about family relationship between mother and
daughter, about differences between the East as China and the West as American,
about the Chinese tradition and Chinese background in Americanization process of
immigrant as well as her point of view about life. Her family and her childhood affect
her writing a lot. Take The Kitchen God’s Wife as an example, the story written was
based on her mother’s real life. Also, the family relationship is the innovation for Amy
Tan to ‘play with her words’. Reading Amy’s books, people somewhat can understand
the Chinese spirit inside her and that is the message sent to the next young generation
to consider about their origin. It is also said that Tan fiction is the bridge of Old China
and New American.
Dang Hoang Van Ha
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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

In addition, Tan has written two children's books, (1992) and (1994). The latter is
now being developed into a children's television series. However, past difficulties
have certainly contributed to Ms. Tan and Mr. DeMattei's decision not to have
children. "I remember being such an unhappy child," she said, "and I can't guarantee
that I won't do the same things my mother did.", Tan said.

Today, people read Amy Tan’s works to find a part of country spirit in her words, to
understand more about life and to try to figure out how and why a neat and well-
organized lady tell us that "You see what power is - holding someone else's fear in
your hand and showing it to them.".

Amy and her husband, Louis DeMattei. "I discovered how Chinese I was by the kind of
family habits and routines that were so familiar."
Amy Tan, shopping in San Francisco.

Amy Tan and her mother Daisy read a letter from

relatives in China.

Dang Hoang Van Ha

AVK30D
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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

INTERPRET
Language Exercise based on the story
• Background knowledge
o "Rules of the Game" is set in San Francisco's Chinatown, a 14-square block
district that began to flourish in the mid-1840s
o History of San Francisco’s Chinatown
 San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North
America. The largest Chinese community outside of Asia was the
port of entry for early Chinese immigrants from the southern
Guangdong province of China from the 1850s to the 1900s.
 The area developed quite dramatically and soon became an
industrial center of California, US.

San Francisco Chinatown Chinatown at night

• Vocabulary
Connotations
A word’s denotation is its objective, dictionary definition. However, many
words have connotations, meanings suggested by the word and the way it is used.
Connotations can have a strong effect on people’s emotions, either positive or
negative. For example, slow and methodical have similar denotations. However, in
most contexts being slow has a negative connotation, whereas being methodical is
considered positive. Other words, such as chair, do not evoke any emotion and are
considered neutral.
Decide which of the following Words to Own have positive connotations, negative
connotations, or are neutral. In the space before each number, write P for positive, N
for negative, or 0 for neutral.
Then explain your answer on the lines provided by using examples or personal
experiences.

Example: humility
P Humility is usually considered a virtuous quality.

1. ..............Intricate....................................................................................................
2................Ancestral..................................................................................................
3. ..............Obscured..................................................................................................

Dang Hoang Van Ha

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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

4. ..............Retort........................................................................................................
5. ..............Touted......................................................................................................
6. ..............Prodigy.....................................................................................................
7. ..............Malodorous..............................................................................................
8................Concessions..............................................................................................
9. ..............Careened..................................................................................................
10. ............Successive................................................................................................

Answer sheet
1. N 6. P
2. O 7. N
3. N 8. O
4. N 9. O
5. P 10 O
.

• Further discussion and Quiz

• Discussion
1. Why does Waverly call chess "a game of secrets in which one must show and
never tell"? Why does she love the secrets?
2. How does learning the rules of chess teach Waverly the rules of life?
• Quiz
1. In the "Rules of the Game," what advice would Waverly's mother give to new
immigrants?
A. Educate Americans so they will understand your beliefs.
B. Adopt new American rules and leave your cultural beliefs behind.
C. Ignore American rules when they conflict with your cultural beliefs.
D. Use the wisdom and strength of your own culture to achieve the American
dream.
2. What lessons does Waverly discover about achieving her personal goals through
playing chess?
A. People should know how to compromise.
B. Success is determined by the amount of time it takes to win.
C. People need to know what their goals are before making a move.
D. Flexible and creative people can invent their own rules.
3. With which of these statements would Waverly's mother MOST LIKELY agree?
A. Success is mostly luck.
B. Sticking to your beliefs is more important than winning the game.
C. Success is measured by what you do and not by what you say.
D. Working hard is the key to success.
4. In "Rules of the Game," the wind symbolizes
A. A powerful force that must be resisted to achieve success.
B. The internal strength one gets from knowing how to apply rules strategically.
C. The conflict between Waverly and her mother.
D. The thoughts one shares with others.
5. At the end of the story, the important lesson that Waverly learns is that
A. Clever people can talk their way out of difficult situations.
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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

B. She made critical mistakes when she did not consider the consequences of her
action
C. People are forgiving when they respect personal accomplishments.
D. She could not avoid conflicts with people in power.

Answer sheet
1. D
2. C
3. C
4. B
5. B

Dang Hoang Van Ha

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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

INTERPRET
• Essay on ‘invisible strength”
In the story “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan, Waverly Jong's mother is always
teaching her about the “art of invisible strength”. Waverly says that she uses this as a
“strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither
of us knew it at the time, chess games. Invisible strength symbolizes rules, and
knowledge. The game of chess has many rules just like the game of life. When
Waverly asked about the many rules of chess, she said 'This American rules,' she
concluded at last. 'Every time people come out from foreign country, must know rules.
You not know, judge say. Too bad, go back. They are not telling you why so you can
use their way forward. They say “Don't know why, you find out yourself”. But they
knowing all the time. Better you take it, find out yourself”. Rules are invisible because
they are just a concept and an idea, but they hold limitless power because they
influence everyone. Waverly also uses the “art of invisible strength” to win when she
is playing chess and in life. Waverly was taught this art by her mother who also used
this art as a set of rules such as “Bite back your tongue”. Waverly learned these rules
that linked directly to life through trial and error such as when she wanted the
“forbidden candies”. She first whined for them and later received them because she
showed self-control by no longer whining. In addition to self-control, invisible
strength is the strength of the human mind. In the beginning of the story, Waverly did
not understand anything about chess. She “read the rules and looked up all the big
words in a dictionary.” and later she came close to becoming a grand master. This
invisible strength is the strength of her mind. The invisible strength is also like wind,
strong but invisible. After her two brothers abandon chess for other recreational
activities, Waverly still steadfastly stuck to chess showing her will to become good at
chess. Waverly is unique because she is less then ten years old. She depends more on
her mind and her ability to grasp new ideas quickly compared to older chess players
who depend on their experience that comes with their old age.
Other players such as grand master Bobby Fischer said “There will never be a
woman grand master”. He and other chess players underestimate the invisible strength
or the knowledge of young and feminine people. Waverly's mother also exhibits
invisible strength. While she speaks broken English, Waverly's mother is smart and
wise. She said “We not concerning this girl. This girl not have concerning for us”.
With these few words, she makes Waverly feel shame. Waverly feels that her mother
had beaten her with her invisible strength because she goes back to her room and
imagines that “Her black men advanced across the plane, 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”.
Throughout the story, Waverly's mother is teaching her about the power of
invisible strength. It has unlimited power and is unexpected. She uses it in chess and
learns from it through trial and error. Invisible strength symbolizes the power of the
human mind.

Dang Hoang Van Ha

AVK30D
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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

RESPOND

Good parent
My idea Related to the story Explain
Qualities

Responsibilitie
s

Good children
My idea Related to the story Explain
Qualities

Responsibilitie
s

Dang Hoang Van Ha

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 UDL – Foreign Language Faculty
Introduction to British and American literature
Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Spring 2009

Source:
http://www.amytan.net
http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/amytan/
http://www.notablebiographies.com/St-Tr/Tan-Amy.html
http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/02/18/specials/tan-home.html
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/tan0pro-1

http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/history/index.html
http://www.kqed.org/w/hood/chinatown/resourceguide/story.html

Dang Hoang Van Ha

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