In this excerpt from Amy Tan’s “Rules of the Game,” the conflict between Waverly and her mother reaches its peak. Which part of
the plot does the excerpt depict? I knew it was a mistake to say anything more, but I heard my voice speaking. “Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off, then why don’t you learn to play chess.”
My mother’s eyes turned into dangerous black slits. She had no words for me, just sharp silence.
I felt the wind rushing around my hot ears. I forced my hand out of my mother’s tight grasp and spun around, knocking into a woman. Her bag of groceries spilled to the ground.
“Aii-ya! Ssttuuppidid girl!” my mother and the woman cried. Oranges and tin cans careened down the sidewalk. As my mother stooped to help the old woman pick up the escaping food, I took off.
A.
exposition
B.
rising action
C.
climax
D.
resolution
