Answer:
1. How are Waverly's thoughts and words different from each other? What does this tell you about her character? Hint: Think about the lesson Waverly learned in the beginning of the story when she "bites back her tongue." Explain and support your ideas/claims with text evidence.
When Waverly first requests a bag of plums, her mother refuses. Her mother is teaching her patience, self-control, wants/needs, and humility by not giving her the plums. "Bite back your tongue," her mother says. " Wise guy, he not go against wind. In Chinese we say, Come from South, blow with wind--poom!--North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen." This shows that the daughter is the strongest wind and is pushed forward by her knowledge.
2. What is Waverly's internal motivation to pretend she does not want to play in the tournament? (Hint: Think about what Waverly knows about her mother and how she can manipulate her.) Explain and support your ideas/claims with text evidence.
Mrs. Jong teaches Waverly the rules of behavior by teaching her to think instead of feel. Waverly's mother taught her to keep things to herself and let others learn. She also used a mother-daughter trick to manipulate her mother into not having to do any chores or anything around the house. "One time I complained that the bedroom I shared was so noisy that I couldn't think. Thereafter, my brothers slept in a bed in the living room..." Waverly uses her mother's teachings to get what she wants. While her mother pretended to instruct her daughter, she was teaching her to hate her. When Waverly does not ask/refuse to participate in the tournament to show self-control, her mother says she must play competitively and signs her up.
3. Why does Waverly feel that she cannot correct her mother? Explain and support your ideas/claims with text evidence.
Waverly had to oppose her mother in the market because she did not want her mother to use her to brag to others. To stop her mother from treating her like a chess champion, she had to tell her to stop. She also says, " I wish you wouldn't do that, telling everybody I'm your daughter." Waverly is tired of her mother treating her like an object and wants her to love her for who she is.
4. What doesn't the mother understand about chess, and how might this connect to the message of the story? (Hint: Think about the title Rules of the Game and how that connects to the rules of life and why Waverly understands the rules of life better than her mother.) Explain and support your ideas/claims with text evidence.
Waverly was taught the finer points of chess by being told, " Never hurl pieces into the sandbox after you have lost a game." She begins to learn the game's rules and behaviors, which will help her become a better player and more mature/smart. The finer points she learned in chess would also come in handy in her personal life.
