A Chinese-American Girl's Experience: The Story of Waverly Jong Term Paper by scribbler
A Chinese-American Girl's Experience: The Story of Waverly Jong
A review of the story, "The Rules of the Game", from Amy Tan's novel, "The Joy Luck Club".
# 153220
| 738 words
| 0 sources
| 2013
| 
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Description:
The paper examines "The Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan and looks at the character of Waverly Jong, also called Meimei, from a Chinese-American family living in San Francisco. The paper discusses how Waverly is a girl who lives in two worlds; she has an American name but a Chinese nickname, and when she becomes a chess champion, she becomes part of something outside her community. The paper describes how Waverly becomes a celebrity in her Chinatown neighborhood and she even feels her mother uses her to show off. Yet, the paper points out that at the end of the story, it is Waverly's formidable mother who brings Waverly back to her proper place within the family and the Chinese community.
From the Paper:
"The Jong family is in two worlds, one that is American and the other Chinese. The family lives in the United States, but in a section of San Francisco where they can speak their native language and enjoy the comfort of their traditions and culture with other Chinese. Waverly is named for the street on which the family lives. It is an American name and it makes the young girl be, symbolically, of that place. Yet she is given a Chinese nickname, Meimei, so that, perhaps, she does not become too American.'Waverly's mother is ambitious for her children. Waverly states "My mother imparted her daily truths so she could help my older brothers and me rise above our circumstances" (p. 1423). Waverly does not realize the family is poor. Life is sweet for the little girl in the apartment above the Chinese bakery and its sweet smells. The children play in a sandlot and in the back alleys; they love to prowl the shops where traditional Chinese foods and medicines are sold. Author Tan devotes the first two pages of the story to vivid descriptions of Waverly's neighborhood, creating a strange and foreign world for the typical American reader. She describes the merchandise at the fish market where "all is for food, not for pet" (p. 1424) - crabs, turtles, squid, and frogs. This is not typical American fare; Waverly is not a typical American girl."
Cite this Term Paper:
APA Format
A Chinese-American Girl's Experience: The Story of Waverly Jong (2013, May 08)
Retrieved December 09, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/term-paper/a-chinese-american-girl-experience-the-story-of-waverly-jong-153220/
MLA Format
"A Chinese-American Girl's Experience: The Story of Waverly Jong" 08 May 2013.
Web. 09 December. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/term-paper/a-chinese-american-girl-experience-the-story-of-waverly-jong-153220/>