This is a worked example of the "Growing Up Around the World" assessment applied to Amy Tan's "Rules of the Game." It walks through each of the four assessment steps (elements of bildungsroman, universal themes, conflicting perspectives, and symbolism) using the story of Waverly Jong, a young chess prodigy navigating independence and her mother's expectations in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Difficulty: Introductory. Prerequisites: read the companion study notes on Bildungsroman and Coming-of-Age Literature first for definitions of all key terms. You should also have read "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan.
This document takes the abstract concepts from the bildungsroman study notes and shows what they look like in practice. "Rules of the Game" is one of four short stories the assessment offers. The worked example here follows the same four-step structure the assessment uses, so you can see exactly what a completed response looks like before you write your own. If you chose a different story, the method is identical; only the quotations and specific details change.
Invisible strength
The concept Waverly's mother teaches her: the art of winning by not showing your power openly. In simple terms, it means keeping your advantages hidden so others cannot counter them. This idea drives the entire story.
Waverly Jong
The young protagonist and narrator. She is a Chinese-American girl growing up in San Francisco's Chinatown who discovers a talent for chess and must navigate the tension between her growing independence and her mother's expectations.
Lindo Jong
Waverly's mother. She represents traditional Chinese values of restraint, family pride, and parental authority. Her perspective conflicts directly with Waverly's desire for individual recognition.
Element 1: Canon event
Waverly's mother teaches her the concept of "invisible strength," a lesson that sparks her journey into chess and strategic thinking.
Evidence: "'Bite back your tongue,' scolded my mother when I cried loudly, yanking her hand toward the store that sold salted plums. At home, she said, '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.'"
Explanation: this moment is the trigger for Waverly's entire transformation. The lesson on invisible strength gives her a philosophy she applies first to chess strategy and later to navigating life. Without this early exchange, Waverly's path to becoming a chess master, and the broader conflict with her mother, does not begin.
Element 2: Conflict that challenges the protagonist's beliefs
Waverly struggles with her mother's excessive pride in her chess achievements and her own need for independence. The internal and external tension forces Waverly to confront who she is as a person versus who her mother wants her to be.
Evidence: "I couldn't stop. '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?'"
Explanation: this outburst marks a turning point. Waverly has been absorbing her frustration, and here she breaks. The conflict makes her reconsider her relationship with her mother and question whether her achievements belong to her or to her family. It is a textbook bildungsroman moment: the protagonist is forced by conflict to reflect on beliefs she had not previously examined.
Theme 1: The desire for independence can create tension between parents and children.
What happens in the story: as Waverly grows more skilled and self-assured at chess, she begins to feel limited by her mother's pride and constant presence. Waverly feels exploited, as though her identity is being reduced to her mother's trophy. This tension builds until Waverly confronts her mother publicly for the first time.
Evidence: "I couldn't stop. '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?'"
Notice: the same quotation can support more than one part of the assessment if it fits. Here the quote supports both the conflict element (Step 1) and the theme of independence versus parental control.
Theme 2: Personal growth often comes through struggle.
What happens in the story: Waverly transforms from an enthusiastic beginner to an accomplished, strategic chess player, and that journey mirrors her broader development as a person. Every obstacle she encounters, learning the rules, competing in tournaments, managing her relationship with her mother, contributes to her growing sense of self.
Evidence: "I had learned why it is essential in chess to conceal your thoughts. I bit back my tongue."
This quotation shows Waverly applying the lesson of invisible strength to her own behaviour. The growth has come full circle: the child who once cried for salted plums now exercises deliberate restraint.
Throughout the story, Waverly and her mother hold opposing views of what chess success means and who it belongs to. Waverly wants independence and personal ownership of her achievements. Her mother believes success requires tight parental control and that a child's accomplishments reflect the family.
Evidence: "'Strongest wind cannot be seen,' she said."
Waverly's mother uses this proverb to argue that real strength is invisible, exercised through restraint and strategic silence. Waverly, by contrast, increasingly wants to express her identity openly and resist her mother's authority. The two perspectives are irreconcilable within the story: Waverly cannot simultaneously be the obedient daughter who hides her strength and the independent young woman who demands recognition for herself.
Chess represents Waverly's journey of personal growth and the tension in her relationship with her mother.
Evidence: "I looked down at the chessboard. The pieces seemed so small and fragile in my hands."
Each move on the chessboard mirrors a shift in the dynamic between Waverly and her mother. The game is not just about winning or losing; it symbolises Waverly's emotional struggles and her development into a more self-reliant person. When the pieces seem "small and fragile," the image connects chess to vulnerability, suggesting that beneath Waverly's competitive skill lies an awareness of how delicate her situation is. The symbol reinforces the theme that personal growth comes through struggle: the board is both the arena where Waverly excels and the metaphor for the family conflict she cannot fully control.
Students often reuse the same quotation across too many sections without varying their analysis. The same quote can appear more than once, but each use must connect it to a different concept with a fresh explanation.
Summarising the plot is not the same as explaining how a quotation illustrates an element. "Waverly argues with her mother" is plot summary. "This outburst forces Waverly to examine whether her chess success belongs to her or to her family, which is the defining conflict of the bildungsroman" is analysis.
Students sometimes pick a symbol that is too vague ("the wind") without anchoring it in a specific quotation and explaining what it represents. The rubric requires a quotation showing where the symbol appears and 2 to 3 sentences on its meaning.
Treating the mother as a flat antagonist misses the point. The conflicting perspectives section works best when you show that both Waverly and her mother have understandable positions, even though they clash.
⚠️ The rubric's top band (8 to 10 points per section) requires "thorough" explanations. A one-sentence explanation will land you in the middle band at best. Aim for 2 to 3 sentences that explicitly link your quote to the concept.
⚠️ Grammar, usage, and mechanics are worth 5 points. Proofread your quotations for accurate copying and your explanations for clarity.
⚠️ The symbol section asks for 2 to 3 sentences explaining meaning and how the symbol enhances a theme. Students who write only one sentence about the symbol's meaning consistently score lower.
⚠️ Using varied quotations across the four steps shows wider engagement with the text. If every section cites the same passage, it can look as though you only read part of the story.
True or false: the canon event in "Rules of the Game" is Waverly's argument with her mother in the street. (False. The canon event is the earlier lesson on invisible strength. The argument is the climactic conflict.)
Fill in the blank: "Invisible strength" is the concept of winning by ______ your power rather than displaying it. (Concealing / hiding.)
True or false: "Independence" is a valid theme statement for this story. (False. It is a topic. A valid theme: "The desire for independence can create tension between parents and children.")
What does chess symbolise in this story? (Waverly's personal growth and the power dynamic between her and her mother.)
True or false: you can use the same quotation in more than one section of the assessment. (True, but the analysis must connect it to a different concept each time.)
Q: Explain how the concept of "invisible strength" functions as a canon event in "Rules of the Game."
A: The lesson on invisible strength is the pivotal early moment that launches Waverly's transformation. It gives her a strategic mindset she applies to chess, which becomes the vehicle for her growth and the source of her conflict with her mother. Without this lesson, neither the chess journey nor the mother-daughter tension would unfold.
Q: Identify and explain one universal theme from "Rules of the Game," using a direct quotation.
A: Theme: personal growth often comes through struggle. Waverly's evolution from a beginner to a strategic chess player parallels her broader maturation. The quotation "I had learned why it is essential in chess to conceal your thoughts. I bit back my tongue" shows her applying the invisible-strength lesson to her own behaviour, completing the arc from impulsive child to deliberate thinker.
Q: How do the conflicting perspectives of Waverly and her mother drive the story's tension?
A: Waverly wants her chess success to be recognised as her own. Her mother views that success as a family achievement and a reflection of her parenting. These incompatible views create the central tension: every tournament win deepens the mother's public pride, which deepens Waverly's resentment, until the conflict erupts openly.
Q: Why is chess an effective symbol in this story? What does it represent beyond the game itself?
A: Chess works as a symbol because it operates on two levels. On the surface, it is the activity that defines Waverly's adolescence. Beneath that, it represents the strategic power struggle between Waverly and her mother. Every move on the board mirrors a move in their relationship, and the fragility Waverly senses in the pieces reflects her own emotional vulnerability.
"Rules of the Game" is an excerpt from Amy Tan's novel "The Joy Luck Club," which explores Chinese-American identity across generations. If your course covers multicultural or immigrant literature later, this story is a reference point.
The mother-daughter dynamic here parallels conflicts in the other three assessment stories. "The Jacket" by Gary Soto deals with self-image and class; "American History" by Judith Ortiz Cofer with racial prejudice and belonging; "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant" by W.D. Wetherell with choosing between passion and social approval. All four are bildungsroman, and the analytical method is identical across them.
The skill of linking textual evidence to a literary concept transfers directly to essay writing in later units. Any close-reading or analytical essay in this course will follow the same evidence, explanation, connection structure.
"Rules of the Game," Amy Tan, "The Joy Luck Club," Waverly Jong, Lindo Jong, invisible strength, chess symbolism, coming-of-age, bildungsroman, canon event, inciting incident, mother-daughter conflict, Chinese-American literature, immigrant identity, universal theme, conflicting perspectives, literary symbol, textual evidence, close reading, graphic organiser, "The Jacket" Gary Soto, "American History" Judith Ortiz Cofer, "The Bass the River and Sheila Mant" W.D. Wetherell, Periods in English Literature, Florida Virtual School, FLVS, FlexPoint