Rules of The Game

Rules of The Game by Amy Tan

Mrs. Canfield

2/9/21

Poll

HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED CHESS?

• YES

• NO

CHESS- A GAME OF STRATEGY

• Chess is an abstract strategy game and involves no hidden information. It is played on a square chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start, each player controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove it from attack on the next move.

Poll

DO YOU HAVE DIFFERENCE IN VALUES AND BELIEFS THAN YOUR PARENTS?

• YES

• NO

BACKGROUND INFO ON RULES OF THE GAME

-STORY TAKES PLACE IN SAN FRANCISCO IN LATE 1950'S

-WAVERLY JONG IS A YOUNG CHINESE AMERCIAN GIRL WHO PARENTS IMMIGRATED TO US FOR A BETTER A LIFE FOR THEM AND THEIR THREE CHILDREN VINCENT, WINSTON & WAVERLY

WAVERLY GOES BY MEIMEI (NICKNAME-LITTLE SISTER AND ONLY GIRL)

CULTURE AND FAMILY DYNAMICS PLAY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SHORT STORY AND IT'S OVERALL THEME

AMY TAN USES FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND DYNAMIC AND STATIC CHARACTERS TO BREATHE LIFE AND DETAIL INTO THEM.

Let review A BIT before we jump into ANALYZING the textual evidence EXAMPLES

Poll

DO YOU AND YOUR PARENTS EVER ARGUE BECAUSE YOU DISAGREE ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT OR TIED TO YOUR DIFFERENCE IN VALUES?

• YES

• NO

LEARNING TARGET

STUDENTS WILL REVIEW AND IDENTIFY EXAMPLES OF TYPES OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND MAKE INFERENCES ABOUT CHARACTERS BASED ON TEXTUAL EVIDENCE FROM THE SHORT STORY "RULES OF THE GAME" BY AMY TAN TO GAIN INSIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING INTO STORY'S MAIN CHARACTERS & OVERALL THEME BEFORE FIRST READ.

Multiple Choice

Static Characters...

• do not change during the story

• have little or no detail

• have lots of detail

• change during the story

Multiple Choice

Dynamic Characters...

• do not change during the story

• have little or no detail

• have lots of detail

• change during the story

Multiple Choice

Travis began the school year the same as always. He never studied or completed his homework. Each report card showed the same poor grades. Although his parents encouraged him, by the end of the year, he was still doing poorly.

What type of character is he?

• dynamic character

• static character

Multiple Choice

Even though she loved to dance, Shannon was nervous about joining the dance team. She tried out and made it, but never said a word to anyone. At each dance practice, Shannon got a little more comfortable with her team. By the end of the season, not only did she make friends, but she even taught the team a few dance moves.

What type of character is she?

• dynamic character

• static character

LETS PRACTICE WITH SOME MORE..YA READY?

Multiple Choice

If you feel under the weather,

• you feel frustrated

• you feel ill

• you feel sad

Multiple Choice

If you say that something costs an arm and a leg,

• it is extremely cheap

• it is not worth the money

• it is very expensive

Multiple Choice

What is a metaphor?

• A word that makes the sound it represents

• A comparison of two unrelated things

• An exaggerated statement

Multiple Choice

What is a simile? 

• Comparing two unlike things without  using  like and as
• Comparing two things in a text
• Comparing two unlike things using  like and as
• None of the above

Multiple Choice

"You are the thunder, and I am the lightning," is an example of which type of figurative language?

• Metaphor

• Hyperbole

• Chliche

• Personification

Multiple Choice

The flowers danced in the wind. What is this an example of:

• Simile

• Personification

• Cliche

• Idiom

Multiple Choice

I nearly died laughing is an example of what?

• Metaphor

• Assonance

• Alliteration

• Hyperbole

Multiple Choice

Giving human characteristics to nonhuman object or animals is an example of what type of figurative language?

• Personification

• Onomatopoeia

• Hyperbole

• Metaphor

Multiple Choice

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

• metaphor
• simile
• idiom
• hyperbole

Multiple Choice

"Bite back your tongue,"

is first thing we hear Waverly's mom say to her in the story. What type of figurative language is this?

• Metaphor

• Idiom

Open Ended

"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."

What does this quote mean? What is Waverly's mom trying to convey with her advice?

This quote means ....

Waverly's mom is trying to tell her that......

Open Ended

"The chessboard seemed to hold elaborate secrets waiting to be untangled. The chessmen were more powerful than old Li's magic herbs that cured ancestral curses."

What does Waverly's description of the chessboard and pieces indicate about how she views this game?

This description tells me that Waverly feels/thinks/views chess as.........

Multiple Choice

"Every time people come out from foreign country, must know rules. You not know, judge say, Too bad, go back. They not telling you why so you can use their way go forward. They say, Don't know why, you find out yourself. But they knowing all the time. Better you take it, find out why yourself." She tossed her head back with a satisfied smile.

What does this tell us about how Waverly's mothers views America and its rules and why they never explain why rules are put into place?

• She thinks rules are pointless and setup to ruin people's lives

• She knows and values the importance of playing by the rules, observing the game board, players and finding out the why behind things yourself.

Multiple Choice

I found out about all the whys later. I read the rules and looked up all the big words in a dictionary. I borrowed books from the Chinatown library. I studied each chess piece, trying to absorb the power each contained.

What does this tell us about what kind of person our narrator Waverly is?

• She is bored and looking for way to pass the time. She thinks the game and its pieces are magical

• She is not like most young girls she is intrigued by the game of chess and all the strategy and dedication that it involves to uncover all the secrets of the game

Multiple Choice

I also found out why I should never reveal "why" to others. A little knowledge withheld is a great advantage one should store for future use. That is the power of chess. It is a game of secrets in which one must show and never tell

What does this explanation of never revealing "the why" to others show us about our young narrator?

• She has figured out the why doesn't matter as long as you play by the rules

• She has discovered revealing the why/motivation for a particular move is something that opponents can use to your disadvantage and that being quiet about your why can be beneficial to you

• She is smarter than her mom

• She views the rules as an answer to the why

Multiple Choice

I knew she would not let me play among strangers. So as we walked home I said in a small voice that I didn't want to play in the local tournament. They would have American rules. If I lost, I would bring shame on my family. "Is shame you fall down nobody push you," said my mother.

What does this quote show us about Waverly's mother?

• She doesn't care about shame being brought to family

• She thinks the American rules are there to be broken

• She views it as shame on the family if Waverly isn't even willing to try to compete and we are made better by pushing ourselves to be the best not by accident.

• Waverly's mom thinks that failing is part of life and shame is something we can not avoid

Multiple Choice

A light wind began blowing past my ears. It whispered secrets only I could hear. "

What type of figurative language is used here to describe the wind during Waverly's chess competition?

• simile

• metaphor

• hyperbole

• personifcation

Multiple Choice

"Next time win more, lose less." "Ma, it's not how many pieces you lose," I said. "Sometimes you need to lose pieces to get ahead." "Better to lose less, see if you really need.

What does this quote tell the audience about the different ways Waverly and her mom see the game of chess?

• Waverly and her mother completely agree on how to best use rules and strategy to win the game

• Waverly and her mother disagree on how to best win chess competitions because of their different levels of understanding of how the game works and the strategies involved needed to win.

• Waverly isn't talented enough to lose with less and her mother is challenging her to improve her craft

Multiple Choice

Why does she get to play and we do all the work," complained Vincent. "Is new American rules," said my mother. "Meimei play, squeeze all her brains out for win chess. You play, worth squeeze towel."

Why is Waverly excused from doing chores but her brothers are not?

• She is a girl and it is not culturally appropriate for her to do chores

• Her brothers enjoy picking up the extra slack because Waverly is busy studying chess

• Their mother believes that she is contributing to the family household by studying and winning competitions and her brothers are allowed to play and have fun like so they are expected to do chores

Multiple Choice

I would swing my patent leather shoes back and forth like an impatient child riding on a school bus

What kind of figurative language is this?

• idiom

• hyperbole

• metaphor

• simile

Multiple Choice

My mother's eyes turned into dangerous black slits. She had no words for me, just sharp silence.

What type of figurative language is used?

• metaphor

• personification

• simile

Multiple Choice

My breath came out like angry smoke. It was cold.

What type of figurative language is this?

• personification

• metaphor

• simile

• hyperbole

Multiple Choice

"We not concerning this girl. This girl not have concerning for us." Nobody looked at me.

What can we infer has happened with this statement and action of Waverly's family?

• Waverly is the center of attention and everyone is proud of her

• Waverly has upset her family and is dealing with the consequences of hurting them

• The family is so proud of her chess accomplishments they are speechless

Multiple Choice

Bone chopsticks clinked against the inside of bowls being emptied into hungry mouths.

• onomatopoeia & personification

• metaphor and hyperbole

• simile & onomatopoeia

Multiple Choice

My white pieces screamed as they scurried and fell off the board one by one. As her men drew closer to my edge, I felt myself growing light. I rose up into the air and flew out the window. Higher and higher, above the alley, over the tops of tiled roofs, where I was gathered up by the wind and pushed up toward the night sky until everything below me disappeared and I was alone. I closed my eyes and pondered my next move.

• metaphor, personification & hyperbole

• simile, onomatopoeia, idiom

• simile, metaphor & hyperbole