Question

Read the excerpt below from the short story "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan and answer the question that follows. My mother placed my first trophy next to a new plastic chess set that the neighborhood Tao society had given to me. As she wiped each piece with a soft cloth, she said, "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." At the next tournament, I won again, but it was my mother who wore the triumphant grin. "Lost eight piece this time. Last time was eleven. What I tell you? Better off lose less!" I was annoyed, but I couldn't say anything. Describe the primary and secondary conflicts in the excerpt. Then, analyze what motivates each character to act the way they do in the excerpt.

Answer 1

Primary Conflict- Man against man. This translates to Waverly against her Mother. This happens when they argue about the best way to win. Pride motivates her mother's actions.

Secondary Conflict- Man against himself- This translates to Waverly against herself. It happens when she feels annoyed, an internal emotion, or conflict. Waverly is motivated by modesty. This makes her feel embarrassed and annoyed at her mother's behavior.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the book "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan, we learn of a Chinese family who are resident in the United States. Lindo is the mother of Waverly and she has a controlling attitude which makes her dictate to her daughter how best to win the Chess games. All her daughter's explanation to her of what it takes to win fell on deaf ears because of her prideful and controlling nature.

Waverly on the other hand feels sad and annoyed after she won and her mother came to assert to her the rightfulness of her earlier opinion. Her mother seems to take the glory for her win which can be seen from her triumphant grin.