Kyle Doyle Lit Seminar: Rules of The Game

My seminar was on Waverly Jonh- "Rules of The Game" in "The Twenty Six Malignant Gates" section of the The Joy Luck Club. The seminar started off slowly, but the first question generated a lot of discussion, and so did the second question--once I read it the right way.

My first question was:
Do you think Jong gets her ability to understand the way life works from her mothers teachings, her mothers genes, or has she learned it on her own? How well does it serve her? Discuss.

At first, there were many different opinions--including some that weren't part of the question--but eventually the class mostly came to a consensus. The class mostly decided that Waverly gets her personality from many different factors. She is similar to her mother in that she was born with part of her stubborn and determined personality, and has had that part of her reinforced by her mother's teachings, such as "Invisible Strength" which became a strong part of her chess abilities.

However, Waverly is also different from her mother because she reacts badly when her mother tries to shoehorn her into playing the piano. This probably comes from her childhood adventures in the sandlot/playground, the alley, etc. Waverly is used to achieving goals in her own fashion and controlling her own life.

She seems to understand life the way she does because she ignores her mother, instead focusing on the world around her and how it works (just like her mother does). In this way, her understanding of life comes from her mother by nature and unintended nurture.

My second question was:
Why are gifts, an alleyway, and chess chosen to represent different aspects of life? How, and how well do they represent this?

In order of the items:

The class did not discuss the gifts very much, but the conclusion was that the represent choice in life--choose rashly and you may set yourself up for dissapointment later in life.

The alleyway was seen as the lure of the unknown. Waverly and her brothers enjoy playing there more than they do the playground because it seems more exotic and foreign. This reflects on many people who will forgo a familiar place or event in favor of something one has not been too or seen before.

Chess generated the most discussion of all three items. The consensus reached was that chess represents the myriad possibilities of life. Black and white are opposites, but they have the same tools available to them. A person who acts respectfully--win or lose--is usually seen in a better light than one who does not. This was shown in one of my excerpts:

"Keep captured men in neat rows, as well-tended prisoners. Never announce “Check” with vanity, lest someone with an unseen sword slit your throat. Never hurl pieces into the sandbox after you have lost a game, because then you must find them again, by yourself, after apologizing to all around you.”

The class also agreed that Waverly herself sees chess as more than a game--such as near the end of the chapter when she is "defeated" by her mother's advancing black army after returning home.