Thursday, February 21, 2008
Rules of the Game
Rules of the Game was a very fun novel for me to read. In a way, I felt as if I could relate to the main character Waverly Place Jong. Her nickname Meimei is much easier to remember, though. As a young girl, Meimei began playing chess with her older brothers. It seemed that she almost instantaneously feel in love with the game, and would play and study it nonstop. This is sort of how my experience with soccer began. When I was young, I would watch my sister play and eventually became so involved with soccer it seemed as if my whole world revolved around it. For Meimei, she practically lived and slept chess. She had gotten very good, too. Much better than I will ever be at soccer. I was amazed that someone so young could have such an intimidating presence on the international level of a competition. I personally did not like the mother. As Meimei pointed out in the end, her mother was using her to make herself seem higher in society. Meimei was just a little girl, and all she wanted to do was play chess. It seemed to me her mother was the only thing that ever kept that from happening. All throughout Meimei's competitions, her mother would always be harassing her and trying to tell her how she should be playing. I may have overreacted to her behavior, but she just really seemed to play the spoiler role in the story. I didn't exactly understand the ending either. It seemed as though it was just left hanging. That may of been how it was supposed to be, though.
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3 comments:
I personally liked this short story much better than the first. Like you, I was also able to relate to the story in a way. You related to the story through playing soccer, and I related to the story by being a chess player myself. As being a chess player, I know how difficult the game is to play, and how it feels to know you are able to crush your opponents. I also did not completely understand the end of the story, and I also did not like how the mother acted in the story. She was always telling Waverly how to play the game, and to top it off she is always using Waverly to show off to other people.
I can kind of relate to this in a way. Softball isn't my whole life, but i love playing it. Back in the day my dad was a really good softball player and now he always pushes me to practice my sprints and what not. That's the main thing..running. I do love running, but sometimes he thinks I should be doing it 24/7, but anyways... I feel bad for Waverly because all she wanted to do was enjoy playing a game that she loves. She couldn't do that anymore because of how her parents were overreacting. I think it is pathetic that they think they needed to be involved that much, espeically after her mom wanted her sons to throw the chess set away in the beginning. I think it is kind of odd how all of the sudden she is with Waverly 100%. Waverly is only a child and she should be allowed to do what she wants. I think that is why half of the actresses/singers/models are so messed up today. There parents pushed them around as chlidren.
I noticed that I continuously forgot that Wave-ly was only six throughout this story, which simply amazes me more that she was that good at chess at such a young age. I think that her mother, along with a lot of parents, didn't know how to handle her daughter's talent. I think that she forgot that she still was just a normal child and that she shouldn't be treated special. I think there's a balance between support and pushing. Her mother pushed her to practice and get better at chess when all she wanted to do, again at the mere age of six, was have fun. I think this behavior from the parents is often what pushes children to quit their sport or talent. I didn't like the ending either though. It was like she just went in her room and pouted. I can understand why she wouldn't want to talk to her mother, but I think that there could have been a better ending. Although, I guess it did sort of hint to the fact that chess is like a sanction to Wave-ly because that's what she immediately thought of and it made her happy.
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