Identify the point of view used in Amy Tan’s short story “Rules of the Game.” Explain how the point of view affects the story. Support your answer with evidence from the text.

The use of the pronoun I in the opening lines of “Rules of the Game” makes it clear that the story is told from the first-person point of view:  

I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games.

The use of the first-person point of view gives a one-sided perspective of the events and characters in the story. The narration is colored by the narrator’s bias toward these characters and events. The reader does not get an objective view of the other characters or events. Here’s one example in which we only get the narrator’s thoughts and not her mother’s:

A small weekend crowd of Chinese people and tourists would gather as I played and defeated my opponents one by one. My mother would join the crowds during these outdoor exhibition games. She sat proudly on the bench, telling my admirers with proper Chinese humility, “Is luck.“

A man who watched me play in the park suggested that my mother allow me to play in local chess tournaments. My mother smiled graciously, an answer that meant nothing. I desperately wanted to go, but I bit back my tongue. 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.

Because we see this entire incident through the eyes of Waverly Jong, we do not have the opportunity to learn what her mother is actually thinking.

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