"Rules of the game" by Amy Tan

"Rules of the Game" By Amy Tan in Leaving home book is about a little chinese girl named Wavely Place Jones. She was born in America but her parents were born and raised in China. Hence, her parents are very strong minded about the chinese culture. Wavely was taught about China and their culture at home by her parents but she also learned about the American's culture. Therefore, Wavely always felt the differences between from both cultures, as her mother once said, "This American rules, every time people come out of the foreign country, must know rules. You not know, judge say, too bad, go back.(page 43)" Wavely's mother always made it clear that there was the "American way" and the "China way". This reminded me of about the picture we once discussed in class, called "How Mali lost her accent", its a picture about a small girl, conflicted between her heritage and America, She lost her accent by adapting into the American's way. Everyone struggle with identiy issues, always. Especially if your ancestors were foreign or your grandparents are from a foreign country, you will learn about your heritage culture, not the America's culture. For an example, my grandparents were born and raised in Puerto Rico, and growing up at home, I was taught spanish, how to cook spanish food, spanish culture, etc. However, at school and outdoor activities, I was learning about the American's culture. I feel like this issue will always be around, especially since America is so diverse and has all these different cultures in it. It's easy to get lost and conflicted but that is the beauty of America.