1. Pair Work: Read the following quotes carefully. Discuss what writing devices are used and the purpose or significance of such utterances. The example is given to you.

e.g. “I would swing my patent leather shoes back and forth like an impatient child riding on a school bus”.

This simile emphasizes her youth. It contrasts her immaturity with the maturity required to play chess with strategy and self-control.

1) “Strongest wind cannot be seen.”

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2) “Our flat was heavy with the odor of fried sesame balls...”

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3) “Cracking roasted watermelon seeds...gurgling pigeon.”

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4) “One day as she struggled to weave a hard-toothed comb through my disobedient hair, I had a sly thought.”

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5) “This American rules,” she concluded at last. “Every time people come out from foreign country, must know rules. You not know, judge say, Too bad, go back.”

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2. Group Work: Read the whole story of Rules of the Game and finish the following chart and questions.

In this excerpt from The Joy Luck Club, the themes of generation gap and cultural conflict are highlighted. Waverly and her mother are engaged in a battle of wills with each other to get what they want. After you read it, complete the following graphic. Describe at least three triumphs on each side of the mother and daughter.

1) What do you think Waverly is struggling for when she challenges her mother? What does her mother want?

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2) In what ways are Waverly and her mother similar?

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3) The conflict between the mother and daughter is obvious. What are some causes of their conflict?

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3. Solo Work: Tell the story from a different point of view.

When we read a story, we learn events through the narrator, or the person who tells the story. The writer’s choice of narrator determines the story’s point of view, or perspective. Waverly, the narrator of “Rules of the Game”, is a young girl who was born in America. Her mother, who comes from a different generation and a different culture, sees the story events differently. A generational conflict, like the one between Waverly and her mother, usually occurs because people who are in different generations have different points of view. Examine how the choice of narrator affects a story’s view. Retell the story events in the story from Mrs. Jong’s point of view.

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