Covintree is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Women's College with a degree in English. In this essay, Covintree discusses the impact of cultural and personal silence, in addition to the secrets held within the silence, on the main character in Tan's short story.

Tan's title for this short story, "Rules of the Game," is most apt to the themes and ideas central to this story. Tan's narrator, Waverly Jong, is forced throughout the story to discover exactly what game she is playing, and what rules she must follow in order to succeed. Her chess playing becomes a metaphor for her struggle with her greatest opponent, her own Chinese mother. It is this real game of life that Waverly must truly begin to learn and discover. What evolves as an essential component to Waverly's learning process is the influential role that silence can play in the success or failure...