Chinese Americans

Most of the characters in "Rules of the Game" are Chinese Americans, and much of the conflict is derived from Waverly's attempt to navigate both the traditional Chinese culture and the divergent melding culture of Chineses Americans. When she is younger, Waverly is mainly in touch with her Chinese side. She lives over a small Chinese bakery in Chinatown, where "by daybreak, our flat was heavy with the odor of fried sesame balls and sweet curried chicken crescents." Outside her home, Waverly is drawn to other Chinese establishments, like the Ping Yuen Fish Market, with its "doomed fish and turtles" and a sign that informs tourists, "Within this store, is all for food, not for pet." Most importantly, however, is the Chinese philosophy that Waverly's mother teaches her when she is six years old. "The art of invisible strength," a collection of Chinese "daily truths," is a...