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Rules of the Game
3077 Views

When you think about it, chess could be a metaphor for just about anything, really.

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Rules of the Game 3077 Views


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Description:

When you think about it, chess could be a metaphor for just about anything, really.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:05

Rules of the Game, a la Shmoop. Any chess players out there?

00:10

And if you merely wage battles between the little horsies and the tiny castles while

00:15

you're soaking in the bathtub... it doesn't count.

00:18

We're talking... chess the way it was intended to be played.

00:22

Arguably the greatest test of a game-player's skill.

00:25

Mano a mano.

00:27

Little horsie a little horsie. Amy Tan, author of Rules of the Game, a chapter

00:33

of her book, The Joy Luck Club...

00:35

...understood how chess could be used as a metaphor to represent life's greatest battles.

00:40

There are many obvious parallels... advancing along a path... encountering and tackling

00:46

obstacles... promoting oneself and gaining power...

00:49

...and, if your destructive little brother is around... the capricious uncertainty of

01:00

our future. She doesn't attempt to hide the fact that,

01:04

while focusing literally on chess in the story...

01:07

...she also wants it to tell us something about her protagonist's journey.

01:11

The question? What is she using chess to represent? Waverly learns from her mother that she must

01:19

work very hard if she ever wants to accomplish anything in life...

01:23

...considering the gender stereotypes and restrictions placed on her by society.

01:28

Is this where the chess metaphor comes into play?

01:31

Chess isn't one of those games you can just pull out of the box and master in a matter

01:34

of minutes.

01:35

It takes years of intense practice and study to become truly skilled at chess...

01:40

...especially if one wishes to become a "Chess Grandmaster."

01:44

It looks really impressive on a business card... trust us.

01:48

So is Tan suggesting that we need to apply the same work ethic in life...

01:52

... that we would apply if we're trying to become a chess wiz?

01:55

Or is it more about the game play itself?

02:00

In the game of chess, you are continually in the line of fire.

02:07

There are pieces that can attack from all sides and at any time, and you always have

02:11

to think four or five moves ahead to avoid capture.

02:14

Waverly realized she needed to approach real life in much the same way.

02:19

She learned that her path would not always be easy, and that if your parents give you

02:24

Lifesavers for Christmas...

02:26

...you need to find some way to make... Lifesaver-ade. Then again, maybe it's simply about rules.

02:32

Chess has some pretty stringent ones... bishops must always move diagonally, rooks backwards

02:38

and forwards or side to side, and knights must always move in an "L" shape... in honor

02:43

of Lancelot, perhaps?

02:46

Waverly is subjected to the world's rules as well. Namely... that men are granted the

02:51

favorable opportunities, while women are expected to take a back seat...

02:55

...and busy themselves in the kitchen. However, while Waverly is content to follow

03:00

all of the rules of the game she loves...

03:02

...she is not so eager and willing to roll over and abide by her culture's antiquated

03:06

guidelines. So what did Chess represent?

03:10

A treatise on the importance of hard work?

03:13

An allegory for dealing with life's many obstacles?

03:17

Or a comparison between the rules of a board game... and the rules of the world?

03:22

And while you're thinking about that... Knight to F3. Check. Your move.

03:26

Now... Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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