Page 54 - Point 5 Literature Program Option 1 Teachers Guide (2) (1)

Part III
When a stranger suggests she play in local tournaments, Waverly shows us that she has learned
both her lessons – she bites back her tongue and applies the principles of chess – she has her
endgame of wanting to play in the tournaments, but has to plan a strategy to get her mother
to agree. she uses reverse psychology, saying she does not want to play in order not to disgrace
the family if she loses. her strategy is successful.

The description of her first tournament shows her great ability to focus on the game. It also
shows that although she seems to wish to distance herself from her mother’s old country ways,
Waverly is still Chinese by heritage and uses the picturesque oriental imagery of her mentor to
plan her moves.
Compared to the earlier detailed descriptions, Waverly talks about her meteoric rise to fame
very briefly – as if all this attention is not of great interest to a little girl. she is more interested
in the changing family dynamic – her brothers’ dissatisfaction at having to do her chores, or
exactly what she was wearing in the photograph, and the loss of her freedom to play as a child
in the alley.

Part IV
While she is refining her chess-playing techniques for future tournaments, we become aware
of the much bigger game she is constantly playing – against her mother. she feels crowded by
her mother’s hovering over her as she practices, and embarrassed when her mother shows her
off at the market. this leads to the second dialogue – a tense, climactic conflict between them.
Waverly runs off but life is not exactly a game of chess and there are not always convenient
escape routes – especially spontaneous ones. she returns home, knowing she will be punished.
Banished to her room, she retreats into her world of chess – finally recognizing overtly that her
opponent is her mother. her mothers eyes, two angry black slits, remind Waverly that Strongest
wind cannot be seen.
she knows her mother is a truly fierce opponent, but despite her young age she is not daunted
and is prepared to apply all the skills she has acquired so far to face the challenge. It is ironic
that it is the mother herself who has taught Waverly these skills.
this story has some interesting structural parallels with A Summer’s Reading by Bernard
malamud. although the setting is much later, and as far away from New York as one can get
in america, we read of an immigrant community making its way towards assimilation and
integration. Both stories contain key dialogues between the protagonist and antagonist, which
are focal points in the story and in both cases, the ending of the story is left somewhat open
– we assume george will be more successful in his attempt to read, having learned certain life
lessons during the summer, and we may assume that Waverly will also prove to be a match for
her opponent, using everything she has learned so far.