“Fish Cheeks”
Amy Tan’s family welcomes their American allies for a Christmas dinner. Amy is smitten with Robert who is a member of the minister's family. Amy’s Christmas aspiration is to have a blond beau and an American nose. Amy is apathetic about the invitation as she contemplates that their Chinese dinner would seem despicable based on American standards.
Amy’s mother prepares a peculiar dinner. During the dinner, Amy is discomfited because her relatives’ privation of ideal table manners. The relatives immerse chopsticks unsystematically into the cooking plates and mumble in the course of eating. What is more disconcerting, Amy’s father pokes out fish cheeks using the chop sticks and gives them to Amy and he eructates after dinner. Robert gives the impression of disapproval.
After the departure of the minister's household, Amy’s mother gives her a miniskirt so that she can be like the American girls. Amy stresses the anguish that she went throughout the dinner. Eventually, after a number of years, Amy Tan, who as adult, concedes that the dinner was exceptional as it integrated all of her preferred foods.
“Rules of the Game”
Waverly Jong’s mother imparts the quintessence of ‘invisible strength’ in Amy’s mind from the age of six. Her mother reprimands her using the words; “Bite back your tongue” as a way to make her resilient. Additionally, her mother enlightens her about the force of strong wind. Waverly Jong’s mother parenting style influences Amy and her brothers to rise above their situations. Through a flashback, Amy Tan explains Waverly Jong’s family were residents of Chinatown, San Francisco, and Waverly’s name is related to the street where they dwelled. Waverly’s juvenile years were relatively tranquil as she and her family had adequate food and they lived in a two-bedroom apartment. Beneath the apartment was a Chinese bakery. The businesses within the locality largely dealt with Chinese goods.
Waverly’s mother emboldens her to embrace her Chinese roots when she asks about the implication of “Chinese torture”. Her mother looks at ‘Chinese Torture’ from a constructive angle when she tells Waverly that the Chinse people are more diligent than the Americans; so, their diligence is what Americans regard as torture. During one of the Christmas parties’ Vincent, One of Waverly’s brothers receives a chess set for a Christmas present. Waverly Jong receives a “twelve-pack of Life Savers whereas Winston, receives a “World War II submarine.” Later on, they recognize that the chess set is deficient as it excludes “a black pawn and a white knight.”
Upon arriving home with the Christmas gift, Waverly’s brothers embark on learning chess. Their mother dampens them, but they stay put. That evening, Waverly Jong asks questions about the game, but her brothers are not responsive. Her mother shows her disregard for the game when she apprehends that the rules are written in English, and she labels them American rules.
Later, Waverly carries out a study, which entails going to the library, to help her grasp all the rules of chess. Her research educates her about the applicability of ‘invisible strength’ in chess. Waverly Jong’s interest in chess rises steeply, but her brothers’ interest shrinks with time. Eventually, Waverly takes over Vincent’s chess set.
One day after school Waverly Jong plays chess with Lau Po, who opens her eyes in regard to the classified details and dictates that warrant success in chess. She expands her expertise and conception of the game. Waverly Jong starts taking part in exhibition games where she triumphs over all her challengers. Her mother watches her play in the games where she proclaims that her daughter’s success “Is Luck.” A man in one of the games vouches for Waverly to contest in ‘local chess tournaments’ , however Waverly is skeptical as she supposes her mother would raise objections considering that chess is regulated by American rules; thus, her defeat would disgrace her family.
Eventually, Waverly contests in a tournament with a “fifteen-year-old boy from Oakland’ whom she overwhelms. During the tournament, a strong wind gives her tip offs on how to knock her competitor down. After earning trophies her mother demands that in the next tournament the number of chess pieces, she losses should be lower than the last tournament. Nevertheless, in all the contests that she participates, Waverly triumphs and all her trophies are exhibited in the bakery beneath her family’s apartment. Subsequently, Waverly’s mother discharges her from washing dishes, so her brothers take over the duty.
When Waverly is nine years old, she trashes an American man in a contest that accords her the status of a ‘national chess champion.’ Her image is put on a magazine. Waverly Jong’s life transforms as she stops playing at Waverly Place. Her parents back her up in the quest to practice more. On one Saturday, while escorting her mother to the market, Waverly Jong confronts her mother for revealing to everyone that she is her daughter. The incident deteriorates; Waverly Jong defies her mother and races down the street. She runs through dark alleys, but she is unsuccessful in locating an escape route to take her far away. She returns home at dinner time and goes straight to her bedroom.
"Two Kinds"
Jing-Mei Woo recollects her Chinese mother's attempts to make her a child prodigy who is well known in America. First, her mother tries to mold her into a Chinese Shirley Temple. Her mother persuades her to watch Shirley Temple movies on television and takes her to a beauty training school to have a Shirley Temple haircut. The amateur student at the beauty school messes up with Jing-Mei Woo's hair and so she suggests giving Jing-Mei Woo a Peter Pan haircut. The new hairstyle invokes in Jing-Mei Woo the hopes of transcending the limits of her Chinese identity and becoming a more perfect American.
Every night her mother conducts tests to train her into a child prodigy. The tests mainly aimed to improve her general knowledge, sharpen her communication skills, mathematical skills and logical reasoning. Jing-Mei Woo fails repeatedly in the tests and her mother feels disappointed. However, the recurring failures inspire Jing-Mei Woo to rise above her fears and start a journey of self-discovery. Consequently, Jing-Mei Woo displays disinterestedness in her mother's attempts to make her a child prodigy but her mother refuses to give up. After watching The Ed Sullivan Show on TV, her mother decides to send Jing-Mei Woo for piano classes to make her a famous child pianist. Her mother asks Mr. Chong to give Jing-Mei Woo piano lessons in exchange for her housecleaning service.
After a few piano classes, Mr. Chong and her mother conspire to enroll Jing-Mei Woo's name for the talent show to be held at their church hall. Jing Mei Woo plays a moody note of music from Schumann's "Pleading Child" in the talent show. Jing-Mei Woo strikes one wrong note of music after another, and she witnesses the shameful faces of her mother and father as she descends the stage after the show. Jing-Mei Woo thinks that her disappointing performance in the show would stop her mother from forcing her to become a child prodigy. However, after two days, her mother forces her to pursue her piano training again. Jing-Mei Woo retaliates telling her mother that she isn't her mother's slave because they are not living in China and in America, daughters aren't expected to obey what their mothers say. Her mother yanks her by her arm and drags her to the piano amidst her loud protests. Her mother tells her that there are two kinds of daughters, obedient daughters and disobedient daughters and only obedient daughters have the right to stay in their mother's house. Jing-Mei Woo strikes back at her mother's threat saying she wishes that she was never born her daughter and her mother grows silent.
