Rules of the game Response

The ending of the short story, “Rules of the Game” focuses on the deteriorating relationship between Waverly and her mother which rapidly sank during their conflict in the market. It concentrates between their degenerating relationship because of how Waverly is embarrassed about her mother’s overactive behavior, how her strict demeanor is affecting her, and how she distracts Waverly. Mrs. Jong’s overactive behavior is one of the factors that their relationship is breaking because in the market, Mrs. Jong kept telling everybody that “This is my daughter, Wave-ly Jong”. It means that in Waverly’s perspective, her mother is showing her off to everybody, but in her mother’s perspective, she shows people how proud she is of Waverly by telling everybody. Mrs. Jong’s rigid attitude was another reason their relationship was lessening. Waverly imagined that she is losing a chess match with who was presumably her mother. This part of the story reflected the conflict between Waverly and her mother. Distraction is another aspect that proves that her relationship with her mother is degenerating because Waverly loses concentration making her unable to focus and to stay on topic. Her distractive presence was seen when Mrs. Jong is watching Waverly practice her chess tactics. Waverly’s mom stood over Waverly and after Waverly makes her move, “a soft Hmmmmph would escape from her nose”. In conclusion, Mrs. Jong’s stern attitude on Waverly, her high-strung behavior, and her distractive presence are the reasons why the ending of the short story, “Rules of the Game” focuses on the disintegrating relationship between Waverly and her mother.