Generations each possess individual values, attitudes, and goals that strike them apart from one another, thus creating a gap. This gap is like a barrier that keeps the different generations distinct. As for the different attitudes of life, the people belonging to the old generation always wonder what has gone wrong with the new generation. They feel that during their time, young boys and girls were better behaved, more obedient and had greater respect for elders. Young people, on the other hand, feel that they are capable enough to learn on their own rather than lean heavily on the older generation for guidance. Amy Tan's Rules of the Game and Gish Jen's Who's Irish are both stories with parallel symbols, conflicts, characters and plots. Though
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In Rules of the game, the protagonist, Waverly Jong is eight years old, living in San Francisco Chinatown, around the 1950’s. In the late 1950’s, Chinese-Americans had a harsh life in America due to Chinese immigration laws. Thus, this has a tremendous impact on the way the story is told due to the time, tone and atmosphere in the 1950s. In contrast, in Who’s Irish, the antagonist, Sophie who is three years old, lives in a large urban city in the 1990s. Most of the story takes place in the park or the home of the daughter. However, Waverly and Sophie share a common relationship with each other, which is both of them are of the younger generation of Chinese culture and they both want to follow American culture. The age of the two girls directly relates to the theme of cultures clashing. At their age, Waverly nor Sophie understand their mother’s/grandmother’s point of view, thus, the girls become frustrated with her mother/grandmother because they did not agree on the same things. However, age is not the only problem that causes the conflict with the culture gap, but also the traditional ways of the mother/grandmother. The mother and grandmother want to follow their traditional Chinese heritage, but their daughter/granddaughter wants to go against that and follow American
In Rules of the game, the protagonist, Waverly Jong is eight years old, living in San Francisco Chinatown, around the 1950’s. In the late 1950’s, Chinese-Americans had a harsh life in America due to Chinese immigration laws. Thus, this has a tremendous impact on the way the story is told due to the time, tone and atmosphere in the 1950s. In contrast, in Who’s Irish, the antagonist, Sophie who is three years old, lives in a large urban city in the 1990s. Most of the story takes place in the park or the home of the daughter. However, Waverly and Sophie share a common relationship with each other, which is both of them are of the younger generation of Chinese culture and they both want to follow American culture. The age of the two girls directly relates to the theme of cultures clashing. At their age, Waverly nor Sophie understand their mother’s/grandmother’s point of view, thus, the girls become frustrated with her mother/grandmother because they did not agree on the same things. However, age is not the only problem that causes the conflict with the culture gap, but also the traditional ways of the mother/grandmother. The mother and grandmother want to follow their traditional Chinese heritage, but their daughter/granddaughter wants to go against that and follow American