Waverly and her older brothers adopt American rules when they visit the First Chinese Baptist Church to receive Christmas gifts. When Santa asks Waverly if she believes in Jesus Christ, she says yes so she can receive her choice of the Christmas gift boxes the chuch is giving out. When Waverly's brother, Vincent, receives a used chess set with missing pieces, Waverly's mother tells him to throw it away. Instead, he disobeys, and the children...
Waverly and her older brothers adopt American rules when they visit the First Chinese Baptist Church to receive Christmas gifts. When Santa asks Waverly if she believes in Jesus Christ, she says yes so she can receive her choice of the Christmas gift boxes the chuch is giving out. When Waverly's brother, Vincent, receives a used chess set with missing pieces, Waverly's mother tells him to throw it away. Instead, he disobeys, and the children keep the chess set.
When Waverly begins to play in chess tournaments against strangers, she is following American rules, not Chinese rules. As Waverly says, "They would have American rules. If I lost, I would bring shame on my family." The idea of playing against strangers and possibly bringing shame to the family is American, but Waverly's mother relents and lets her daughter play in the tournaments. After Waverly becomes a chess prodigy, she violates many Chinese rules. She is allowed to practice chess all the time and not do work, which is contrary to the Chinese tradition of the daughters doing the work around the house. In the end, Waverly's chess playing starts her down a path of becoming far more independent than the traditional Chinese daughter and playing by American rules than traditional Chinese rules.
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