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Parental Pressure In Kurt Vonnegut's Rules Of The Game

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It is crazy how similar stories can be with their theme, ideas, and characters. This is the case with “The Lie” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan. The similarities between the stories include; both had parental pressure (both children have to carry oodles of pressure from their parents). In both stories, there is also a mutual correspondence of the children having a breaking point. One last way the two stories are congruous is each has a parent and child confrontation. These two short stories are similar in many ways, and these are just a few of the ways they are. One of the significant similarities between “Rules of the Game” and “The Lie” is parental pressure. In both short stories, both the parents of Eli and …show more content…

In “The Lie”, When Eli’s dad tries to convince the members of the board into letting Eli into the school, it states,“Eli stood, his face filled with incredulity and shame that were instant.‘You what ?’ he said, and there was no childness in the way he said it. Next came anger. ‘You shouldn’t have done that’” (Vonnegut 6). This shows Eli is very, very indignant at his father because he tried to convince the members of the board to let his son into the school. Since Eli is clearly infurious, this demonstrates Eli is having a breaking point. In “Rules of the Game”, Waverly also has a breaking point. Her breaking point comes when she gets in an argument with her mother and feels as if her mom is trying to “show her off.” It states, “Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off, then why don’t you learn to play chess” (Tan 9). This shows that in both of the short stories, both children have a breaking point because their parent/parents do something that the child does not particularly like. Waverly does not enjoy that her mom is showboating her, and Eli does not relish that his dad tried to brainwash the members of the board to admit Eli into …show more content…

In “The Lie”--just like the breaking point--it happens after Doctor Remenzel attempts to get Eli into the school just for being a Remenzel, after Doctor Remenzel specifically said Remenzels are not entitled to anything special at the school. Eli says to his dad, “‘A Remenzel asked for something--as though a Remenzel were something special” (Vonnegut 6). When the Doctor hears this, he turns almost inarticulate and says, “I don’t suppose--I don’t suppose that we’ll ever be coming here again.” (6) In “Rules of the Game”, the parent and child confrontation happens right before Waverly’s breaking point. Waverly says to her mom, “I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter” (Tan 8), her mom says back to her, “Aiii-ya. So shame be with mother?” (8). Waverly then says,“It’s not that, it’s just so obvious. It’s just so embarrassing” (8). In both short stories, the parent and child confrontation happen because the characters are fed up with their parent’s pressure, and something the parent has done, so they snap and tell their parent/parents

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