Question

What conflict occurs in the passage?

Answer 1

Read the passage from Amy Tan's "Rules of the Game."

One day, after we left a shop I said under my breath, "I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter.” My mother stopped walking. Crowds of people with heavy bags pushed past us on the sidewalk, bumping into first one shoulder, then another.

"Aiii-ya. So shame be with mother?” She grasped my hand even tighter as she glared at me.

I looked down. "It’s not that, it’s just so obvious. It’s just so embarrassing.”

"Embarrass you be my daughter?” Her voice was cracking with anger.

"That’s not what I meant. That’s not what I said.”

"What you say?”

I knew it was a mistake to say anything more, but I heard my voice speaking, "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?”

My mother’s eyes turned into dangerous black slits. She had no words for me, just sharp silence.

I felt the wind rushing around my hot ears. I jerked my hand out of my mother’s tight grasp and spun around, knocking into an old woman. Her bag of groceries spilled to the ground.

"Aii-ya! Stupid girl!” my mother and the woman cried. Oranges and tin cans careened down the sidewalk. As my mother stooped to help the old woman pick up the escaping food, I took off.

Answer 2

which one
an internal conflict within the mother, who wants her daughter to grow up but does not want to let her go
an internal conflict within the daughter, who wants to be a grand master but does not want anyone to know about it
an external conflict between the mother, who wants to show off her famous daughter, and the daughter, who feels used
an external conflict between the mother and the neighborhood over the social pressure on the mother to be successful

Answer 3

The passage shows an external conflict between the mother and daughter. The daughter feels embarrassed that her mother keeps telling others she is her daughter and feels like her mother is just using her to show off. This leads to an argument between them where the daughter lashes out and says her mother should learn to play chess herself if she wants to show off. Their conflict escalates as the daughter stomps away angrily and knocks into an old woman, spilling her groceries. So the main conflict portrayed is the external tension between the mother wanting to publicly claim her successful daughter, while the daughter feels used by this and wants more independence, leading to a fight between them.