In "The Rules of the Game," how are Waverly and her mother different and how are they alike?

Although this excellent short story primarily concerns the
conflict between a first generation Chinese immigrant to the United States and her
daughter, who is born in the United States and therefore has a very different experience
of migrancy from her mother, there are actually a number of similarities between Waverly
and her mother. Mostly these are based around their shared Chinese heritage and the way
that this comes to be a force of strength for both of them. Both of them come to be
defined by the various bits of Chinese lore and culture that identify them. Consider the
lesson that Waverly is taught by her mother at the beginning of the
story:

Wise
guy, he not go against wind. In Chinese we say, Come from South, blow with
wind--poom!--North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be
seen.

This is a philosophy
that both characters use and in particular Waverly adopts this to ensure success in her
chess matches. In addition, both characters show incredible independence and resilience
in learning the "rules" of the various games that they play. Waverly's mother has been
forced to learn the rules of immigration, just as Waverly herself learns how to play
chess.

However, in spite of the similarities based around a
similar Chinese heritage, these two characters are defined more by their differences
than by their similarities. In particular, Waverly feels mortified and embarrassed by
the way in which her mother shows off her daughter and takes the credit for her
succes:

My
mother would proudly walk with me, visiting many shops, buying very little. "This my
daughter Wave-ly Jong," she said to whoever looked her
way.

This is the central
point of conflict between the mother and Waverly, as Waverly asks her mother to stop
behaving like this: "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?" In the struggle for Waverly to develop into her
own individual person and establish her identity, she feels her mother is a force
against which she must struggle, which is dramatically presented in the dream Waverly
has at the end of the story.