The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is about Chinese immigrant mothers and their daughters who struggle to maintain balance in their lives. Waverly, a chess prodigy, struggles to fulfill the desires of the people around her while also trying to fulfill her own desires. Waverly becomes passionate about chess and training as she expands her field of knowledge, making sacrifices along the way, which ultimately makes her a childhood star. However, as she focused more and more on winning games, the defeats began to weigh heavily on her and eventually led to her quitting. Waverly is originally driven by her passion for playing chess, which allows her to become famous; however, once she becomes famous, the pressure others place on her to perform exceptionally eventually causes her to crack under the pressure. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay When Waverly starts playing chess, winning isn't her main goal, learning is, which leads her to success. Waverly's brother receives a chess set, which sparks her interest in the game; she asks questions about the rules of the game that her brother can't answer, so she goes looking for the answers herself. When he goes to the library, he says that “I studied every chess piece, trying to absorb the power each contained. I learned about the opening moves… I learned about the middle game… I learned… in the final game… I loved the secrets I found in the sixty-four black and white squares,” (Tan 94 ) The repeated use of the phrase “I learned…” emphasizes that she gains knowledge of chess on her own, showing that she wants to learn about chess “loved the secrets she found within the sixty-four white squares and blacks,” implying that she is motivated to study because she wants to learn more about the game, rather than studying why it would help her win. Then she seeks out Lau Po, an old man who plays chess: "But over the weeks, with each dwindling roll of candy, [she] added new secrets... By the end of the summer, [she] had become a better “chess player” (95-96). Waverly loses candy when she doesn't win. However, for her, gaining knowledge far outweighs the cost of losing countless rolls of candy, urging her to continue play regardless of the sacrifices he has to make; whereas if she were only focused on winning, she would give up playing because there is no immediate return from her sacrifice. Ultimately, Waverly's eagerness to learn more about chess due to her interest leads to her successful chess career as a child. After Waverly starts playing solely to win, it eventually leads her to give up when she loses. He confronts his mother and stops playing chess to spite her because he thinks his mother cares about him winning, but his mother doesn't care. When he starts playing again after making peace with his mother, he discovers that he can no longer win. When she starts playing again, “[she] fought hard, with fear and desperation. When [she] won, [she] was grateful, relieved… When [she] lost twice to the boy whom [she] had defeated so easily years before, [she] stopped playing chess altogether” (173 ). He fights with “fear and desperation” to win; the word choice shows that she doesn't want to win because she likes winning per se, she has to win because if she loses, she wouldn't be seen as a prodigy by the people around her, especially her mother. When she wins she is "grateful, relieved"; winning doesn't directly bring her joy, but instead relieves her.