Four Directions Quotes

Quotes

"I couldn't fend off the strength of her will anymore, her ability to make me see black where there was once white, white where there was once black"
This quote has a double meaning. It refers to the fact that Waverly played chess, but also to the manipulative side of the mom. It shows that she distorted Waverlys views. This quote also relates back to Red Candle, when the mother distorted the family's views and ended up getting her own way. It's interesting to me that the mother would distort the daughters views in a way that made it impossible for her to win at chess because Lindo could no longer parade Waverly around as her chess champion.

"I knew at exactly what point their faces would fall when my seemingly simple plan would reveal itself as a devastating and irrevocable course. I loved to win"
This shows the competitive nature that Waverly has and shares with her mom. Not only is Waverly competetive, but also manipulative. This description of Waverly and her chess game reminded me a lot of the plan that Linda concocted when she was trying to get out of her marriage in China.

"And I could no longer see the secret weapons of each piece, the magic within the intersection of each square. I could only see my mistakes, my weaknesses."
This is the turning point in her life, when she forgets how to win at chess. She forgets her moves because her mom kind of psyches her out with her tactics. Waverly has her ego severly bruised when she gets in the argument with her mom. Waverly thinks she is smarter than Linda and she tries to show that. But then Lindo shows how cunning she really is and that she is stronger than Waverly. Because she forgets how to play chess, Waverly totally changes her perspective in life. She becomes more insecure because she no longer has the confidence in the way she plays chess.

"In her hands I always became the pawn. I could only run away. And she was the queen, able to move in all directions, relentless in her pursuit, always able to find my weakest spots."
This section is full of double entendres involving chess. This quote refers to the fact that in this section, Waverly is like the pawn piece and Lindo is the queen piece. This is a perfect analogy for this section because Waverly is very restricted and doesn't have much power in this section. Linda however controls the entire section and pretty much runs the show. The queen is the most powerful piece while the pawn is the weakest. This shows how her mother has an advantage over Waverly.

"I saw what I had been fighting for: It was for me."
This shows Waverly's selfishness in her fight against her mom. All she had to do was to give in yet she kept fighting, trying to prove that what she had done was justified.