"Two Kinds" and "Rules of the Game" are both short stories in their own right, as well as sections of Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club. Both describe difficult relationships between Chinese immigrant mothers and their more assimilated daughters, who have to make their way in American society. Both are written from the first-person perspective of the daughter, who expresses frustration at the controlling behavior of her mother, along with some admiration for her mother's determination and resilience.

Despite these similarities between the narratives, Jing-mei and Waverly, the two narrators, are very different personalities. Jing-mei is irritated and embarrassed by her mother's constant attempts to turn her into a star. She wants to be left alone to grow up at a normal pace. Waverly is a chess prodigy who is happy to participate in her mother's schemes but angered by her overbearing behavior in relation to a game she does not even understand.

"Two Kinds" ends with Jing-mei as an adult, understanding and accepting her mother's behavior. At the end of "Rules of the Game," however, Waverly is still a child who is hoping and planning to escape from her mother's continual surveillance.