Response to Dearth from Willful Creatures

This short story is about a lonely woman gets rid of her knot in her mind. She lives alone and no friend in her life. Although she has a lover, she doesn’t ask his help when she meets trouble. She has no relative, her parents and brother all died.

In this story, the subject “bathroom” catches my eyes. It appears several times.

1.      “On the first day of spring, the bountiful neighbor came over with lilies woven into her hair, asking to borrow some matches. The woman had the four hide in the bathroom.” The woman accepts the fact that those potatoes will never leave and allows them live with her. From the description of those days they live together, I feel that, at least, the woman doesn’t hate potatoes. She even doesn’t go to her lover’s house during those days. It means something between she and potatoes. But once other people may find out them, she is afraid and tries to hide them.

2.      “When the neighbor left, the woman’s ears were ringing. She went into the bathroom to pee and was somehow startled to see the four still in there, blinking beneath the silver towel rack. ‘Get,’ she said, brushing them off. ‘Get away from me. Go!’” It is the first and the only time she yells at potatoes. Because in her deep mind, she still can’t let other break into her life. She is looked by potatoes when she is peeing, then she bursts out.

3.      “‘How’s that broken bathroom?’ she yelled.

‘Oh,’ said the woman. ‘Well. There never was any broken bathroom.’” After our women thinks about her former life, she find there are something wrong in her life. She never faces her lonely straight. Even when she has a chance to get along with “something”, she is afraid of it and refuses. But now, she forgives her weakness and accepts potatoes and her new life.

I think the broken bathroom represents the women’s knot in her mind. She doesn’t want other see it and try to protect herself. After she get rid of her knot in mind, after she can bravely says “There never was any broken bathroom.”, she begins a new life. 

Response to the Forest

Response to the Forest

This short story is mainly about the change of the relationship between an American girl Bianca and old famous scientist Krzysztof. It tells a story about how two people who probably will never make friends with each other find same interests finally and understand the other.

Bianca looks like a sensitive, irritability and rude girl when Krzysztof first see her. And Krzysztof also be judged by Bianca because he mistakes her as her sister. It seems that there will never be any friendship between them. But after a bottle of special vodka, there are something changed. They begin to know and try to understand each other’ past.

The story’s title, the Forest, is an important symbol. Bianca and Krzysztof meet each other in the forest and in the end, they make a big decision of their life in the same forest. The forest represents the power of pouring out, listening and communication. It is the power which can lead you find the deepest in your mind. Like Bianca and Krzysztof, both of them are not satisfied with their life. But they didn’t try anything to change it because they hide their thought. The fact is they can do something to change. They even needn’t other’s help. Pouring out let them know how ridiculous they were in the past; listening to other let them get ideas. Once they get support or sympathy, they have strength to change their life. Human is kind of strange creature: they have enough power, but they need others’ help, no matter it is important or not.

Response to “Designing Gamification in Right Way”

When I wrote the title of this response, there appeared a red wavy line after I finished typing “gamification”. At first, I thought I made a mistake. But after I checked again, I found that it was Microsoft office’s mistake. This mistake proved that at least before 2010, “gamification” is not a popular word because I am using Microsoft office 2010.

So gamification is a new word to many people and the author tries to introduce how to design gamification in right way. He uses five parts to finish his work. Firstly, he point out that gamification needs a clear goal. Then, he states the importance of knowing target group and user type. In addition, he expends the rage of variables. The most important part is learning content. In this part, he explains how to design gamification depends on many variables. Last but not least, he raises a question about the harm of gamification.

I focus on the last two parts of this article. In the learning content part, he explains deeply how to design gamification. He emphasizes again that educator should pay attention to many different variables and use game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics flexibly. In the last part, he raises a question about the harm of gamification. Sometimes gamification is useless and even harmful because the goal of game is not the goal of education. The solution goes back to the first part, clear goals.

In this article, I find that the author make use of his materials. Every part relates to others. This article is like a circle. The problem and question risen up in the last two parts, their solutions are hidden in the first three parts. This strategy makes whole article clear and impressive.

Merge, again, the typical housewife of American sitcoms

Unlike other classical American sitcoms, The Simpsons looks different. It has no strong, intelligent, responsible husband but a boorish, greedy, lazy and clumsy Homer, a husband who is useless in his family. The only function he has may be pacifying Merge’s frustration at the end of every episodes. Meanwhile, Merge is the backbone of the family, said by Homer when he comforted Merge. It seems like The Simpsons has broken with tradition and satirized American dream. But in fact, Merge is still a traditional housewife. Although she has some other interests or talents, she is supposed to be in house, otherwise Homer will be unhappy. And the family also needs her. Without Merge, Children will be killed by the stupid father. For Merge herself, she pretty enjoys his role in family most time. She loves her husband and thinks he is not a disappointing guy as he was young. You can see in a unrealistic world, in an opposite family of American dream, the women is still a typical housewife.

“Core value” is a word mentioned many times by Jessamyn Neuhaus in her article. It is kind of affirmation of “tradition”. No matter what happened, arguments, conflicts, and even physical violence toward one another, in the end, the family would always be reconciled. And it likes to emphasize the love between Homer and Merge, the love of parents to children, and the children’s loyalty to Marge and Homer. The “core value” is including the role of women in a family.

So why does Merge take this role? As Steven Keslowitz said, she is happy with the way things are. In Merge’s mind, Homer is not a loud, crude, and piggish man because she has changed him. The fact is Homer is a loud, crude, and piggish man, and even their daughter believe it deeply. Sometimes Homer does act as a loving husband when he can makes up Merge’s frustration. Homer is not a fool in relationship and marriage, he gets the point of how to catch women’s heart. I don’t know if it is a right word to describe, but I still want to use. I think Merge is fooled by Homer in their relationship. However, Merge likes this way. It is hard to say who is wrong. But through the Simpsons family, maybe we can see a epitome of the role of women in family. Women are encouraged to act as Merge.

For example, in “A Streetcar Named Marge”, Merge lands the leading role in musical adaptation, Homer at first is oblivious to Marge’s undertaking and then actively resents her absence from the home. He argues with Merge about Merge left dinner for working. And his point is that he can not pull the lid off his own can of pudding. After Homer notices his fault, he expresses his love and devotion, he books a night out on the town for Marge—and Marge rushes into his arms, with a loving look and an ‘‘Aw, Homie.’’ Homer did a right thing in the end, but we should notice that it is Merge made a compromise. Maybe she didn’t think it is a compromise. She loves Homer so much. She can easily be moved by Homer’s expression of love and go back to be a typical housewife. 

Summary and response of “she used to be my girl”, an episode of The Simpsons

Chloe is a famous journalist who covers Mayor’s scandal instead of being cheated by a puppy like other newsmen in Springfield. Actually she was Marge’s partner in high school journalism and both of them had potential. But they made different choice: Chloe chose to go off to journalism school while Marge stayed in Springfield with Homer because she was pregnant at that time. Marge feels jealous of Chloe because her husband looks stupid and her daughter Lisa is fascinated by Chloe. One night, after drinking half glass of wine, Marge can’t hold her emotion anymore and fights with Chloe. Although she explains to Lisa later, she won’t let Lisa go with Chloe to women’s conference. So Lisa escapes from house and hides in Chloe’s car to go to conference. In the half way to women’s conference, Chloe is asked to cover Mount Springfield eruption. Lisa and Chloe get trouble. They are trapped in lava. At that time, Marge saves Lisa using mother love and Chloe is saved by her ex-boyfriend.

There are several symbols in this episode and I would pick some of them to interpret.

1.      Puppy: The Mayor uses puppy to placate local newsmen. It represents some politicians use sensational stuff to gain sympathy and transfer public attention from their scandal to other harmless thing.

2.      Evergreen Terrace and Chloe’ single life: When Marge is asked where she lives, when Chloe is asked her special someone, they both pretend coughing because they are not satisfied with current situation and do not want others know. These represent the flaws in their life.

3.      Chloe’s bowl: It represents Chloe’s fascination. Not only Lisa is attracted by Chloe, but also Marge can’t deny it. It is the reason why Marge fights with Chloe later.

4.      Women conference: In the women conference, no matter what Homer says, he is hissed by other women. So Homer is very confused what women want. It is a satire to some feminism.

5.      The strange dance: In this episode, Chloe talks about a dance the Chinese government makes dissidents perform before they shot them. It represents misunderstanding of American to China.

This episode mainly discusses women’s role in society and their choice. Marge and Chloe represent two types of women. One is housewife, who takes care of family, chose her sweetheart and children rather than career, like Marge. The other is Independent female, like Chloe, who chooses her professional career. The episode does not make a judgment about which one is better. Marge has many unsatisfactory staff in her life so does Chloe. And in the end both of them seem to find something important. It is hard to say Marge made a bad decision because she has a happy family but Chloe doesn’t, although Marge herself feels jealous of Chloe. So what the role women play in society? I think no one can answer this question. Only every individual woman know what she wants.