The Little Mice

Have you ever seen a mute before? And, is there a mute "syndrome" where people just hate all noise including their own voice? If this syndrome exists then the two little Mexicans in "The Little Mice"definitely had it because they refused to talk besides for a "hello" every once in a while. They would go to work and the same time sharp, everyday, and then they would come and sit in these arm chairs under one really dim light bulb.

The mice's neighbors, who owned the place, thought of the mice as the strangest couple they ever met. I would too; I can't stand neighbors who never say anything because I always think they're up to no good. But, the mice in this story are perfectly harmless besides for the fact that they still sit in those chairs even when their roof is on fire! After this fire, the mice move out of the house because, apparently, the neighbors make way too much noise.

I'm just taking a guess here, but the wife may be deaf or mute because she never talks in the story. Maybe the husband had no reason to talk because she couldn't hear him, or she just wouldn't be able to say anything back. The wife could have a speech disorder called selective muteness where she doesn't speak in places that make her nervous. This is much more common than rock solid muteness. But who knows; comment if you find out.

All Summer in a Day

Honestly, would you really want to live in a place where it rains, not just frequently but constantly? I wouldn't and yes, that's my final answer. In Ray Bradbury's classic "All Summer in a Day", the people live in an underground city on Venus, and they only get to see the sun every several years! Actually, there are places on Earth that don't recieve sunlight for long periods of time like Antarctica. How do you think the penguins survive? The sun, in fact, is probably the single, most important thing to human life because it keeps us in orbit, provides us with light, and helps things grow. Obviously, this story is a fantasy because Venus is closer to the sun than Earth is, which means its average temperature is just a little bit hotter. Well, actually, its average temperature is near 800 degrees hotter!

In this story the scientists have predicted that on this day, the citizens of Venus will get to see the sun for about an hour. The children are so excited to see the sun because its never came into view during their lifetime. One girl, Margot, is unlike all the other children because she has seen the sun before. She had only moved to Venus 5 years ago, and she could hardly wait for the sun. Bradbury describes her as a pale girl whose life has been drained out of her because of depression. I would be really depressed too; it's like moving from Florida to the rainforest. Anyway, there was a boy in Margot's class, William, who liked to pick on Margot, so he locks her in a closet. Suddenly, the sun comes out and the excited children bask for an hour, and cry when the sun goes away. When the kids come back, they realize that they left Margot in the closet the whole time.

First, I would feel super-guilty if I was William. Finally, there are so many terrible things that I would want to do to William and the rest of the class if I was Margot.

The Gift

Christmas: the thing that every kid no matter where you are, even Antarctica, waits for every year. In "The Gift" the boy was promised a little tree for Christmas. But, there was a huge problem; the family had just a couple more ounces than the maximum limit of luggage they could take on their rocket flight to Mars. So, the parents decided to leave the boy's present on Earth. Preventing his son's devastation, the boy's father acted quickly. His mind was blank until his son reminded him of the port hole where he and his son could gaze out into space and stare at the impossible. The father realized that he could give his son no better gift than space, a tree with billions of "candles". At midnight, the boy looked out the port hole and realized that there was no better gift than what his father had just given him. The father's idea to compensate for leaving the tree behind by showing him an unbelievable view of space was, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant.

Hopefully, there will be a day when many children receive this gift. But, this can only happen if we let people dream the impossible dream. Today alone, many scientists had conversations about settlement on other planets and traveling through space easily. Recently, Richard Branson, multi-billionaire and president of Virgin Galactic, has made commercial space ships that can travel into space. But, this process is very difficult, for it requires training and a lot of $$$. One day, these dreamers will beat all odds and allow all people to receive this incredible gift.

The Veldt

What makes kids want to kill their parents? For Donna Marie Wisener, it was that her dad abused her in every way possible. Obviously, this guy was disgusting because he abused Donna in many unorthodox ways: cuffed her to a chair, beat her with anything around (even sticks), and he even gave her "rub-downs" on Valentine's Day. If I was abused by my parents, I don't know if I'd have the guts to kill them, and I would have to find out if I even had a good reason to slaughter them in the first place.

In "The Veldt" the children had their very own "smart house" that caused them to kill their parents. This house completely ruined their family's relationship. The children became lazy and spoiled because they didn't have to do anything whatsoever including these simple tasks: tying your shoes, cleaning themselves in the bath, and many other things. My dead grandma can tie her shoes; anyway, the parents threatened to turn off the house. The house meant so much to the kids that they decided to kill their mom and dad so that they couldn't turn off the house. This was a really terrible excuse to kill their parents, but they did it anyway and now they will have to suffer the consequences. Since the parents aren't there to pay for the "smart house", the kids have to tie their own shoes now. HA!