"Super-Toys" Virtual Seminar (3rd period) by Tina Atack

Will Lyons

2025-02-19 14:33:50 UTC

The irony that exists between David and his mother is that David treats his Monica like a mother, but Monica treats him like a robot, discarding him as soon as he stops working. During the story, David's communication system stops working, making it so he cannot speak. He spends time writing letters to his mom, telling Monica that he does in fact love, but cant speak to her. After all of this, Monica still disrespects David by simply suggesting to send him back to the factory when they can have a real child. This is compelling because it makes us wonder what will happen between them and how things will turn out.

2025-02-19 14:37:14 UTC

A sentence that I found interesting in the story was " 'Yes, my darling, yes, we've won this week's parenthood lottery! We can go ahead and conceive a child at once!' ". This sentence was interesting because the world seemed to have a lottery for humans that allowed them to have a child. It is also interesting how only one family wins the lottery each week, and that shows how controlled and small the population actually is. I wonder how strict population control is, and why they decided to control the population in this way.

Rachel's response

2025-02-19 14:40:54 UTC

I think that the alternating perspectives allow us to get a glimpse into everyone's lives and allow us to get a full view of the story. For example, when we get to see things from David's view we see that he loves his mom and has feelings, but has trouble expressing them to others. When we see things from Monica's point of view we see that she wants to love her son but is having trouble doing so. And when we see things from Henry's point of view we see all the inventions and technology in this world. Because of all these aspects, the ending of the story seems to make sense to us, more so than if the story were to only be told from one persons point of view. It explains why David and Monica can't talk to each other well, and Henry's point of view gives us even more reasoning for those awkward interactions between a robot and a human.

Rachel's response

2025-02-19 14:45:33 UTC

I think that the irony that exists between David and his mother is the fact that you think that they are mother and son, but when you get to the end of the story you find out that they are not. This is irony because the definition of irony is an event that seems contrary to what one expects. You don't expect David to be a robot because from his point of view he seems to have feelings and asks questions like "How do you tell what are real things from what aren't real things?". Then at the end we see that he is not Monica's son, but really a place holder for until she gets a real son, which is contrary to what we expect.

Ezra Howlett

2025-02-19 14:48:43 UTC

The irony between David and his mother is that David's mother really wants to have a child to love and David really wants to be loved by his mother. In the text the author writes "She had tried to love him." This quote shows that she had tried to love David but does not love him. Another quote from the text is "Many of them were written in David's clumsy writing, with each letter picked out in a color different from the letter preceding it. None of the messages was finished. 'My dear mummy, How are you really, do you love me as much as-'

'Dear Mummy, I love you and Daddy and the sun is shining-'" This quote shows that David loves his mother and wants her to love him. This ironic relationship is interesting because it really makes you think about what is real and what is not and there relationship with each other.

Will L

2025-02-19 14:55:05 UTC

I think that anything with feelings and thoughts in this story is real. During the story, David and Teddy discuss whether or not they are real. I think David even thinking about this fact is enough to classify him as a real being, even if he was manufactured. However, there are some robots in the story that do not appear to be sentient. For example, the intestine robot and the serving man seem to just be set on one task, and don't have any feelings of their own.

Ezra Howlett

2025-02-19 14:56:36 UTC

David and Teddy's discusion about what is real is ironic because they are both robots or not real humans. The discussion is also ironic because they end up agreeing they are both real, when in fact they are both not real. We know they are both not real because Teddy has a computer in his head. We know David is not real because it says, "I think he'll have to go back to the factory again.'", in the text. This proves he is a robot that might be malfunctioning.

2025-02-19 14:57:23 UTC

Why is only a small part of the world population-controlled? Is there technology like robots in those other cities? I think this story is pretty interesting, and also shows what could happen in the future if technology keeps on evolving. I also think that the relationship of Monica and David was interesting. In the story, they thought there was something wrong with one another. David thought that Monica wasn't real, and Monica thought that David was malfunctioning and ignoring her. It was interesting to see both of their perspectives and thoughts about each other.

What is the most interesting sentence in the story?

2025-02-19 15:10:47 UTC

In the story "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" I think that one of the most interesting sentences would be " 'It seems like a paradox that in this day and age we can create life but not intelligence." I think this is one of the most interesting sentences because it is stating that even the people of that town find it strange that they have synthetic life forms, but those forms don't have any intelligence at all, so they are basically robots. The part that makes this sentence interesting is that this story was written 50+ years ago, and the author thought that this is where we would be, we would have fake life, when in reality we are nowhere near it.

Irony between David and his mother

2025-02-19 15:24:56 UTC

The irony between David and his mother is they both want to talk to each other and want each other to love them. For example, Monica says "David, darling, do you have to be so awful?" This shows that she wants him to be better and wants a more lovable child. Later, she says "Why can't we communicate?" About David loving his mother but being very distant and feeling lonely.

-Teagan Emanuele

What irony exists between David and his mother?

2025-02-19 15:25:09 UTC

There is definitely some dramatic irony in this story. I say this because we all know and David's parents know that he is a robot human, but the only people who don't know are David himself. So that is sort of a secret that only us and his parent know. This is compelling because we know and we are kind of watching him slowly figure it out, by doubting if he is real, and if his moms love for him is real. As well as him starting to ask Teddy if lots of things are real, which gives into us figuring out he isn't real, and starts to make him doubt reality.

The most interesting sentence

2025-02-19 15:28:04 UTC

The most interesting sentence in this story is, "She had tried to love him.". In this sentence, the reader can tell that something is going on that they and David do not know yet. This sentence also acts as a hook sentence to get the reader more interested in the story because they want to know why Mrs. Swinton could not love David.

-Zoe Harris

David's age

2025-02-19 15:29:30 UTC

I think that David has always been 3 years old. I think this because Monica Swinton never thinks about when David was a baby, as far as we know. It seems like she and David have always had trouble communicating and he never seems to grow up. We have no knowledge of when he was younger and he does not seem to have a great long term memory. He says something about something his mother said a few weeks ago, but he does not seem to have any other memories.

-Teagan Emanuele

Questions and thoughts on the story

2025-02-19 15:37:43 UTC

A few of my questions about this story are, what is going to happen to David once the Swintons have their child? Is David a prototype? Why did their government decide to solve overpopulation by making a parenthood lottery?

-Zoe Harris

No

2025-02-19 16:48:38 UTC

No, David does not grow because he is a robot meant to replace a human child. I know this because in the story the adults say, "

'Is David malfunctioning?'

'His verbal communication-center is still giving trouble. I think he'll have to go back to the factory again.' "

-Theo H-N

Theo H-N

2025-02-19 19:01:06 UTC

Why are the people using "a perfectly safe parasite tapeworm that enables its host to eat up to 50% more food" if "3/4 of the overcrowded world are starving"? It seems very wasteful. Maybe the author is warning us about being greedy and selfish?

2025-02-19 19:11:31 UTC

It allows you to get a fuller view of the story; from different angles. It helps you understand what David is [mother/father], what society is like [father/mother], and how David thinks [David]. It shows you the entire narrative and point of the story. In conclusion, without the different perspectives the entire message of the story would not get through.

2025-02-19 19:23:23 UTC

This affects our experience by showing how different characters in the story experience this shiny, fake world. For example, David struggles with his "realness" as a part of a fake world, while Henry and Monica want as much "realness" as possible, while still believing in the illusion that is their life. There are many different sides of this story, and had it been told in a different order, it could have been a different story.

2025-02-19 19:24:58 UTC

David has always been this age. I think this because of the fact that, based on the text, David has been to the "factory" before. This implies that he has needed to be "fixed" and maybe had his memory reset. Also, it seems that since no one else seems to age, he thinks that the fact he hasn't grown is normal.

Aditya Mohan

2025-02-19 19:46:42 UTC

"His verbal communication-center is still giving trouble. I think that this is the the most interesting sentence in the story because, it shows the reader that David was actually a robot this entire time. Also, this sentence is implying that even though David loves his "mother" so much, they are still going to ditch him/repair him because he is not what they want him to be.

Aditya Mohan

2025-02-19 19:49:28 UTC

The issues in society that the author is focusing on is the issue of things getting so futuristic that nothing feels real anymore. In this world, the problem is overpopulation and obesity which has never been a problem in history, up until very recently, and this is because the world has been getting so much "better" that there is too much of everything. Whenever you watch youtube or tiktok, you see the best version of people, not who they actually are.

2025-02-19 23:40:45 UTC

I think that this makes the story a lot more interesting. I believe that it depth to the story, because you see David's innocence, Henry's and Monica's struggles, and a bit of the outside world. This also makes the reader have to pay more attention to the story, which makes them see small things in the story, like how high-tech this world seems, with things like ultrasonic dryers.

- Indraa

2025-02-20 00:19:56 UTC

I think that David's body can grow, but his mind cannot. The story addresses that synthetic life-forms are a thing, so I think that David's flesh is able to grow. Since his mind is a computer, it cannot grow and already has all the capabilities like speaking and fine motor skills.

Irony

2025-02-20 01:04:23 UTC

David and Monica have a very ironic relationship in this story, because David, the artificial being, is the one that shows lots of love and human emotion, and tries to be the best son possible, while Monica is the human, but she is the one who is distant and doesn’t return the emotion. This is compelling because it shows us a part of synthetic life that is not talked about a whole lot in stories like these; that artificial beings may learn from us and learn how we show emotion, and then begin to surpass our emotional levels like how they have with intelligence. We can see this on page three, where David is trying to figure out how to show love and be the best son possible to Monica, which contrasts with how Monica feels on page one, "She remained alone. An overcrowded world is the ideal place in which to be lonely," which shows that even with David there, she does not feel the same love for him. It also brings into question if programming these synthetic beings to love people is good or not, because on one hand it makes it so that they will not turn against their family, but it can also lead to what is happening or will happen to David, with him facing the question of what to do when the people you love get rid of you.

-Alex K

Thoughts

2025-02-20 01:17:27 UTC

My thoughts about the story are that it is very interesting and it brings up a lot of ethical questions about these synthetic beings. I was especially interested in the relationship between Teddy and Monica in regards to David. In the story Monica seems to see both David and Teddy as below her, but she also trusts Teddy to take care of David, and tries to love David. However, you can see that Monica does not see them as fellow beings, and more just as things, because on page 7, when she learns that Henry and her can have a child, she and Henry have this conversation "Seeing their faces, Henry and his wife grew serious.

'What do we do about them?' Henry asked.

'Teddy's no trouble. He works well.'

'Is David malfunctioning?'

'His verbal communication-center is still giving trouble. I think he'll have to go back to the factory again.'

'Okay. We'll see how he does before the baby's born." This quote shows that Monica and Henry, although they do care about Teddy and David, are okay with getting rid of them if they malfunction, or if they are replaced. This was one of the several interesting relationships in the story, and they all made me wonder a lot about the ethics of this world, and if it was worth it to have these robot-like beings.

- Alex K

1st question-Leah Goode

2025-02-20 01:53:56 UTC

Some of the questions I have about the super toys mini story is 1. how do the robot children age because if they were somehow able to grow how would that technology work or is it something that they had a memory card in their brain and every year or so when regular human children are supposed to get growth spurts they get their memory card taken out of their brain and then get a new body. And 2. I wanted to know if the robot had to get charged or if they had some type of solar panel inside of them that helped give them energy because if the technology was somehow able to drive on its own without needing charge or electricity to function I would like to know how that would work.

2nd question-Leah Goode

2025-02-20 01:56:31 UTC

In this story The line between what real and what isn't is slightly blurred because David, the main protagonist who is a robot, believes that he is a real child and experiences real emotion even when he doesn't just gets blurred because of the way that he acts like an entirely real human child but in actuality he isn't

1st question-Leah Goode

2025-02-20 01:57:31 UTC

2nd question

2025-02-20 01:58:03 UTC

Randy T.

2025-02-20 02:50:06 UTC

I feel like David isn't able to grow in the way a normal human child is able to, mainly due to the fact that he's a robot that's designed to mimic an actual boy. From what the story says, he isn't meant to change or develop the way a biological child would. He's meant to be the same age and the same age only.

Randy T.

2025-02-20 02:52:36 UTC

My best guess on the issue the author is talking about is the fact that robotic bonds just aren't the same as humans, or the fact that AI has emotional limitations. David is forced to love Monica, yet Monica doesn't love him back.

Juliette Becton

2025-02-20 14:47:24 UTC

"I want to be real." This line captures David's longing for authenticity and love, emphasizing the emotional depth of the story and the complex relationship between humans and artificial beings.

Giovanni P

2025-02-20 14:47:38 UTC

They say in the text that David might have to go back to the factory. I think this means that David isn't an actual human child. I think he's a super toy, not even synthetic flesh. I think this because Mr Swinton says that he has just barely discovered how to grant intelligence to synthetic flesh, and since David is intelligent, I think he's a robot.

Giovanni P

2025-02-20 14:49:55 UTC

I think that the irony of the story is in the mother who wants a child, but doesn't know what having a child is like. I think Mrs Swinton's relation ship with David tells the story of a son who doesn't know how to be a son, and a mother who can't be another to something she doesn't love.

Juliette Becton

2025-02-20 14:50:49 UTC

The irony between David and his mother, Monica is compelling because David, an artificial being, yearns for her love, while she struggle to emotionally connect with him. Although he is programmed to seek affection,Monica feels conflicted about her role as a mother, highlighting the tension between obligation and genuine emotion.

issues

2025-02-20 14:52:56 UTC

the author focuses on 3 main issues. people especially teenagers not bonding with their parents. the fact that overpopulation is becoming a big problem. and the fact that so many people are in poverty.

Remy

2025-02-20 15:06:30 UTC

"Teddy-I suppose Mummy and Daddy are real, aren't they?" this shows that David can't tell the difference between a human and a synthetic human. because David could be a regular human or a synthetic human. also Davids parents could be real or synthetic.

2025-02-24 15:44:49 UTC

I think the alternating perspectives makes the story a lot more interesting because seeing what Henry and Monica think about compared to David. Also, the ironic nature of David and Monica can't be recognized without the perspective switch.

Chiassi

2025-02-24 15:45:08 UTC

No David does not grow because he is a robot and not a living child. Some text evidence is when Monica Swinston mentions that David needs to go to the factory again "I think he'll have to go back to the factory again.".

2025-02-24 18:41:31 UTC

I think David has always been this age because first of all he is a synthetic super toy. I think this because Monica says he needs to be "returned to the factory" and Monica makes a notion he has always been like this.

Chiassi

2025-02-26 04:41:40 UTC

In 'Super-Toys', Brian Aldiss explores the emotional isolation caused by technology. The story critiques society's reliance on A.I. to fill emotional voids, suggesting these solutions can't replace real human connections. Through David and his mother, the author highlights the dangers of prioritizing technology over genuine relationships.

Judah

2025-02-28 21:33:09 UTC

I think it affects our experience in a lot of ways. One would be to see through the eyes of the character and learn about them. Another would be to show us how they feel about everything else.

Judah

2025-02-28 21:35:03 UTC

I think that he grows mentally but maybe not physically. He definitely grows mentally because he talks and thinks about his mother. I don't really think there is proof of him growing physical in the story.