Supertoys Last All Summer Long Analysis
Supertoys last all summer long
Where do we draw the line? Is it okay to medicate feelings away? Who is responsible for the actions undertaken by autonomous systems? With the increasing development on genetic modification, autonomous machines and the knowledge about our brain and nervous system’s chemistry, things we see in science fiction movies are beginning to seem possible and this poses questions to ethicists and scientists. In the short story “Super toys last all summer long”, Brian Aldiss is questioning what is real and what makes something real, through a story about a woman struggling to love her son.
Already in the start of the short story, where it says, "She had tried to love him"(p. 32, l. 19), Brian Aldiss shows us that there is something, which is not right in the relationship between the mother Monica and the son David. A mother’s love for her child is endless, therefore this makes us question whether David is Monica’s real child or not. Later on in the short story, Brian Aldiss alludes to the fact that David is not a normal boy. “He went with her without protest into the house, his dark head bobbing at the level of her waist. At the age of three, he showed no fear of the ultrasonic dryer in the kitchen.”(p. 32 l. 28-32). It is not normal for a three-year-old boy to do as his mother says without protest or not to be afraid of the ultrasonic dryer, which properly is big and noisy. Through the short story, more and more tells us that the communication between Monica and David is almost non-existent. We see that when David is sitting in the nursery writing a letter to Monica, ““I’ve said –” He picked up his letter and stared hard at it. “I’ve said, ‘Dear Mummy, I hope you’re well just now. I love you….’” There was a long silence, until the bear said, “That sounds fine. Go downstairs and give it to her.” Another long silence. “It isn’t quite right. She won’t understand.””(p. 33 l. 37-46). Here we see that he is not only afraid that Monica won’t
Where do we draw the line? Is it okay to medicate feelings away? Who is responsible for the actions undertaken by autonomous systems? With the increasing development on genetic modification, autonomous machines and the knowledge about our brain and nervous system’s chemistry, things we see in science fiction movies are beginning to seem possible and this poses questions to ethicists and scientists. In the short story “Super toys last all summer long”, Brian Aldiss is questioning what is real and what makes something real, through a story about a woman struggling to love her son.
Already in the start of the short story, where it says, "She had tried to love him"(p. 32, l. 19), Brian Aldiss shows us that there is something, which is not right in the relationship between the mother Monica and the son David. A mother’s love for her child is endless, therefore this makes us question whether David is Monica’s real child or not. Later on in the short story, Brian Aldiss alludes to the fact that David is not a normal boy. “He went with her without protest into the house, his dark head bobbing at the level of her waist. At the age of three, he showed no fear of the ultrasonic dryer in the kitchen.”(p. 32 l. 28-32). It is not normal for a three-year-old boy to do as his mother says without protest or not to be afraid of the ultrasonic dryer, which properly is big and noisy. Through the short story, more and more tells us that the communication between Monica and David is almost non-existent. We see that when David is sitting in the nursery writing a letter to Monica, ““I’ve said –” He picked up his letter and stared hard at it. “I’ve said, ‘Dear Mummy, I hope you’re well just now. I love you….’” There was a long silence, until the bear said, “That sounds fine. Go downstairs and give it to her.” Another long silence. “It isn’t quite right. She won’t understand.””(p. 33 l. 37-46). Here we see that he is not only afraid that Monica won’t