Article of the Week by Ava
Fortnite is currently the biggest video game in the world. The idea behind it is that 100 players fight to be the last one standing. You have 3 different device options to play the game. You can play it on a computer, video game console, and now on your iphone. In fact, Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, made $1.5 million in the first 3 days it released its iphone version. In addition to the success of the app version, the computer, Xbox, and PlayStation versions made a combine revenue of $126 million just in February. To add on, most players are from the US and UK so there's more room to grow and make more money.
Not only is this game popular amongst teens and adults, it is also popular amongst kids. One mother even described her 10 year old child as being “addicted” to the game. Kids like the game because of the cartoon visuals, special effects, humor, and ability to buy clothing to set you apart from other opponents. Not only do people enjoy playing the game, they enjoy watching other people play the game on websites like Twitch.
Personally I don't understand the crazy excitement that surrounds a new video game. Last year it was Pokemon go and now it is Fortnite. What really surprised me about this article was when a mom wrote a blog entitled, “How I lost my kids to Fortnite” I don't understand why as their mom she didnt limit their time or just take away the video game. What is even crazier is that 600,000 people watched Drake and a popular streamer Tyler “ninja” Blevins play Fortnite against each other. All they got to do was watch and 600,000 people wanted to do that. Even though I don't understand the craze I do respect the amount of money the company Epic Games made from creating Fortnite. It was definitely a successful game even though I can say I have never played and never will.
Article of the Week by Emma
In the article, “Fortnite climbs up most-wanted video game list for children, teens” by The Guardian explains how the free mobile video game Fortnite topped 13 countries in the Apple iTunes app-sales chart in only a few hours and how parents are complaining about their kids playing Fortnite. For instance, the article states that “one mother complained that her 10-year-old son has changed as a result of his addiction to the game.” Other parents are also agreeing saying that they’ve lost their kids to Fortnite. However, what is getting the parents attention the most is why the game is so popular with their kids and the reason they’ve suddenly forgotten about their other games. The game is mostly popular among kids mostly because it’s free and the fact that you have more variety of clothes, emotions, dance moves, and the ability to use “mocking gestures towards other players.” The video game “within hours it topped the Apple iTunes app-Sales chart in 13 countries” which is phenomenal because of the fact that most people had never hear of the game Fortnite a year ago.
In the article, the thing that was interesting to me was the fact that the parents are complaining about their kids being addicted to playing a free mobile and computer game rather than complaining about their kids being addicted to playing other games that costs money. As a matter a fact, most kids might be playing the game because of the fact that famous people are playing it. For example, the article states that the rapper Drake was playing the game on Twitch with the popular streamer Tyler Ninja, which “600,000 people tuned in to watch.” Not to mention, I agree with the article when it says that Fortnite is going to die down just like Pokemon Go. In other words, “in a year’s time, they may well be wondering what all the fuss was about.”
Citing Evidence to Support a Position
by Safa
Although Billie clearly states that her mom doesn’t live on in her, I believe that she’s deeply mistaken. Even though she looks like her father, that doesn’t mean that she is her father. There are moments all throughout the book that prove that she and her mother are very much alike. Both Billie and her mother have a similar spirit, the Dad can see some of the mom in Billie, and Billie even admits it herself.
To begin, both Billie and her mother have similar dreams and spirit. According to the book “I don’t think [Ma] was ever meant for the farm life, I think once she had bigger dreams…” (page 113). The bigger dreams that Billie is talking about is with the Mother’s beloved piano. As Billie stated previously in the book, the mom was meant to be on stage, but “… she made herself over to fit my father.” (page 113). If you read more closely in the book, it becomes apparent that Billie is just the same. Time and time again, she mentions how she just wants “ to go, away, out of the dust,” (page 149). From that statement, you can clearly see the desire to go away and live a bigger life and a bigger dream. She wants to go away from the dust, which also seems to indicate how she isn’t meant for the farm life in the Prairies. She has the same dream of playing the piano as her mom since she was born with “a hunger for playing fierce piano,” (page 3). Many times, Billie Jo wishes that she could play her piano on stage with Arley, Mad Dog, and the rest of her musical friends. That sounds just like the mom’s dream of playing piano on stage, far away, and out of the dust.
Secondly, the Dad might see some of the mom in Billie. As noted by the book “[Father] stares at me, maybe he is looking for Ma. He won’t find her.” (page 113). Billie thinks that the reason her Dad is staring at her is that he’s trying to find some of the mom in her, but that he can’t. However, it could be that the reason he’s staring at her is that he does, in fact, see the mom in Billie. He sees the same stubbornness that both mother and daughter possess. Billie even says it herself that her mom is stubborn, “My stubborn Ma,” (page 109). In another moment, Billie is about to play piano at her graduation, but she can’t bring herself to play. After that, she “didn’t cry. Too stubborn,” (page 174). As you can see, both Billie and her mom possess a certain will and stubbornness that makes them alike. In addition, Billie has some of the same habits as her mom. When the mom was still alive, she used to always set the table by turning the plates and cups upside down so that the dust wouldn’t get on them. Billie says that she “Turned the plates and glasses upside down…” (page 146). As is understood, Billie has subconsciously taken on the role of the mom in little things such as setting the table. She shows this same behavior when she cleans around the house. Just like her mom used to do, Billie cracked the dried up mud, beat the carpets, and tidied the kitchen. Going back to the Dad, he also may have stared at Billie since she carries on the same habits as the mom. Although Billie doesn’t notice all of these similarities, her Dad does.
Lastly, In a way, Billie admits that she is like her mom in a dream sequence. In the poem titled “The Dream,” there is a part at the end that indicates that Billie is just like her mom. The first thing to point out is that the setup of the poem looks like piano notes, which lets you know that the piano will be a major part of the dream. If you take it apart piece by piece, you’ll find it’s true meaning. The piano represents the mom, and Billie is talking about and to the piano. That means that she’s also talking to the mom in a way. At the end of it, it says “You are the companion to myself. The mirror with my mother’s eyes.” (page 194). In a logical standpoint, a piano is very shiny and you can see your reflection in it, just like a mirror. So, when Billie describes the piano (“you”) as a mirror with her mother’s eyes, she’s describing her own reflection. She’s saying that she is like her mom. Billie Jo said it herself that she’s like her mother, especially when playing the piano.
In essence, although Billie Jo refuses to believe that her mom lives on in her, it can’t be ignored how they both have analogous aspirations, the father notices Billie and the mom’s congruent behaviors, and the fact that even Billie subliminally admits to being alike with her mother.
Citing Evidence to Support a Position
by Michael
I disagree with Billie Jo; I don’t think that she is just like her father. I think that in many ways, Billie Jo and her mother are alike. During the story, Billie Jo and her mother both have a desire to be somewhere else and they both love the piano.
To start, Billie Jo and her mother both at one time had a desire to be somewhere besides the dust. Billie Jo’s dream is to go to Washington D.C in the east. She’ll visit the White House to play piano for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On page fifteen it says, “Someday I plan to play for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself. Maybe I’ll go all the way to the White House in Washington D.C….” Furthermore, since Billie Jo desires to go east to Washington D.C, I can tell she wants to get out of the dust. Ma also wants to get out of the dust but, she has accepted the fact that she can’t live out her dream. Throughout the story, the novel hints at the fact that Billie Jo’s mother isn’t meant to be in the dust as a farmer’s wife. During the novel on page twenty-four we find that “...Ma is something different…” and that she is very good at the piano. Now how does a very good piano player become a farmer’s wife. How did she stay with her husband even after he bought them a house with “...gaps in the walls, a rusty bed, no running water….” She stayed with him because in the house, she found a “...piano, gleaming in the corner.” Ma didn’t belong, she could’ve had so much more, but instead she sacrificed for a house that probably wasn’t to her liking, only because there was a piano. The book also hints that Ma doesn’t belong in the dust by using the symbol of an apple tree. The apple trees are used to represent Ma. They trees are described as “...thick with blossoms, delicate and pinky-white,” on page forty-three. The trees are just like Ma, they are beautiful, and by saying that the trees are thick with blossoms, shows that they don’t belong because the trees are the only plant life that is prospering in the dust. On page one-hundred ninety-three, We find that Ma actually had dreams to be somewhere else. In the poem Billie Jo says, “Uncomplaining you accept the cover to your keys and still you make room for all that I place there.” I think “...the cover to your keys..” represents Ma’s dreams being put aside or to rest because she had responsibilities such as taking care of Billie Jo and her family. I think Ma’s responsibilities are represented by, “...and still you make room for all that I place there.”, because “...there.” represents Ma’s dreams, and Ma had to make room for all her new responsibilities. As you can see Ma wanted to be somewhere else. This is why I think Billie Jo and her mother both had dreams to be out of the dust and somewhere else.
Secondly, I also think that Ma and Billie Jo are alike because they both love the piano. To start, Ma loves piano very much because she passed on her skills of playing piano so Billie Jo might be able to live out her dream. Her dream was probably to play the piano for a living but instead, she got a family to raise in the dust. Therefore, since Ma wasn’t able to live out her dream, she decided to pass on her skill to her daughter. On page twelve we learn that “...she is the one who truly taught [Billie Jo]...” how to play the piano. This shows that Ma loves the piano very much because she rather have her talent passed on instead of having her skill all to herself. Additionally, another example of Ma’s love for the piano, is on page twenty-five. “She can pull Daddy into the parlor even after the last milking, when he’s so beat he barely knows his own name and all he wants is a mattress under his bones. You’ve got to be something to get his notice that time of day, but Ma can.” With this evidence we truly understand how good Ma is at playing piano, and I think that if you are this good at playing the piano, it didn’t take years of perseverance to get that good, it would have to take love for playing the piano. Similarly, Billie Jo also has a great love for the piano too. When Billie Jo is playing piano on page thirteen, she says, “It’s the best I’ve ever felt, playing hot piano….” Billie Jo also finds comfort in playing the piano. After losing “One quarter of the wheat…” Billie Jo goes to the piano to have “...comfort in all this.” From the quotes on pages thirteen and thirty-nine, it is evident that Billie Jo loves the piano because she feels the best she has ever felt while playing and she can find comfort in the piano, even if the predicament she is in seems terrible. Lastly, on page fifty we learn that Billie Jo loves the piano so much that, “[Billie Jo would play for nothing.” This extenly shows Billie Jo’s compassion for the piano because she could probably bring in a dollar or two every time she played for money. Instead she says, “The money doesn’t matter much to me. I’d play for nothing.” If you had a choice to play piano for money or just for your own enjoyment, I think that most people would choose to play for money. That’s how I know that Billie Jo really loves the piano because she’d rather play for own enjoyment then bring in the money her family needed. As you can see, Billie Jo and her mother both love the piano.
In conclusion, Billie Jo may look like father and act like her father but, she is her mother at heart. Billie Jo and Ma both desire to be somewhere else and they both love the piano. This is why I disagree with Billie Jo.