"Machine of Wonders" Response

            Kirby, aka “Gumball,” is an eight year old girl sitting in the hallway of a hospital where her mother is being treated. To distract from the familial turmoil occurring around her, she constructs an elaborate fantasy involving the vending machine, which her troubled and distracted father insists is a cigarette vending machine. Kirby believes it is an “Art-O-Mat,” which is confirmed by one of the nurses treating Kirby’s mother’s medical emergency. 

I enjoy the childlike flights of fancy Kirby’s mind went to, especially connected as the first one was to a familiar child story, Beauty and the Beast. I really enjoy her fascination with candy, especially as it pertains to her nickname, Gumball. It rings true for her age and the way she looks at the world. 

However, I have a hard time believing she would be as fanciful, especially in the midst of such a traumatic situation, at eight years old. Certain words or phrases used in the story (not even necessarily by Kirby herself) accentuate this, like “blue-blue” used to describe candy and Kirby’s eyes. Also, the tense of the story appears to change from past to present in transition from the first to second paragraph. The primary issue I have with the story is its point of view. As I’ve said, sometimes the diction is childish and seemingly centered in Kirby’s experience, but certain sentences draw the reader out of her mind and into a distant, almost fly-on-the-wall perspective. This can be seen in sentences like “The ‘vvvvvvving’ is quieter than the buzzing of the florescent lights and the blinking and shushing sound of machines coming from the room across from her, and the soft voices of her father and the doctor discussing something they don’t want Kirby to hear.” The use of more complex words or phrases, like “monochromatic” or “tall conifer of a man,” in contrast to the relatively simple diction of the majority of the story, accentuates this issue. I also feel conflicted about the ending, and the confirmation that the vending machine is indeed an “Art-O-Mat,” whatever that means. I’m not sure why this fact is significant, or why her father didn’t believe her before. I’m also not really sure how this connects to the conflict with Kirby’s mother’s medical condition, or how this shows a change in either Kirby or her father. I feel pretty lost overall regarding the ending.