5Ws & 1H

A few years back (When) The animals went away. (What)

We woke up one morning (When), and they just weren’t there anymore.

They didn’t even leave us a note, or say good-bye. We never figured out quite where they’d gone.

We missed them.

Some of us thought that the world had ended, but it hadn’t (What).

There just weren’t any more animals. (What)

No cats or rabbits, no dogs or whales, no fish in the seas, no birds in the skies. (What)

We were all alone. We didn’t know what to do. (What)

We wandered around lost. (What)

For a time,

And then someone pointed out that just because we didn’t have animals anymore, that was no reason
to change our lives. (What)

No reason to change our diets or to cease testing products that might cause us harm. (What)

After all, there were still babies. (Who)

Babies can’t talk, (Who)

They can hardly move,

A baby is not a rational thinking creature. (Who)

We made babies (Who), (What)

and we used them. (What)

Some of them we ate. (What)

Baby flesh is tender and succulent. (Who)

We flayed their skin and decorated ourselves in it. (What)

Baby leather is soft and comfortable. (Who)

Some of them we tested (What, How). We taped open their eyes, dripped detergents and shampoos in,
a drop at a time. (What, How)

We scarred and scalded them, we burned them, we clamped them and planted electrodes into their
brains, we grafter and we froze, and we irradiated. (What, How)

The babies breathed our smoke, and the babies’ veins flowed with our medicines and drugs, until they
stopped breathing or until their blood ceased to flow. (What, How)
It was hard, of course, but it was necessary. (Why)

No one could deny that.

With animals gone, what else could we do? (Why)

Some people complained, of course. But then, they always do. (What)

And everything went back to normal (What). Only…

Yesterday (When), all the babies were gone. We didn’t even see them go. (What)

We don’t know that we’re going to do without them.

But we’ll think of something. (How)

Humans (Who) are smart. (How)

It’s what makes us superior to the animals and the babies. We’ll figure something out. (How)

The story goes to show that just a few years back there were no more animals to be seen and as an
alternative, the humans made babies for their use of convenience in every way imaginable. The overall
purpose of this critique paper is to point out the contradictions that can be seen in the story, how
unethical it is and share my own interpretation of the text.

The essay is written to inform, educate and raise an issue for debate. The story proves itself to be
questionable so I want to delve deeper and decipher the meanings behind the texts that can be found in
the passage.

Outline

I. There were no more animals

A. Some of the humans thought that the world had ended
B. The humans didn’t know what to do for quite some time

II. Babies were used as an alternative

A. They can’t talk, can hardly move, and not a rational thinking creature.
B. They were used in different ways.
1. Used for eating
2. Used as a person’s decoration
3. Used for testing
4. They were treated like animals.
 III. All the babies were gone
IV. Humans are smart

The passage was written in chronological order, and tackled different parts of the story, one part at a
time. The view expressed was abstract but it allowed me as a reader to understand the different parts of
the passage.

Abstract ideas

“A few years back all the animals went away. We woke up one morning, and they just weren’t there
anymore.” Why did the animals disappear all of a sudden? What was the cause?

“They didn’t leave us a note, or say good-bye. We never figured out quite where they’d gone.” I mean
how could they when animals can’t write or say the words good-bye. They can’t speak the way humans
do.

“And then someone pointed out that just because we didn’t have animals anymore, that was no reason
to change our lives. No reason to change our diets or to cease testing products that might cause us
harm.” Humans will do anything to survive, even in times of crisis; it's human nature to have survival
instincts. Humans will also do anything and everything for their research to satisfy their curiosity.

“Babies can’t talk, they can hardly move, a baby is not a rational thinking creature. We made babies and
we used them. Baby flesh is tender and succulent. We flayed their skin and decorated ourselves in it.
Baby leather is soft and comfortable. Some of them we tested (What, How). We taped open their eyes,
dripped detergents and shampoos in, a drop at a time. We scarred and scalded them, we burned them,
we clamped them and planted electrodes into their brains, we grafter and we froze, and we irradiated.
The babies breathed our smoke, and the babies’ veins flowed with our medicines and drugs, until they
stopped breathing or until their blood ceased to flow.” They chose babies as an alternative and took
them in and treated them just like animals.

“It was hard, of course, but it was necessary. No one could deny that. With animals gone, what else
could we do?” They said it was hard but it was necessary, as discussed previously, they will do anything
and everything by any means necessary. No one could deny because it was necessary, anything that’s
necessary will become a stereotype no matter how unethical or stigmatized an idea or perception is. In
the end of the last sentence, it said “What else could we do?” Humans are so smart to the point that
they forgot that vegetables and fruits were a thing.
“Some people complained, of course, but then, they always do.” But even amidst the chaos there’s
always two opposing sides that clash with one another.

“And everything went back to normal, only yesterday all the babies were gone. We didn’t even see them
go. We don’t know what we’re going to do without them.” This is an exaggeration saying that they don’t
know what they were going to do without them. They made it sound exactly the same way they did with
animals; that they didn’t know what to do. Using the babies as alternatives came to be a failure and
hence my interpretation is coming to a close. I would like to point out that they used babies like animals,
they made use of them because it was quote on quote “necessary.” Because of that we now know why
the animals have disappeared a few years back prior to the present time. Humans are greedy people,
they bite off more than they can chew, leading to more consequences than they can manage.

“But we’ll think of something. Humans are smart. It’s what makes us superior to the animals and the
babies. We’ll figure something out.” This is something I’m quite surprised to interpret, I hope I’m not
mistaken but when we think we’re more superior than someone we get careless and underestimate the
other person, and when we get careless, we forget to think logically and do more things that could
potentially lead us to ruin. Are humans really all that smart? The actions and events that took place in
the story were quite questionable. Humans could’ve just grown crops and fruits as source of food. There
are clothes and accessories made from hemp, bamboo, and other animal-free materials. The story never
stated anything about insects disappearing so why not eat crickets for a change of pace? It can be the
alternative for protein. And as hard as it might sound, it’s painful to see that the humans never proposed
to make more babies no matter how unethical it may sound. I mean they’ve done it once. Is there a
reason they can’t do it again? They can hold off with crops and the baby is born in less than a year. In all
actuality humans can also be proven to be quite brainless creatures.

Evaluation

I believe the story has many meanings that it conveys, but it will definitely depend on how the reader
perceives the information. I met my expectations because it was worthwhile. I don’t think it was able to
convey the information efficiently because it wasn’t direct with the many possible meanings. Personally,
there are flaws in my eyes but I’m unsure if it the author intended to do that from the very beginning,
but not being direct with information has its pros and cons. Maybe if it was too direct it wouldn’t be as
entertaining/worthwhile, and if it was too direct there would be no thrill or arguments regarding the
paper. There’s no thing such as perfect in this world so I don’t have any further comments.
 Critique Paper

Introduction

Babycakes is a story by Neil Gaiman, and Illustrated by Jouni Koponen. The story revolves around the
usage of babies as alternatives for the animals that suddenly disappeared. The author assumed that the
humans are smart and as per the author’s inferences, I believe the Neil Gaiman made this to be in line
with the study of human behavior. The author’s contention proved to be that of where the humans
weren’t thinking of the much simpler solutions to their problem at hand. Why is it that humans forget to
think rationally when they think of themselves as superior to others or other beings. I used the 5Ws &
1H approach, created an outline, took notes, analyzed the texts in the passage with my own
comprehension and what I was able to infer from the text given.

Body

“And then someone pointed out that just because we didn’t have animals anymore, that was no reason
to change our lives. No reason to change our diets or to cease testing products that might cause us
harm.” Humans will do anything to survive, even in times of crisis; it's human nature to have survival
instincts. Humans will also do anything and everything for their research to satisfy their curiosity.

Biological theory indicates that humans have some basic instincts: The survival instinct. This involves all
basic behavior that helps your preserve life and health. Some examples are the avoidance of danger,
eating and the search for shelter. Marcuse, H., & Vazquez, G. H. (1980)

“Babies can’t talk, they can hardly move, a baby is not a rational thinking creature. We made babies and
we used them. Baby flesh is tender and succulent. We flayed their skin and decorated ourselves in it.
Baby leather is soft and comfortable. Some of them we tested (What, How). We taped open their eyes,
dripped detergents and shampoos in, a drop at a time. We scarred and scalded them, we burned them,
we clamped them and planted electrodes into their brains, we grafter and we froze, and we irradiated.
The babies breathed our smoke, and the babies’ veins flowed with our medicines and drugs, until they
stopped breathing or until their blood ceased to flow.” They chose babies as an alternative and took
them in and treated them just like animals.

“It was hard, of course, but it was necessary. No one could deny that. With animals gone, what else
could we do?” They said it was hard but it was necessary, as discussed previously, they will do anything
and everything by any means necessary. No one could deny because it was necessary, anything that’s
necessary will become a stereotype no matter how unethical or stigmatized an idea or perception is. In
the end of the last sentence, it said “What else could we do?” Humans are so smart to the point that
they forgot that vegetables and fruits were a thing. Just the thought of it is funny but then again.
Humans will do anything when they are cornered, it’s a natural reaction.
We all act a bit differently when backed into a corner, some run, some go silent, and some might lash
out. Each person is going to respond differently in order to defend themselves, and no choice is really
right or wrong. Stafford (2018).

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul. One does not
become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” – Carl Jung

“Some people complained, of course, but then, they always do.” But even amidst the chaos there’s
always two opposing sides that clash with one another.

“And everything went back to normal, only yesterday all the babies were gone. We didn’t even see them
go. We don’t know what we’re going to do without them.” This is an exaggeration saying that they don’t
know what they were going to do without them. The author made it sound exactly the same way they
did with animals; that they didn’t know what to do. Using the babies as alternatives came to be a failure
and hence my interpretation is coming to a close. I would like to point out that they used babies like
animals, they made use of them because it was quote on quote “necessary.” Because of that we now
know why the animals have disappeared a few years back prior to the present time. Humans are greedy
people, they bite off more than they can chew, leading to more consequences than they can manage.

People bite off more than they can chew because they think they can chew more than they can, because
they’re excited, because they feel pressured by others, because they don’t realize how big the bite is….
(Keil, 2020).

Reasons why you might bite off more than you can chew: Fear – especially your core fear, Lack of trust
in God, Afraid to say “no,” People pleasing, Scarcity mentality, Unrealistic about the time. (Eikanas,
2017).

“But we’ll think of something. Humans are smart. It’s what makes us superior to the animals and the
babies. We’ll figure something out.” This is something I’m quite surprised to interpret, I hope I’m not
mistaken but when we think we’re more superior than someone we get careless and underestimate the
other person, and when we get careless, we forget to think logically and do more things that could
potentially lead us to ruin. Are humans really all that smart? The actions and events that took place in
the story were quite questionable. Humans could’ve just grown crops and fruits as source of food. There
are clothes and accessories made from hemp, bamboo, and other animal-free materials. The story never
stated anything about insects disappearing so why not eat crickets for a change of pace? It can be the
alternative for protein. And as hard as it might sound, it’s painful to see that the humans never proposed
to make more babies no matter how unethical it may sound. I mean they’ve done it once. Is there a
reason they can’t do it again? They can hold off with crops and the baby is born in less than a year. In all
actuality humans can also be proven to be quite brainless creatures. People overestimate themselves,
they always do.

People also overestimate themselves out of ignorance, Dunning says. Take the ironic example of an
elderly man who thinks he's an excellent driver but is a hazard on the road, or the woman who reads a
book about the stock market and is ready to compete with a professional stockbroker. (DeAngelis, 2003)
I noticed that the author is indirectly convincing with the way the story was delivered. The author isn’t
gender biased, there wasn’t an opportunity wherever he could use the “he/she” terms.

Conclusion

There are numerous meanings that can be derived from or incorporated into the short story. It may
discuss veganism and other topics. Human greed, human curiosity, human nature, and survival instincts
were all mentioned in the story. How people will do anything by any "necessary" means. We
overestimate ourselves and bite off more than we can chew, humans believe they are smart and it's not
hard to believe, but people sometimes take it the wrong way and start getting full of themselves
because they think they're superior to anyone or any creature in the world, but then they tend to get
careless and underestimate the consequences that are following them. In the end, they come to regret
their decisions. I believe the short story is still quite relevant today. I believe it is also relevant to the
course that I will be taking because learning about human behavior may be useful because in learning
Information Technology, it is important to understand how technology influences human behavior and
you can use the information from the short story to remember and implement being humble because it
is a vital characteristic that plays a huge role in many people's careers.