Phonograph

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: The Portable Phonograph

Point of View: Third person limited

Protagonist: Dr. Jenkins

What type of character is the Protagonist?: dynamic, round

Antagonist: Dr, Jenkins

Describe the setting: The story takes place at the end of a desolate, late autumn day in the aftermath of a great war; the landscape is an empty prairie that has been marked by the imprint of war. Civilization no longer exists, and the few survivors have been reduced to a primitive state. The mood is regretful and reminiscent.

Type of Conflict: Man vs Himself

Describe the main conflict:

The men in this story are obviously amused by the small things in life; they occupy themselves through book readings from a collection that Dr. Jenkins has. Together they endure a time of devastation by entertaining each other with stories and music. The older man has a record player that he brings out once a week; he is very proud of this treasure. It has sustained through these hard times just as he has and he limits his use of it to make it last. He owns only three steel needles and he gets one out to use because on this particular occasion, there is a musician visitor with them. When listening to the record, the other men act as excited as children. The musician, however, is struck by the raw and savage beauty of the piece and realizes that he will never be able to create anything using his innate creativity ever again.

Describe the Climax of the Story:

The climax of the story happens when Dr. Jenkins gets the lead pipe and gets ready to protect his most valuable possessions; namely the phonograph and the records, which he hides. It shows us that things are much worse than they seem to be and that humanity has truly entered a much more primitive state.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?

The protagonist becomes much more cautious over the course of the story. While he was more open and generous when the men came to visit him, he swiftly prepared his defences and readied himself for war when they left. It was quite a radical change; it might show the changes humanity embraced when they progressed technologically until it was an all-out war.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.

The title of this piece of literature, The Portable Phonograph, is central to the theme of the story. The portable phonograph is a symbol for the soul of humanity, playing the best pieces of art that humanity has to offer, though it has the capability of playing grimmer songs or can even be used as a propaganda tool.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?

The main conflict helps to illustrate the theme because it is about a group of dwellers in a cave. The fact that these survivors hold dear to them literature and artistic expression as few of the items from their "former" world as what would represent them and the things they believe in is powerful.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?

The climax helps to illustrate the theme in that when Dr. Jenkins arms himself, he demonstrates that humans have not changed. Under a façade of generosity lies a man who feels that everything he has of any worth is at risk to the greed of other men. The greed that the doctor sees in the others is a reflection of the feelings and thoughts that he himself has. His views are distorted through the lenses of subjectivity; effectively showing the theme.

Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile: "Within the cell there was a little red of fire, which showed dully through the opening, like a reflection or deception of the imagination" where we are comparing the little red of fire to a reflection or deception of the imagination.

Metaphor: "The wet blue-green notes tinkled forth from the old machine, and were individual, delectable presences in the cell" where the author is comparing the notes to presences in the cell.

Personification: "The rush of their[the geese] pinions sounded briefly, and the faint plaintive notes of their expeditionary talk.", where they are giving the geese the human trait of expeditionary talk.

Symbol: A symbol is the phonograph itself. It is what every man wants, a light in the darkness, “…unable to formulate and expose the enormity of their desire.” This piece of humanity is something for them to grasp on, tightly, and never let go. It is one of their only links to the world they once knew. Arguably, the most obvious symbol is the lead pipe. It represents all mankind has gone through, and what a person will do just to keep what little they have.

Foreshadowing (give both elements):

A good example of foreshadowing is in the first sentence of the short story. "The red sunset, with narrow, black cloud strips with threats across it, lay on the curved horizon of the prairie." where they are, right off the bat, talking about threats. This foreshadows that there will be a threat or something dangerous during the story.

Irony: Even though the men have survived the violence that the world has so recently gone through, the Doctor is still willing to kill for his few prized possessions, “…he could feel with his hands, the comfortable piece of lead pipe.”

Imagery: "The red sunset, with narrow, black cloud strips with threats across it, lay on the curved horizon of the prairie."

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

The theme of the story is that it is human nature to revert to primitive or basic instincts in a time of great crisis; this has to do with our class theme because our class theme is about humanity, and the theme is about the primitive aspects of humanity.


 * 1) 1. When is this story set? What has recently happened? Support your opinion with details from the story

The story takes place at the end of a desolate, late autumn day in the aftermath of a great war; the landscape is an empty prairie that has been marked by the imprint of war. Civilization no longer exists, and the few survivors have been reduced to a primitive state. A few supporting quotes for this include "the frozen mud still bore the toothed impress of great tanks, and a wanderer on the neighbouring undulations might have stumbled, in this lift, into large, partially filled-in and weed-grown cavities, their banks channelled and beginning to spread into badlands."


 * 1) 2. What is the purpose of the men’s meeting? Why does the author compare the unwrapping of the book bundle to a ceremonial rite?

The purpouse of the men's meeting is to endure a time of devastation by entertaining each other with stories and music. The author compares the unwrapping of the book bundle to a ceremonial rite because these men are obviously amused by the small things in life; they occupy themselves through book readings from a collection that Dr. Jenkins has. The things from their past are treasured are almost magical.


 * 1) 3. What is the significance of the books that were saved? Why are there no recent works of fiction included?

The significance of the books that were saved is that even in these desolate times men have the courage and the willpower to conserve what is dear to them. There are no recent works of fiction included because the author wrote this during the 1940s.


 * 1) 4.
 * 2) a. What do you think is the significance of Dr. Jenkins clutching the lead pipe at the end of the story?

The significance of the lead pipe is that it represents all that mankind has gone through, and what a person will do just to keep what little they have.


 * 1) b. What do you think might happen next? Discuss, using references from the story.

There are two possible scenarios; either Dr. Jenkins has invented demons and no one is out there, or a bitter struggle to the death will ensue between him and the musician. A quote that supports this is “…he could feel with his hands, the comfortable piece of lead pipe.” and "[...] what he had been listening for, a sound of suppressed coughing."

Completion 5/5 Effort 5/5 Content 5/5 Questions8/8 Total 23/23

Link to Google presentation

See Ethan for rubric evaluation of presentation 13/16