1-29-97
Walter Van Tilburg Clark's short story, The
Portable Phonograph, is a
tale about the
last survivors in the world after the total destruction of a war.
The author gives
clues and hints of this throughout the beginning by writing in
a narative voice
and describing the scene in dark war-like terms. The
characters are
then introduced as a group of men huddled around a fire.
The
older of the men,
Doctor Jenkins, is the leader and his
character is full of
personality that
can be analyzed by the reader. He is the
owner of the shelter
that they meet
in. This paper will point out the different aspects of the old
man in this story
and state conclusions that can be drawn from them.
The men in this story are obviously amused by
the slightest little things.
They occupy
themselves through book readings from a collection that one
man has. Each of
the men has their contribution to the group and together
they endure a
time of devastation by entertaining each other. The older man
has a record
player that he brings out once a week for the listening pleasure
of the group. 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, their
is a musician visitor with them. The other men act as excited
as children. They
listen to the record and then leave the doctor's house.
Doctor Jenkins is nervous and suspicious at the
end of the story when
the other men
leave. "With nervous hands he lowered the piece of canvas
which served as
his door, and pegged it at the bottom. Then quickly quietly,
looking at the
piece of canvas frequently, he slipped the records in the case..."
(Clark, page
241). He feels that "everything he
has" is at risk with the greed
that a time like
this could produce in the other men. He is secure and
comfortable with
the things that he has and he doesn't trust the others. He
then hides his
treasures away in a safe place after they leave. As he gets into
his bed he feels
the "comfortable piece of lead pipe" with his hand. The
doctor has no
problem resorting to violence and that actually makes him feel
more comfortable.
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 his
thick shell and
he sees himself in the men. He invites them back every week,
it seems, so it
is quite possibly that his possessions do not make him as happy
as the company he
receives every week.
The contrast between the happiness that the men
get from his musical
device and the
lack of fulfillment this provides for him is interesting. In the
world that this
story describes, the reader expects the the doctor to be happy
with all that he
has. As the story unfolds, you gain an understanding of the
feelings behind
his possessions.
Doctor Jenkins is a normal character. His feelings
are presented in a
real manner. The
reader can conclude that his personality is not unlike anyone
else. What he
sees is influenced by the way he is and how he feels. He views
things in a way
that ultimately makes his feelings of suspicion and greed
stronger.
Therefore never breaking the cycle of how he judges those around
him.
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