The+Portable+Phonograph

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: The Portable Phonograph

Point of View: Limited Omniscience

Protagonist: Dr. Jenkins

What type of character is the Protagonist? Round. Dynamic.

Antagonist: Society

Describe the setting: Future. After a world war. Sunset, winter. Mostly set in a dugout in the bank of a creek.

Type of Conflict: Man vs. Society

Describe the main conflict: After a terrible war, there is not much left of what the world was. The characters in this story try to preserve what they can of the past and savour it.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The Doctor plays the music on the phonograph.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? He goes from being very trusting to very nervous of the phonograph being stolen.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. I think the theme of this story is about how much you come to appreciate the simple things when you are deprived of them. The title is a simple, old-fashioned item, that came to be so special to the characters in the story.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The Doctor is trying to preserve things that will represent the past well and will be appreciated.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The reactions of the men, especially the musician, to the music shows how amazing it is for them to hear it.

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 a deception of the imagination."

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

Personification: "High in the air there was wind, for through the veil of the dusk the clouds could be seen gliding rapidly south and changing shapes."

Symbol: "The frozen mud still bore the toothed impress of great tanks, and a wanderer on the neighbouring undulations might have stumbled, in this light, into large, partially filled-in and weed-grown cavities, their banks channelled and beginning to spread into badlands." I think this symbolizes what the world has come to and what the overall mood is in this story. It's cold and harsh, with the memories of the war still very evident, but somewhat hidden.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): "Finally, the man who wanted to write named Gershwin's //New York//. "Oh, no!" cried the sick young man, and then could say nothing more because ha had to cough. The others understood him, and the harsh man withdrew his selection and waited for the musician to choose."

" 'Come again,' he invited, 'in a week. We will have the //New York//.' "

They pick what the musician wants, and say that in a week they will listen to what they wouldn't listen to at the time of the story. The reason they wouldn't was because the musician didn't want to hear it. This suggests that in a week the musician, who is very sick, won't be there, further suggesting that he will die.

Irony: "In all the men except the musician, there occurred rapid sequences of tragically heightened recollection. He heard nothing but what was there."

The one who understood it the most, felt the least.

Imagery: "There were little islands of an old oiled pavement in the road, too, but most of it was mud, now frozen rigid."

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

Works of art show the humanity of those who created them, and help us find humanity in ourselves. They come to have great importance over time.

__ Responding: __

1. When is this story set? What has recently happened? Support your opinion with details from the story. "The future, after a devastating world war."

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?

They are meeting to experience and share works of art from the past. The Doctor is treating the books with great care.

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

The books saved were "classics", which take time to become beloved, treasured items.

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

He will do anything to protect the books and phonograph.

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

The musician might come to steal the books and phonograph and the Doctor will have to defend himself.

"It impressed the Doctor that one of them had just been obscured by the beginning of a flying cloud at the very moment he heard what he had been listening for, a sound of suppressed coughing. It was not nearby, however. He believed that down against the pale alders he could see the moving shadow."

"On the inside of the bed, next to the wall, he could feel with his hands, the comfortable piece of lead pipe." COMPLETION 5/5 EFFORT 5/5 CONTENT 5/5 QUESTIONS 8/8 TOTAL 23/23

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Presentation: https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AQXEkimWYaVIZGduNzZjN3FfMGczcWJyM2Z0&hl=en_US