The+Portable+Phonograph

**Point of View**: 3rd Person, Limited Omnipresent
 * Short Stories - Literary Devises + Questions 1,2,3,4 Title: The Portable Phonograph **

**Protagonist:** The Musician  Round, Dynamic **Antagonist**: The Musician
 * What type of character is the Protagonist? **

The Future. A post apocalypse world. During night. Four men gather to perform a “ritual” ( a retreat to the past) in a dugout. During the winter, or a really cold time zone. They are in a wasteland with dents of ginormous bombs that have been slowly covered by erosion.
 * Describe the setting **

**Type of Conflict:** Man vs Himself + Man vs Society


 * Describe the main conflict: **

Four men live in a horrible world that’s been decimated by the previous generations. They all try to find comfort in the past, since they cannot find any in the future.
 * (Man vs Society part) **

The Musician is struggling to find comfort in the past, and is getting driven insane by the fact that he cannot find any. He cannot connect to the past, he cannot feel the past, he lacks the only thing good thing in the world he currently lives in. The story is about a journey through his pains and how he deals with it.
 * (Man vs Himself part) **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The moment Dr. Jenkins puts on the “Debussy nocturne” and the Musician realizes he feels nothing from it is the climax. You can feel really feel the agony the Musician faces when he can’t recall anything from the past. You really picture a horrified young man that is suffer because of the lack of emotion he feels. It really touches you as the Musician draws his head in pain, not only because he himself cannot feel anything but because everyone else can.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Describe the Climax of the Story: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The climax is not the ending of the story because, 1. basing a climax on an inference means the climax is a really bad climax (when your reader has to INFER the climax, it must be a bad one) which is unlikely with such a good story. 2. It's a cliffhanger ending, not a climax and 3. The whole story lead to the music playing moment<range type="comment" id="440754">, the author obviously just put the attempt to take the phonograph as a neat surprise.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When the Musician fails to find any connection to the music in the phonograph he drastically changes. He gets greedy and wants to feel the connection (in other words he goes mad), he gets lustful and tries to steal the phonograph to feel a connection. He becomes depressed when he feels nothing. All during the moment when the Musician cannot feel anything from the music. It's ironic how the lack of music is what causes the change, since you would normally expect the actual music to cause the change.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The theme being “What one finds wonderful could be the very thing that cause them the most pain” relates to the title “Portable Phonograph” because for the Musician the music from phonograph is suppose to brings joy to his life, however, in this case, it makes him feel deep pain and drives him mad. Yes, the act of feeling nothing is a method of causing pain. In fact, feeling nothing can sometimes be the worse pain, this is because you realize how much need the your emotions when you don't have your emotions.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The main conflict is about the Musician trying to go back to his past, which at the time would bring joy to his life, however, he fails to do so and all he gets is pain. This really shows us that good things, the purest things, the things which keep you going in life, (in this case it would be the music from the phonograph) can be the most pain revoking things of all. At the same time, the reason they are stuck in this mess in the first place is because of technology. Technology is what caused the greatest pain to the world, but at the same time it provided the greatest joy (think how barbaric life would be without it). Therefore the conflicts portrays the conflict perfectly both ways..
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The climax is when the Musician feels nothing from his greatest joy in life. He feels sorrow and disappointment when the very thing he dedicated his life to (music) is something he gets no response from. He feels deep pain when he realizes he gets no response from the music. This emphasizes the theme, the greatest joys in life can be the greatest pains.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes): **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“In the bank above it was dug a sort of cell, with a single opening, like the mouth of a mine tunnel.”
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Simile: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“When the sky was thin blue-green” The sky can’t actually be blue-green, it means when the sky is “sick” or simply is not the clear blue sky everyone has come to love.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Metaphor: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“The air was still and cold, and in it settled the mute darkness and greater cold of night”
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Personification: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The migrating geese are geese moving to a place to breed, but at the same time, it’s a symbol for an attempt to escape this post-apocalypse world. It is also a symbol for morning (when the geese quacks, it usually tells people its morning), but that’s not the main symbol.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Symbol: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> “The musician rose last, but then abruptly, and went quickly out at the door without saying anything.” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So we can infer the Musician is planing something. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“”he heard what he’s been listening for, a sound of suppressed coughing. I was not nearby, however. He believed that down against the pale alders he could see the moving shadow.” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So the Musician is planning on taking the phonograph.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Foreshadowing (give both elements): **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> “You wish to hear the phonograph,” and then the Musician replies “”Oh, please,” like a excited child.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Irony: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Then once the Musician hears the phonograph, “then quickly bowed it again, strainingly, as if he were suffering from a pain he might not be able to endure.”.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So he expects to be happier from the phonograph, but he becomes depressed instead.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> “At first, there was only the resonant boom of the wind overhead, and then far over the dome of the dead, dark plain, the wolf cry lamenting.”
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Imagery: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> I get a terrible image of the loud wind, sinister plains and wolves crying. I smell, hear, taste, and feel disaster.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The story is pretty much about people and their nature. This is one of the aspects of humanity, human nature. Each character represents a part of human nature. For example, Dr. Jenkins represents kindness and the Musician represents sorrow. The story does a good job capturing human nature. All the actions performed in this story are typical in human nature. For example, when the Musician failed to make any connections with the music being played, instead of thanking the Doctor who gave him the chance of hearing the tape, the Musician became lustful and sought after the phonograph ( we can infer he does, the story doesn't say so). This is something all humans do, when we are being treated kindly, we WILL take advantage of it and "abuse" it until it bits us in the bum. One of the story’s key elements is being based around human nature (the story successfully shows us the best and worse of human nature, just as advertised), this is deeply related to humanity in general. For humans are humans because of our unique nature.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Questions 1-4**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**1.**The story was set in the future. A huge world war just happened. There are men in a dug out going to a retreat of the past. The season looks like it's winter and they are in the wasteland of the previous generation.. “Time: the future, after a devastating world war.”.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**2.**The purpose of the gathering was to go back to the past, go back to happier times and reflect upon the past. The author compared the unwrapping of the book bundle to a ceremonial rite because at that time, the books would be considered something extremely sacred because of how sparse, special and valuable they were.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**3.** The significance of the books that were saved are that they are all part of history. They all haven’t aged and are considered legendary to many. The reason why no recent woks of fiction is included is because, for recent works of fiction, you can’t tell if its a really good book that ages well in future generations or its just a really good book at the time but will be forgotten after awhile.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**4.**The significance of Dr. Jenkins clutching the lead pipe at the end of the story is that it insures that the Doctor will be safe in anybody intrudes. If anybody enters, he can throw the pipe at the thief. It describes the Doctor's character better. We can tell from this scene that Dr. Jenkins is sorta “paranoid”. As well, it illustrates human nature better, even though Dr. Jenkins is a kind man, he is still willing to KILL for the phonograph. This really shows us that all humans have a little greed in them. I think after, the Musician sneaks in (judging by the quote “a sound of suppressed coughing”) and the Doctor throws the pipe at him. The Musician will quickly run away and then the next meeting they have, the Musician will not be there. The Doctor will not tell anything to the others and then no one will see the Musician ever again.

COMPLETION 5/5

EFFORT 5/5

<range type="comment" id="111229">CONTENT 5/5

QUESTIONS 8/8

TOTAL 23/23


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Google Docs: **

total 14/16 []
 * CATEGORY || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Content || All required slides complete with insightful responses and support || All required slides. Responses are adequate but may not be fully supported. || May be missing 1-3 slides and information is cursory and not fully supported. || Missing more than 3 slides and content is inaccurate. ||
 * Citations || All citations are present and in the proper format. || All citations are present however there are 1-3 errors in format. || Missing 1-3 citations. || Missing more than 3 citations. ||
 * Images || All images are relevant and add significant incite to the meaning of the text. All images are clear and unpixelated. || Most images are relevant and add incite into the meaning behind the text. || 1-5 Images have no clear connection to the text and some images are pixelated. || Several images (more than 5) have no clear connection to the text. ||
 * Spelling/Grammar || No discernible spelling or grammar errors. || 1-3 errors. || 3-6 errors || More than 6 errors ||