Walter Clark's short story, "the portable phonograph" is a descriptive tale. In his first three paragraphs, he describes a miserable, cold and harsh environment. The four characters that were described in this story were the only survivors of a brutal war. This story was written in 1942, in the midst of WWII. The author is predicting what the environment will be like after the war ends. Art and literature and music are more important than bombs, wars and the military. They sooth the body and soul. Especially for the people who have suffered the hardships that came with war, nothing is more soothing than music.
             After the war, the four men were left in the middle of a harsh environment: " The frozen mud still bore the toothed bed impress of great tanks, and a wanderer on the neighboring undulations might have stumbled, in this light, into large, partially filled-in and weed grown cavities."(214). The four men, in all this chaos, try to find peace in music and literature. The war destroyed their standard of living: "Around the smoldering peat four men were seated cross-legged. Behind them, traversed by their shadows, was the earth bench, with two old and dirty army blankets, where the owner of the cell slept" (215). Although living under such conditions, the four men were keen to care for their music and literature. Doctor Jenkins has such classics such as Bible, Moby Dick and The Divine Comedy. They are all keen to listen to the music on their phonograph even with thorns. They finally listen to Debussy using a steel needle although they have only three left: "They were all listening deeply, without movement (217).
             The story shows how important arts are to human life even under very harsh circumstances. They gave the four men in the story hope. The setting of the story tells us about the value of fine arts to the future generations.
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