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 mee ....