The Sound Machine Summary

Introduction

In Roald Dahl's short fiction "The Sound Machine," a character by the pen name of Klausner sets out to uncover noises that are incomprehensible to the human ear. Klausner has developed a gadget that could allow humans to identify sounds that are excessively high or low in pitch.

During the first test run, Klausner becomes frightened to hear the sobs of roses being chopped and the horrifying crying sound of the fallen tree as he digs his axe in. Dr. Scott is summoned to the area so he can check out the creaking sounds for himself, but Klausner wrongly cuts down the tree, destroying his equipment.

Summary

The Sound Machine is a brief narrative by Roald Dahl, published in his book "The Complete Short Stories" in 1949. The main subject of the novel, Klausner, is described as going through an episode in his life. Klausner is so concerned with sounds that other individuals often mistake him for being insane. Due to his unpredictability, the author draws attention to the subject of appearance vs. reality and pushes the reader to consider if, as Klauser considers, a world exists above what we humans can see or whether the rest is just an illusion.

The tale also makes an assertion about how people abuse nature, particularly by causing suffering to trees and plants without considering their emotions. Although Kalusner's understanding regarding the trees and his attempts to comfort them and safeguard them against additional harm at the hands of people may seem ludicrous, the underlying sentiment of peaceful coexistence throughout all of God's creatures is extremely earnest and, in reality, the urgency of the hour.

The main character of the novel is portrayed as Klausner. He has a profound interest in the noises surrounding him and has been compared to a fanatic in certain circles. He has created a temporary laboratory in a shed in his yard where he researches his invention?the sound machine that resembles a small tomb filled with many linking cords and valves. He spends a lot of time on this endeavor, messing with the wires and making sketches, similar to a scientist, and he maintains a fixed focus while he works and examines the devices he has built.

He fools with the controls of his sound box, which resembles an FM transmitter, while he carefully investigates the mechanism operating within. From his chaotic thrills, it appears that he is getting close to an understanding, which would indicate that his sound machine is now ready to be used.

He is so engrossed with his job that he is taken surprised when his buddy and physician, Scott, shows up there. The doctor explains that he had been thinking about examining his voice box, which had been bothering him earlier, while he was walking by the residence. Klausner addresses the device's functionality and goal when the doctor questions him about the mysterious-looking box.

He explains that the box is tied to his passion for noise. Klausner believes that there are many noises in the world around us that are unheard by human ears because of their high pitch. This is theoretically accurate because humans can only detect noises between 20 Hertz and 20 Kilo Hertz. Bats have a hearing range of 9 kHz to 200 kHz, whereas dolphins have a hearing range of up to 160 kHz! Heck, at 45 kHz, your dog may detect frequencies that are considerably higher than yours. If you like cats, your feline companion outshines the canines at a frequency of 65kHz.

In other words, Klausner is not talking nonsense, at least not at this stage, and everything he is discussing is technically accurate. He invested a lot of time in creating the device intended to capture these sounds and then translate them into a numerical value that others can hear. Cool! Klausner is extremely eager to test his invention after making some last-minute adjustments to it. He feels it is now ready for usage.

After his physician departs, he takes the box outside to his garden, plugs in his headphones, twists the dial to tune the device to the appropriate frequency, which is between 15000 and 1000000 vibrations per second, and expects to hear something new. He senses panic and excitement in the same way as a result of the anticipation, and he focuses particular heed on any sounds other than the machine's faint buzzing. The normally silent air is suddenly pierced by a loud scream that sounds like a woman screaming in pain.

He scans the area in search of the noise's origin but only spots Mrs. Saunders, his next-door Neighbour, is in the yard clipping flowers. He is sure that she is not the person he believed to be screaming when he sees her pull down to trim a rose stem, but then, just as the stem is being cut, he suddenly detects the same sobbing sound once again. When he notices this, he gets an idea, and anxious to try it, he requests Mrs. Saunders to cut another stem.

Mrs Saunders considered it best to agree with his request out of caution due to her unusual Neighbour. Klausner immediately heard the same loud cry after cutting another stem. He rushes to Mrs Saunders, informs her about what he's found, and pleads with her to avoid causing further injury to the flowers. He is now completely sure that the flowers had cried out in sadness as the razor-sharp blade had sliced through them.

He further tries his idea on daisies, and when it too produces the same consequences, he is certain that the noises he noticed are coming from the plants since they cry when injured. But now he knows that the scream, which he had at first taken to be a cry of agony, was, in reality, devoid of any expression or feeling that humans are capable of experiencing. He thought that this is something that only the trees & plants are aware of and that neither of us had the foggiest notion about.

Klaunser uses a tree in his local park early the next morning to test out his sound generator. He turns the machine on, connects his headphones to an axe (which isn't a Samsung Earbud either), or slashes the tree at the root. He hears another noise from the one that originates from the petals as soon as the knife slices the tree. Klausner is horrified by the scream, which is harsh and low-pitched, and feels responsible for the misery the tree is in.

He apologized passionately to the tree for the way he acts and as if by an unforeseen moment of insight, dashes off to phone Dr. Scott and beg him to visit the garden immediately. When he arrives there, Klausner shows him how the sound machine works by having him listen to the sound it was making when he hit the tree while wearing earbuds that were hooked into the device. He pleads with the physician to follow the instructions and reassures him that the noise he had heard was actually originating from the tree instead of something he had dreamed of.

Despite his first reluctance, the doctor grants him access since he can tell that Klausner is becoming insane with the idea. But when the axe's blade hits the tree, one of the branches breaks off and falls, almost crushing Klausner and the physician. Fortunately, they are both able to rescue themselves, notably Klausner, who survived just in time. However, the sound equipment is completely destroyed.

The doctor, who has just barely escaped a severe disaster, is terrified and anxious. He starts to leave the area, but Klausner stops him by asking that he be sure he heard the tree cry. He is shocked to find out from the doctor that, while the chaos caused by the branch falls onto them, he can hardly make out any sound. The enormous pain that Klausner feels the trees and plants suffer due to people's careless cutting them down has left him feeling absolutely devastated and overcome with empathy. As a result, Klausner is disgusted by humanity's evident insensitivity and overcome with guilt as a result of this knowledge.

In his moment of rage, he requests the doctor to treat the tree's injuries and apply iodine, maybe to relieve himself of some guilt and erase some of the harm, though little, that he had done the tree. The narrative finishes with Klausner requesting the doctor to keep an eye on the tree's healing since he feels somewhat relaxed after aiding the tree. Overall, the narrative makes a strong case for not exploiting the environment.

Even while Klausner's acts could seem odd to others, they are founded on empathy, which many people lack regarding the environment. This makes the sound machine equally a work of science fiction and a piece of environmental morality. Philosophers like Peter Singer have emphasised the concept of suffering as the foundation for the ethical treatment of animals. The Sound Machines expand on this idea by bringing in plants. The moral treatment of flora is emphasised in this tale, and it aims to persuade readers to stop destroying plants and trees carelessly.

The narrative further investigates the concept of Identification and what constitutes a Self that is primarily misunderstood by others. This remains true for Klausner's persona, who, although seen as an oddball, has a profound empathy for his environment and fellow species.

This applies to plants and trees and humans whose pain cannot be comprehended by people. Ironically, the tree limb that had made it possible to learn about its pain now kills that same device. The natural world and human-made innovations and technology, which have ultimately done more damage than good to the natural order of things, are inherently at odds with one another. One may, however, see it as a reflection of these potential boundaries and the unavoidable conflict.