The Enormous Radio

Shattered dishware is a prominent motif that appears throughout the story. When the radio first demonstrates peculiar powers, it emits sound so loud it knocks a piece of “china ornament” (34) over. A second occurrence is heard in Miss Armstrong’s voice, as she recites a whimsical Edward Lear poem to her ward. The lyrics offer insight into the poem’s central character, Yonghy-Bonghy-Bò, a man who has his offer of marriage rebuffed because he has so few “worldly goods” (36). That limited wealth includes an “old jug without a handle” (36) that is kept and used rather than thrown away. Juxtaposed with the broken china piece in the Westcott home that Irene doesn’t even bother to sweep up herself, these elements provide a clear contrast between those who have wealth and those who don’t. For those with wealth, broken china is too small a bother and is left for the maid to tend to. For those without wealth, jugs with broken handles still serve their primary purpose and so retain value for the owner.

Another example is heard when a “dish of some sort crashed to the floor” (36) at a party in a nearby apartment. Irene and Jim hear the sound, along with other celebratory noises, through the radio. Irene figures that the party is taking place at the Fullers apartment because she saw Mrs. Fuller at the store buying liquor to prepare for a large gathering, one that the Westcotts weren’t invited to for some reason. This suggests that the Westcotts and the Fullers aren’t on friendly terms, yet the shattered dishes go further than representing ruptured social ties. Shattered dishware is a disruption that represents shattered homes of many shapes and sizes and supports the theme of The Disruption of Domesticity. Shattered dishware is a small piece of repeating description that echoes the stories Irene becomes obsessed with, each eavesdropped conversation providing glimpses into marriages that are all shattered or broken in some way. Some of these shattered marriages will lead, undoubtedly, to divorce, especially as the practice of divorce becomes more socially acceptable in the latter half of the 20th century. Other broken relationships will be like that handleless jug that Yonghy-Bonghy-Bò keeps around, missing large pieces but still serving their essential functions.

Financial worries are a central motif of the story and support the theme of the Compartmentalization of Gender Roles and Marital Duties. Early on, the financial concerns of the Westcott family are veiled in secrecy. Jim, concerned about the family finances, purchases an uglier radio model that is more affordable. He doesn’t mention any of this to his wife. Instead, he masks his secrecy as a grand surprise for her to unveil when the new radio arrives in their home. Once the radio provides the Westcotts with the ability to eavesdrop on others, there are recurring mentions of money. Many other tenants in the apartment are worried about their finances. There is “a bitter family quarrel” (37) related to a bank overdraft. There is a sick middle-aged woman who tells her husband she doesn’t want to bother with a doctor because “the doctor’s bills are so awful already” (37). There is “an enraged woman” (37) with a child who hates school. The mother admonishes her child by citing the “eight hundred dollars” paid for tuition, letting the unhappy child know that they would send her to school even “if it kills you” (37). There are also the financial decisions of better off families, too. A woman holding a luncheon party instructs her maid to serve “the best Scotch” to guests with “white hair” (38). She also presses her maid to pass out old food first, before moving on to nicer appetizers. In another cameo by Miss Armstrong, she can be heard over the radio reciting lines from “Oranges and Lemons,” a nursery rhyme where one speaker is demanding repayment from another, who promises to repay the person once they have gotten rich. Shortly after, there is a scene where the Westcotts stop to listen to a Salvation Army band, an organization which works to help those who are impoverished.

These moments culminate into an ongoing wave of foreboding. For Irene, they provide glimpses into the financial struggles so many people face. Unfortunately, these insightful anecdotes pervert Irene’s rosy perspective of the world and serve to foreshadow the tense closing of the story. Irene falls into despair and Jim erupts in anger. To avoid an argument, she catalogs for him all the terrible things she’s learned about their neighbors, including the fact that the Hutchinson’s “don’t have enough money” (39) to tend to a dying mother. Jim, on the other hand, finally reveals how much he paid for the radio set, a topic that he will raise again the following day once the radio has been returned to normal. In that closing scene, readers learn that Jim and Irene Westcott must juggle the same financial worries that so many of their neighbors deal with. Jim again mentions the extravagant cost of the radio. He tells his wife that they will have to tighten their belts, and then he admonishes her for failing to pay certain bills that are supposed to come out of her monthly allowance. With this ending, the motif that has been found throughout the story takes center stage, as the main characters demonstrate that they are quite like everyone else, struggling to make ends meet.