The Sound Machine -

Roald Dahl
• Roald Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 of
Norwegian parents. He served as a fighter in
World War II and his first volume of short stories,
Over to You, was based on his wartime
experiences. Other collections are Kiss Kiss,
Someone Like You, Switch Bitch and Further
Tales of the Unexpected. They have been
translated into many languages and are
bestsellers all over the world. His stories, bizarre
and alarming, often with a touch of black
humour, are more in the fantasy and horror
genres though he sometimes make use of
science-fiction images. His stories for children,
such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, are
also enormously popular. He died in 1990.
• First lines:
• It was a warm summer evening and
Klausner walked quickly through the front
gate and around the side of the house and
into the garden at the back. He went on
down the garden until he came to a
wooden shed and he unlocked the door,
went inside and closed the door behind
him.
• Last lines:
• “Thank you, doctor,” Klausner said and he
nodded his head again and he dropped
the axe and all at once he smiled a wild,
excited smile and quickly the doctor went
over to him and gently he took him by the
arm and he said, “Come on, we must go
now,” and suddenly they were walking
away, the two of them, walking silently,
rather hurriedly across the park, over the
road, back to the house.
• Most interesting lines:
• “This machine is designed to pick up
sound vibrations that are too high-pitched
for reception by the human ear and to
convert them to a scale of audible tones.”
• Most Dahl line:
• It felt something else which we didn’t know
about - something called toin or spurl or
plinuckment, or anything you like.
 Most ominous lines:
 He put the earphones on his head and switched
on the machine. He listened for a moment to the
faint familiar humming sound; then he picked up
the axe, took a stance with his legs wider apart
and swung the axe as hard as he could at the
base of the trr trunk. The blade cut deep into the
wood and stuck there and at the instant of
impace he heard a most extraordinary noise in
the earphones. It was a new noise, unlike any he
had heard before - a harsh, noteless, enormous
noise, a growling, low-pitched, screaming sound,
drawn out like a sob lasting for fully a minute,
loudest at the moment when the axe struck,
fading gradually fainter and fainter until it was
gone.
 THEMES
• Obsession
The theme of obsession is highlighted in
the story. Klausner shows that his
obsession to invent the sound machine,
test it and prove that it is able to detect
sounds, tones and vibrations has no limits
. He is so obsessed to try out and make
the machine work .
• Irrationality
The theme of irrationality is also present in
the story. Klausner actions and behaviors
relate to doing things without thinking
logically. Klausner behaves irrationally
when he gets excited and also because of
his obsession. He overreacts when he is
facing a particular situation.
• Creativity
Klausner invents a sound machine based
on his own creativity. He has a very
imaginative mind, and is also very
observant. Klausner is able to be very
creative because of his obsession too .
• Being Judgmental
Judgments are made based on Klausner’s
physical appearance, his behaviors,
emotions, reactions and perceptions of the
world. Mrs. Saunders thinks Klausner is
peculiar and has become crazy. She is
afraid of him. Similarly, the doctor also
forms judgments about Klausner and
thinks that Klausner is silly and even to the
extent of being crazy.
• Nature
Klausner tells his neighbour not to snip any
more stems of the flower. This show that he
loves nature as shown through his thoughts
on what would happen to plants, vegetation
and trees when they are cut .