The Enormous Radio: tune in!

The characters of married couple Jim and Irene are portrayed as somewhat shallow, common, and eager to "look" good. I took some interesting things from the initial seeds of characterization the author planted. One thing that really stuck in my head was the line about Irene Westcott having "a fine forehead upon which nothing at all had been written". Because of my occasional tendency to read too much into things, I gathered that the narrarator was saying she did not have much going on mentally that made her special. She was unmarked, unremarkable. I sensed both Jim and Irene were not characters the narrarator was particularly fond of, and although it was not said directly, I sensed the narrarator did not want to go through too much trouble to make them look good in our eyes as well.

The plainness, the "white picket fence" mentality of the couple was very apparent. That particular point fascinated me, since I would expect fans of classical music to be very unique, colorful, and clever people. It takes a special kind of artistic intelligence, emotional awareness, and sophistication to enjoy and "get" classical music. And the Westcotts were not portrayed as having that kind of depth. Until the end, of course. It is at the point where Jim loses his temper on Irene that the true colors of their pain and humanity becomes apparent. I find it interesting how they lived a somewhat closed-off existence, and in their own little world. Prisoners of a lack of self-awareness and an over-abundance of arrogance. What I mean by that is when they heard the people in other apartments they were so convinced that they weren't like that, and that they were above such behavior. Yet the author portrayed them as becoming like that towards the end of teh story. Yet we knew all along they were no different from other people. The only difference with the Westcotts is that they had a mirror, a thing of true supernatural and spiritual wonder: the Enormous Radio. They could have used it to gain insight into the brutal subtleties of human nature, and perhaps avoided the fight they had at the end of the story. And they also would have been able to get all their neighbors the most wonderful gifts for Christmas and birthdays.

"How did you know I wanted one of these? Jim and Irene, you are such kind and perceptive people!"

I likened the Westcotts to the ape characters at the beginning of 2001: A Space Oddysey and the space monolith the apes discover as the Enormous Radio. Like the monolith, the Enormous Radio was a thing of intimidating mystery, learning, and beauty. And just as in 2001, the initial reactions of awe and wonder give way to violence. I remember that hypnotic opening scene in 2001 and I conjure up images of the Radio, shiny and complicated. I picture the Westcotts sitting in front of it, listening intently, much like families must have donen in the original radio days of the 1930s and 40s.

The Westcotts were actually on a fresh welcome mat of discovery and evolution: the Radio represented an entirely new age of technology, thought, and communication. But at the end of the day, I feel that no matter who posessed and enjoyed the wonders of the Radio, it would cause emotional (and perhaps eventually physical) ruin.