Kaleb Fields
Mrs. Spears
Honors English
December 20, 2012

Maslow’s Hierarchy in the Portable Phonograph In The Portable Phonograph, the author, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, tells the story of four men living in a world after a devastating war. Although they don’t have much, they have an old phonograph and some records. Even as they fight to survive in their harsh environment, they still abide by Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. First they have to have their physiological and safety needs, then, their love and esteem needs, and only after they have attained the more basic needs, may they meet their more complex needs like their cognitive needs. Maslow’s physiological and safety needs are the basic things needed to sustain life; warmth, rest, water, food, and shelter. As Clark describes their situation, he tells us of their shelter. He says, “Into the bank above it was dug a sort of cell, with a single opening…” and “Within the cell there was a little red of fire…” He also speaks of a bed. It was a “…earth bench, with two old and dirty army blankets…” He says it is “…where the owner of the cell slept.” We can infer that they had food also due to the fact that Clark says there “...were a few tin utensils…” By the examples here we can tell they had already fulfilled the first level of needs. As the Hierarchy of needs progress to the next stage, love and esteem, we see that they must be part of a group and feel affiliated and accepted. They also must feel as if they are respected and respect others. As for being affiliated with a group, it is incontestable that they meet this need. The whole story revolves around them being together. When it comes to being respected we know that the Dr. Jenkins is well respected by the other men because throughout the entire story they never use his first name. They always refer to him as doctor. The musician however is also respected. We can presume this because they had been using thorns, which do not sound as pleasing, to