Sounds and Silences story
A man has an obsession with loud noises which causes his wife to leave him. Then all of the sounds in his life go haywire. Directed by: Richard Donner. Story by: Rod Serling.
11 total · 5 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| descent into madness | major | Roswell had been reasonably normal, said his wife, but now his obsession and noise making were intolerable. As she left him and his hearing started to change, he became increasingly unstable and in the end was committed. |
| husband and wife | major | Roswell's wife declared that she had had enough, and left him. |
| obsession | major | Roswell was obsessed with naval history to the extent that it became a serious problem for people around, and his wife left him. |
| poetic justice | major | Roswell was obnoxiously loud. By an ironic twilight twist of fate his hearing became super sensitive and he learned first hand how disturbing noise can be. Then he practically lost his hearing altogether. |
| super hearing | major | Roswell was afflicted with super hearing and didn't enjoy it one bit. |
| boss and employee | minor | Roswell treated the employees of his model ship company as if they were a working out of a ship, rather than an office building. |
| coping with a bad boss | minor | Roswell's employees grumbled about him behind his back and even went so far as to throw darts at his portrait. |
| coping with a failing marriage | minor | After a particularly noisy incident, Roswell's wife declared that she had had enough, and left him. |
| coping with an intransigent person | minor | Especially, Roswell's wife deserted him because he was exceedingly loud and completely refused to tone it down - his employees complained behind his back. |
| medical occupation | minor | Roswell consulted his family doctor and later a psychiatrist about his strange new hearing ability. |