The Memory Police: Chapter 16  Summary & Analysis

A little while after the calendars disappear, it is the old man’s birthday. Even though they can’t keep dates on calendars anymore or keep time through the seasons, the narrator feels sure that it is his birthday, and she says a celebration will do R some good. The narrator has to go to the market once a day for a whole week to get the food for the party, since rations on the island are so low. However, she’s able to get meat and fish easily enough, since the butcher and the fishmonger are friends of the old man.

On the day of their celebration, the old man shows up at the narrator’s house dressed well. The narrator has set everything up in the secret room, so that when the old man climbs down and sees the platters of food and the decoration, he is surprised and delighted. There is steam coming off the dishes of chicken and fish, which are decorated with wildflowers and herbs. The narrator, the old man, and R have to squeeze to fit at the table—but once they’re seated, they toast with wine. The wine was secretly made at the hardware store and is nothing fancy, but it is a pretty color under the glow of the lamp. They all cheer to the old man’s health, and it is the first time in a long time that they’ve felt this “jolly.”

The party continues merrily. For a while, the narrator, the old man, and R are almost able to forget their circumstances. However, any time one of them lets out a particularly loud laugh, they still cover their mouths and look around. The old man and R remark at how lovely the meal is. R and the narrator make sure that the old man eats his fill.

Once they finish dinner and dessert, the narrator and R take out their presents. The narrator gives the old man a porcelain shaving set, and he is moved to have received something so beautiful. Then R brings out his present for the old man: a small wooden box. The narrator and the old man stare at it in wonder, and when R opens it, they see a mirror and felt on the inside. There is no record or instrument, but music begins to play. The old man and the narrator are puzzled and transfixed. They ask where the music is coming from, and R says the box itself. The old man thinks it is magic, but R responds that it is an orugōru (music box). The orugōru was disappeared years ago.

The narrator tries desperately to remember a time when the orugōru existed, at least for R’s sake, but she cannot. R explains that he began to realize he wasn’t affected around the time the orugōru disappeared. He knew instinctively not to tell anyone, but he also started hiding the disappeared objects because he couldn’t bring himself to throw them out. The old man objects, saying he could never keep such a precious gift, but R insists that he is more than happy to give it if it helps to “delay or stop this decay in your hearts in even some small way.”

The music continues to play. The narrator asks R if he really thinks their hearts are decaying. He says he’s not sure about the wording, but that something irreversible seems to be happening, and it frightens him. The narrator can barely say “o…ru…gō…ru.” R asks if it’s painful to be reminded of the things that they forget. The old man says no—he’ll be honored to play the music box in his home on the boat.

The narrator comments on how wonderful the party was, and R agrees that it was the best birthday party he can remember. They open the box to listen to the music one last time. Just as the song ends, the doorbell rings loudly.