Klausner’s neighbor. Her character is significant for her role in Klausner’s discovery, as she is tending to her garden and trimming roses at the time of the first test of his new and improved machine. It is through this bit of happenstance that he is first able to hear that plants feel pain. His attempts to get her to aid him by cutting more roses, coupled with the breathless, frenzied explanation he gives regarding his findings, cause her to think her already “peculiar” neighbor has gone “completely crazy” and even consider alerting her husband about him. She instead politely humors him before abruptly excusing herself and rushing back to the safety of her home.
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Mrs. Saunders Character Timeline in The Sound Machine
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Saunders appears in The Sound Machine. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Sound Machine
...bespectacled child,” Klausner takes in the stillness of the area around him. He watches his neighbor work in her garden “without thinking about her at all.” He flicks on the machine...
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...it at first to be human. However, there is no one around except for his neighbor, who is cutting roses in her garden. Suddenly, the sound rings out again, and Klausner...
(full context)
...her to cut another rose. She is greatly disturbed by the appearance of her “peculiar” neighbor, who she now worries has gone “completely crazy,” and considers getting her husband for backup....
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Klausner frantically explains his new discovery that plants feel pain, getting closer and closer to Mrs. Saunders to the point where he is leaning over the fence, staring at her intently. Privately,...
(full context)
