It would be fair to say that American author Stephen King is one of the most prolific, well-known, and well-respected authors in the world. One of his many works includes "Mr. Harrigan's Phone," the short story which was included in the novel If It Bleeds (2020). The short story tells the story of Craig, who one day gets a job working for old Mr. Harrigan. One day, Mr. Harrigan gives Craig a winning lottery ticket. Using some of the winnings, Craig buys Mr. Harrigan a phone shortly before he dies. On two separate occasions after Mr. Harrigan dies, he leaves a voicemail on Mr. Harrigan's phone complaining about people - people who subsequently died by suicide. Perplexed and alarmed, Craig throws Mr. Harrigan's old phone into the lake to prevent any further harm from coming to anyone.
Because If It Bleeds, and the stories within it (including Mr. Harrigan's Phone), are spiritual sequels to King's novel The Outsider, the stories are thematically similar. Those themes include the battle between good and evil, the common conflict between what is right and what is easy, and the fight many humans must undergo to deal with overwhelming odds.
Fundamentally, though, like all of King's stories, "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" is a work of fiction that is designed to entertain readers. It is not a work of any academic merit; instead, it is a wildly popular, mass-market book designed for mass consumption and widespread enjoyment. It is a novel that King himself (as well as other reviewers) has said is meant to be enjoyed, not dissected.
Still, politics have influenced much of King's later work, particularly after the election of Donald Trump in 2016 in the United States. And though "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" is not overtly political, it is very clearly influenced by the politics of the time in which is written.
