Genre
Supernatural/Horror
Setting and Context
In a small town, likely in the U.S.
Narrator and Point of View
From a third-person omniscient point of view.
Tone and Mood
Tone: anxious, powerful, and vibrant. Mood: horrified, tense, and gloomy.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Craig is the protagonist of the novella; the phone is the antagonist of the novella.
Major Conflict
Craig's initial struggle to get a phone for Mr. Harrigan, and then his struggle to deal with the fallout of Mr. Harrigan's phone and its immense power.
Climax
When Craig throws his old phone into the lake to stop the suicides from occurring.
Foreshadowing
The immense power of Mr. Harrigan's phone is foreshadowed by the efforts Craig had to go to to get it and some of the issues within the town itself.
Understatement
The crippling power of Craig's obsession is initially understated by author Stephen King.
Allusions
To Mr. King's previous works, to the politics of the era in which the novella was written and published, to other popular culture (particularly horror and supernatural-inflected works), to religion, to geography, and to mythology.
Imagery
As the power of Mr. Harrigan and Craig's old phones become more clear, death and violent imagery become more prevalent.
Paradox
Mr. Harrigan is an elderly man (and elderly people almost never get addicted to technology); however, Mr. Harrigan became addicted to his phone.
Parallelism
Craig's obsession with his phone is paralleled with Mr. Harrigan's obsession with his phone - the same phone that Craig got him.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Mr. Harrigan's cell phone, which is given the human-like characteristic of being able to kill people, is personified in the novella.