Mr. Harrigan's Phone Themes

Obsession

Obsession is the overarching theme of Mr. Harrigan's Place and is responsible for the central conflict of the story. In the novella, Craig is obsessed with obtaining a new phone - specifically, an iPhone. When Craig finally gets an iPhone several years later, he becomes obsessed with getting his elderly neighbor Mr. Harrigan an iPhone. In turn, Mr. Harrigan (just like Craig) becomes obsessed with his cell phone and is ultimately buried with it, which causes his soul to transfer to the phone and reach out to Craig when he calls. Craig's obsession eventually causes the deaths of two people and other negative consequences.

Negative consequences related to winning the lottery

A core story in Mr. Harrigan's Phone is the negative consequences associated with winning the lottery. Craig, the main character in the novella, is gifted a winning lottery ticket by the elderly Mr. Harrigan. Craig, in turn, uses the winning lottery ticket to buy Mr. Harrigan an iPhone (something which Craig himself was obsessed with). Because of his winning lottery ticket, two people die by suicide (suicides which they otherwise would not have committed).

Although the lottery ticket enabled Craig to do something nice for someone, it also created several unintended consequences - most importantly the death of two people.

Karma

Another central theme in the novella is karma. In the novella, a drunk driver is coaxed by Mr. Harrigan's cell phone to commit suicide. People obviously make mistakes, but drinking and driving are illegal and can injure or kill countless people (just as the drunk driver killed a teacher in the novella). Similarly, a bully is also coaxed into committing suicide by Mr. Harrigan's phone. Bullying people isn't illegal, but it is morally wrong and has quite a few unintended consequences - most importantly the irreparable harm that could result from it. Their deaths - as tragic and unfortunate as they are - are karma for their deplorable and damaging actions.