The Silent Valley is the twelfth chapter of The Phantom Tollbooth.
Characters[]
- Milo
- Tock
- The Humbug
- The Soundkeeper (debut)
Plot[]
Upon entering the Valley of Sound, Milo can immediately tell why Dr. Dischord and the DYNNE seemed to be so afraid of it: there is no sound whatsoever. Milo, Tock, and the Humbug try to talk, but nothing happens. Their car doesn't make any noise, nor does the outside world. As Tock frets over his lack of ticking, a crowd of people bearing protest signs about the silence comes down the road. These people have figured out how to communicate without sound. They use signs and write on a blackboard to show the three visitors what the problem is. One of them explains that they used to have all kinds of sounds, but their leader, the Soundkeeper, got mad because they didn't treat these sounds with enough respect. People paid less attention to good sounds and more attention to bad ones. Eventually, Dr. Dischord and the DYNNE showed up, but they only made things worse instead of better. So, the Soundkeeper kicked Dr. Dischord and the DYNNE out and then took all of the sounds away and locked them in her fortress, which forced the people who live in the Valley to live in constant silence. The people ask Milo for some help. If he can go into the Soundkeeper's fortress and steal just one sound, they will be able to destroy the fortress and win back the rest of the sounds. Milo agrees and, with Tock and the Humbug, sets out for the fortress. The Soundkeeper turns out to be a perfectly pleasant woman who invites the travelers inside where they find sounds still exist. She helps Milo explore the collection of sounds in the fortress, explaining where sounds come from and how they are recorded for all time. She says that the sounds are saved in the fortress for the good of the world. They are all automatically categorized and put in order. Milo thinks of various ways to take a sound outside the vault, such as asking for one straight up or trying to hide one in his pockets. But the Soundkeeper is wise to his ways and she won't let him steal any of the sounds. At the end of their meeting, Milo asks why the Soundkeeper hides all the sounds. She says that she doesn't want to let them out because she can't control how they'll be used. Milo is about to argue with her some more, but he stops: he realizes that he's holding the sound of the next word he was going to speak ("but") in his mouth. He quickly and silently makes for the door, smuggling his sound out with him.
Chapter Guide[]
< Dischord and Dynne (Chapter 11) | Unfortunate Conclusions (Chapter 13)>