Significance of Payphone

Mateo and Rufus see the payphone underneath the Queensboro Bridge as a symbol for the advancement of technology. The advent of Death-Cast has completely changed society in this futuristic Manhattan and the reader can see how, in many other ways, society has been altered because of the advancement of technology. Underneath the bridge, Mateo and Rufus reflect on technology and the future--how things like payphones are becoming practically nonexistent. Despite all of this new technology, “everyone and everything is dying” and their contemplation ultimately reflects the ongoing question in the novel about the benefits of technology (194). In this way, the payphone is reflective of this dilemma and symbolizes all of the advances in technology the reader sees in the novel.