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The Use of Force by William Carlos William
The Use of Force by William Carlos William
This short story, ‘The Use of Force’ by William Carlos Williams, centres on the conflict between the main narrator, the doctor, and a sick child. In this story, the doctor uses excessive force to examine the sick child. His intention is too good for the sake of the sick child, but the sick child looks at the doctor in a very distrustful way. Many attempts have been made by the doctor to check on the sick child, but in vain. Finally, he becomes too furious and uses various ways to check on the sick child, which don’t suit a responsible doctor.
The sick child tries to attack the doctor in tears at last. We can observe both psychological as well as physical conflict in the story. Psychological conflict is seen between the mature doctor, who is bound by his duty and responsibility. He does so for the betterment of the sick child. The sick child’s distrustful looks towards the doctor, her sense of fear, her reserved behaviour, etc. can be taken as her psychological aspects. Both of them want to overcome each other’s psychological aspects. Next, the physical conflict is seen many times as the story moves ahead. The doctor uses his force to examine her. The girl doesn’t cooperate with the doctor’s commands. The girl also attacks the doctor. In the beginning, she uses a defensive approach, but later on, she becomes violent and attacks the doctor.
MAIN SUMMARY
The Use of Force by William Carlos William
The main narrator, who was a doctor by profession, had to go to Olson’s family to examine their one and only daughter, Mithilda. When the doctor reached there, he was welcomed by Mrs. Olson. The doctor entered the kitchen, where the sick child was sitting on his father’s lap. The Olson family looked at the doctor distrustfully.
When the sick child looked at the doctor, she became more nervous. Her eyes remained wide. She started breathing so rapidly. The doctor knew that she had a fever. Even he had found many similar cases of fever and diphtheria patients at her school. The doctor asked about the sore throat of the sick child, but the Olson family denied it, saying that she didn’t have it. The doctor asked her to open her mouth. The doctor called the sick child by her name while asking. But the sick child didn’t move or obey his orders. Mrs. Olson assured the baby that the doctor wouldn’t hurt her. However, the doctor didn’t like her mother’s expression. When the doctor moved ahead, the sick child clawed at the doctor’s eyes. The doctor’s glasses dropped down on the kitchen’s floor. The parents felt ashamed. They asked for an apology. Mrs. Olson started shaking her baby by her arm. The doctor found that the parents of the sick child were very careless. He told them that he had to examine her at any cost. He wanted the child to obey his command, or he would have to open her mouth in his way.
The sick child’s fear increased. She became more and more nervous at that time. The doctor asked Mr. Olson to hold the child tightly. He didn’t want any interference from the parents. He wanted cooperation from the parents. Mr. Olson held her daughter’s wrist tightly. Then the fight began. The sick child started screaming, saying that they were about to kill her. The doctor held her head with his left hand and inserted his medical instrument between her teeth. However, the doctor’s attempts failed again because the sick child broke that instrument. There was bleeding from her mouth. Later on, the doctor asked for a spoon-type instrument to open her mouth. The girl shrieked emotionally. The doctor became quite angry. To examine her and provide her comfort is a kind of social duty for him. Finally, he used his excessive force and became successful in finding out the reason for the sick child’s fever. She had been suffering from a sore throat for three days. The sick child kept her pain secret. But the sick child started attacking the doctor, being angrier. Earlier, she was playing a defensive role, but eventually, she tried to get off her father’s lap to beat the doctor. Her eyes were full of tears.
MAIN POINTS
The Use of Force by William Carlos William
▪︎ The doctor was very right because he wanted to give her comfort. It was his social duty to comfort his patients. He used force for the betterment of the sick child.
▪︎ The sick child didn’t want her throat checked by the doctor. But the doctor had to check her throat at any cost.
▪︎ The doctor didn’t want any assurance from parents for the sick child.
▪︎ The mother of the sick child irritated the doctor.
▪︎ The doctor himself was quite confused to see the child’s acts. A kind of mental conflict occurred in his mind. Psychological fear and hatred towards the doctor were even seen in the sick child’s mind.
▪︎ The doctor tried his best to examine the sick child. He pressed the instrument between her teeth, but she broke it into pieces. Her tongue was cut and started bleeding. The doctor used a spoon-type instrument to open her mouth, but she cried wildly. Finally, the doctor was successful in finding out the sore throat by using force.
▪︎ Nature of conflict: psychological and physical
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
The Use of Force by William Carlos William
1. Why does the doctor respect the child but find the parents “Contemptible”?
Answer:
The sick child in this story is a small, innocent, and pretty girl. She has had a sore throat for three days. She is not acquainted with the doctor. Her psychology towards the doctor is somewhat different. She fears much to see the doctor in front of her. She becomes fearful of strangers. The doctor knows the psychology of the baby girl. Her actions against the doctor are right. That’s why the doctor respects the child. The parents of the sick child are too careless. According to the doctor, they aren’t cooperative while examining their daughter. They give much importance to their daughter’s will. They make the baby feel frightened by showing excessive love for her. They show their support to the baby but not to the doctor. They have changed the mentality of the baby. That’s why the doctor finds the parents "contemptible.".
2. What does the story tell us about the use of force? How is the doctor affected by restoring to the use of force? How is the child affected by being forced to open her mouth against her will?
Answer:
The story tells us that the use of force is good if it has been done for a good reason. In this story, the doctor uses his force against the sick child’s will because he wants to give her comfort. She has a sore throat. He is sure about her pain. He uses his force for a better reason.
While using force, the doctor is psychologically dilemmatic. He has to examine the child at any cost. Being a doctor, it’s his social duty to comfort his patients. When he finds the sick child’s activities against his will, he becomes furious. He uses force for good reason, being rude.
The girl becomes emotionally and psychologically upset with the doctor. She becomes much more fearful. A sense of defeat occurs in her psychological aspect. Finally, she cries along with tears in her eyes and starts attacking the doctor with the use of force.
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