Summary of The Use of Force
The story is trying to tell us that use of force is justifiable if it is used with good motives in order to save somebody's life. Here in the story, the basic conflict is between the doctor and the patient. The doctor uses force because of social responsibility while the parents do not want the use of force. Their love towards their child was about to cause the death of their child. The parents concentrate on immediate pain without thinking about the consequences of deadly diseases. So the doctor loves the innocent child but hates her parents.
In fact, by William Carlos Williams shows the conflict between a doctor and his patient at one level and doctor and the parents at another level. The conflict between the doctor and the patient is physical. But the conflict between doctor and parents is psychological. This story tells that the use of force for the benevolent purpose is ethical and justifiable.
In the story, The narrator is a doctor who visits the house of the Olson family. Their small daughter Mithalda has had a high fever for three. days. Since no medicine worked, her parents called the doctor. Being fearful that the girl may be suffering from diphtheria, the doctor asked her parents if she had a sore throat. The parents had not taken a look at her throat because they did not want to hurt her. The doctor asks Mithalda to open her mouth but suddenly the girl attacks his eyes with her nails. The doctor hates the mother when she says that the doctor is a nice man and will not hurt her. Then the doctor decides to use force than to leave her to die. When the doctor is about to look into. her throat, her father suddenly releases her. The parents are restless and fearful that the doctor may harm her child.
On next attempt, he grasps the child's head and tries to get the wooden depressor into her mouth. The girl breaks it with her molars. The child's mouth starts bleeding. Later, he pushes the spoon forcefully back of her teeth and throat. He finds that she has a sore throat and is suffering from diphtheria (भ्यागुते रोग).
Do you think a doctor's use of force like this on a patient is justifiable? Give reasons for your answer
If the child and her parents had been responsible, the doctor could have easily examined her sore throat. He might have persuaded her to open her mouth. If the child's parents had helped him to open her mouth for him, he should not have used force to do it. But the doctor had to use force to save the child's life. As a doctor, he also had to protect others from the sick child because diphtheria was a venereal disease. He had a social duty to perform. Therefore, he decided to use force to open her mouth to examine her throat condition. It was necessary for the doctor to know what actually had happened to the child. Thus, it is justifiable to use force for a good cause.
What was the child's reactionduring the crisis?
It is obvious that Mathilda was afraid of the doctor. Her behaviours change from being indifferent to violently defensive. She was not aware of the fact that he was going to save her life. He even justifies 'the damned little brat must be protected against her own idiocy. Everyone saw her reaction as shameful, but no one actually cared enough to understand her feelings and how she was hurt. She reacts negatively to the force being used on her. She shrieked hysterically, 'Stop it! Stop it! You're killing me!' She even hurt herself while breaking the tongue depressor with her mouth.
Why does the doctor respect the child but find the parents "contemptible"?
The doctor respects the child but find the parents contemptible. In fact he loves her, so, he says 'I had already fallen in love with the savage brat'. He liked Mathilda so much as she was a beautiful child. She had magnificent blonde hair, which made the doctor think about picture-children that appeared in advertising leaflets and photographic. He also respected her so much since he was impressed by her determination to defend herself from him. Though, he found the parents to be contemptible because although they were eager to cooperate, they were also distrustful to him. When they started coaxing the child, calling the doctor a 'nice man'. Their efforts were useless, and rather than helping, they hindered the doctor's efforts.
