Diphtheria In The Use Of Force By William Carlos Williams

“In the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”, Anne Fadiman explores the subject of cross cultural misunderstanding. This she effectively portrays using Lia, a Hmong, her medical history, the misunderstandings created by obstacles of communication, the religious background, the battle with modernized medical science and cultural anachronisms. Handling an epileptic child, in a strange land in a manner very unlike the shamanistic animism they were accustomed to, generated many problems for her parents. The author dwells on the radically different cultures to highlight the necessity for medical communities to have an understanding of the immigrants when treating them.

a novel titled Fools Crow. In this story, Mik-api’s experience as a medicine man not only provides an insight into the spirituality of the Native American culture, but it also has a great impact on the story. The author portrays this with great artistic quality through the sharing Mik-api’s story of

ADHD, defiance disorder, pregnancy, these are just few of the things medicalized in the West (Davies 1995). With the rising prestige of Doctors in the 19th century, came a widening of the gap of knowledge between Doctors and the general population (Davies 1995). Doctors have kept a sort of lock on medical knowledge, enabling them to medicalize all sorts of “issues” aided by the idea of the medical mystique. But with the emergence of medicalization and cures that are being searched for by Doctors, a new problem has arisen. This fixation on curing illnesses has led to Doctors viewing patients as experiments and not as human beings, this is seen especially in technologically advanced societies as exemplified in the movie Wit. In addition to this new problem, there are clear establishments of hierarchy between medical professionals such as Doctors and nurses as well as the emotional detachments with the patients which can lead to patients feeling left out and alone.

William Carlos Williams’ passion and dedication of medicine can be seen through his literary contributions of short stories and poems. The Doctor Stories use interior monologue in a stream-of-consciousness as a tool to reflect each narrator’s experience and gives insight into the character and his appraisal of each of the situations encountered. It is through this stream-of-consciousness that we come to realize the observational nature of this doctor’s actions and thoughts.

Furthermore, in this book, Frank argues that the modernist perception of disease is a structure of "colonization," which also means that the sick individual surrender his or her body, and the narrative of his or her life to biomedical skill. In a post-modern conception, the sick individuals will find the defense and strength to tell their own story, regain the expert and energy to recount his or her own story. It takes one to create a new lifestyle narrative from the

With these words, Steinbeck tries to show how greedy the doctor is and how he will not help a young defenseless baby from death—just because they are poor Indians, who have nothing of value to pay him for his services. The doctor’s words and actions clearly illustrates humanity’s struggle with greed.

The movie “The Doctor” takes an intimate look at the life of a surgeon who is immensely detached from his patients and often acts callously towards his patients and even his family. The arrogance and heartlessness that are seen in the beginning of the movie slowly become subdued when Jack McKee finds out that he has a malignant tumor. The diagnosis of the life-threatening tumor forces Jack to reevaluate his life and in turn allows Jack to see life from the perspective of a patient. The differences in McKee’s character are abundantly evident but one of the best examples of how much he truly changes are how starkly different the opening scene in the surgery suite is as compared to the final scene in the surgery suite. When the movie opens

Doctor Adams goes to a place distant from civilization to deliver a baby. Darkness, wilderness, and dirtiness are images presented throughout the story that apply to the appearance of the India Camp. The description of the Indian Camp highlights racial inequality between the two cultures. After Dr. Adams delivers the baby, he feels exalted: A word that connotates a rise in status, dignity, power, honor, and wealth (Strong 23). This usage of the text is an example of how Dr. Adams sees himself superior than everyone in the room. In addition, he has an immediate desire to record thee operation into the medical journal. His medical journal symbolizes an ultimate authority: a removed, consecrated sign of medical, legal, and institutional power (Strong 23).

He first tries to be accommodating by asking the girl for her name in order to get her to cooperate in opening her mouth, but she does not budge. The doctor assures Mathilda that he has nothing in his hands and that she should open up. “Such a nice man, put in the mother. Look how kind he is to you. Come on, do what he tells you to. He won’t hurt you.” The mother’s helpfulness in assuring the girl that the doctor is trying to help enrages the doctor; as he puts it, “At that I ground my teeth in disgust.” The doctor then shows frustration, “If only they wouldn’t sue use the word ‘Hurt’ I might be able to get somewhere.” (par. 16) Despite this he continues to get his diagnosis. As the doctor reaches again for the girl, she swipes his glasses and the parents light up in embarrassment. They apologize and chastise the girl and assures assure her that he is a nice man. The doctor lashes out to the parents, “For heaven’s sake, I broke in. Don’t call me a nice man to her.” (par. 19) He states to the parents that he is strictly there to check her throat to see if she has diphtheria and that she could die from it. It is apparent at this point that the doctor may not care what the parents and child think of him, just as long as he checks the girls (should it be girl's? I didn't correct you, because I'm not actually sure which is right)

From the story, William depicts the difficulties that people have towards separating their emotions and standards. The doctor’s behavior towards the girl and the young patient’s reaction emphasizes the subject of this discussion. However, the use of ethos, the narrator portrays his character as a credible doctor in the story. The character of both the patient and the doctor reveal a plausible issue comparable in real life. During this period there is and epidemic of diphtheria, which worsens the situation forcing the doctor to take aggressive measures in treating his patient. Revealed through his words, the doctor first tries kindness; “Awe, come on, I coaxed, just open your mouth wide and let me take a look.” (Williams, 1984) However, the reaction from the girl is repulsive, forcing the doctor to be firm. The young girl’s character shows the conflict of her role as a patient and that of her personality. This is revealed by the fact the she is spoiled and

The point of view in the story “The Use of Force” is in first person narrative. This conveys inner the inner thoughts of the narrator as the doctor. The doctor is a reliable narrator and an observer. I feel that his personality is brought out in the doctor. So the doctors thoughts and behaviors are a reflection of the authors.

Medicine and Science have been considered as a huge source of inspiration for many Fiction writers. In the contemporary dystopian setting the theme of Medicine and Science has already proven

The doctor and his patient portray a troubled encounter that is subject to discussion. This short story reflects real or plausible issues comparable in real life. One example of such an event in Brooklyn when a construction worker filed a lawsuit against a hospital for subjecting him to a rectal exam against his wishes. According to his lawyer, the man begged,”please don’t do that’’ as he was held down, and he punched one of the doctors before being sedated and examined without consent. As a result the man allegedly developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the experience.(Tsai,1) Given to the poor man’s circumstance and how the medical professionals treated him, you can now see how unfit doctors can be to their own patients.

Mathildas envy and desire to be wealthy and to live a lavish lifestyle becomes a much larger problem, when she can no longer visit her friends because of the suffering and jealousy she would experience afterwards. But when Mathilde asked her wealthy friend to borrow some jewelry, she did not seem to experience any suffering, misery, or even

Marxism is thoroughly used throughout “The Use of Force” and is evident in the power struggles embedded in the short story. Williams uses the conflicts between the doctor and the child; the parents and the doctor; and the parents and the child to develop the drama in the story. The struggle begins when the child refuses to cooperate with the doctor and let him see her throat. As the doctor begins his diagnosis, the child tries to physically attack him. “As I moved my chair a little nearer suddenly with one catlike movement