The Use of Force: Williams Carols Williams

 

Story: The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams

About the Story Writer

         William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician, closely associated with modernism and imagism. Born in Rutherford, New Jersey, he pursued a career in medicine, practicing as a pediatrician for over 40 years while writing poetry, fiction, and essays. His most famous works include the poetry collections "Spring and All" and "Paterson," as well as the short story collection "The Knife of the Times." Williams's writing is characterized by its clarity, directness, and attention to the rhythms of American speech.

Characters in the story

The short story “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams features the doctor as the protagonist and Mathilda (the patient), a secondary character, as the antagonist. Other secondary characters in the story are Mathilda's mother and father.

The central theme of the story

The central theme of ‘The Use of Force’ by William Carlos Williams is to question readers as to whether it is ethical to use force or violence against someone for their wellbeing and if it is OK for the person being aggressive to enjoy the screams and pain of the person they are hurting.

Summary of The Use of Force

The story is trying to tell us that the use of force is justifiable if it is used with good motives 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 for 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.

William Carlos Williams shows the conflict between a doctor and his patient at one level and a doctor and the parents at another level. The conflict between the doctor and the patient is physical. However, the conflict between doctors and parents is psychological. This story tells that the use of force for a generous purpose is ethical and justifiable. In the story, the narrator is a doctor who visits 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 rather than 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 their child.

On the 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).

Possible Questions and Answers

1.     What is represented by the two types of spoons used in the examination?

The spoons represent the doctor's loss of control. In the beginning, when he's behaving professionally, he shows Mathilda that his hands are empty. Exactly when he takes out the wooden tongue depressor isn't clear, but it's not mentioned until he becomes furious. The wooden spoon represents the shift from reason to emotion. After she makes short work of this implement, the doctor calls for a stronger spoon. This represents a further increase in his anger. Just as the silver spoon is too strong for Mathilda to resist, the doctor's determination to use whatever force is necessary can't be resisted either. He completes his examination here, with his fury and his spoon both at their strongest.

2.     What are some examples of irony?

Some of the examples of irony in the story are mentioned below:

• The doctor's first impressions of Mathilda suggest she will be pleasant to deal with—she's very nice-looking and seems quiet. She ends up being a terror.
• The mother refers to the doctor as nice and kind, but Mathilda won't see him like that.
• The mother assures Mathilda that the doctor won't hurt her, but he would, if necessary (a temporary injury for a life-saving treatment is more than a fair trade).
• The mother says Mathilda should be ashamed of her behavior, but she's the only one in the story who doesn't feel ashamed at some point.
• The doctor says he had “already fallen in love with the savage brat, the parents were contemptible to me”, but he ends up furiously battling Mathilda while enlisting the parents'      help.
• Mathilda shrieks, “You're killing me!” when the adults are working to save her life.

3.     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, he should not have used force to do it. However, 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 contagious disease. He had a social duty to perform. Therefore, he decided to use force to open her mouth to examine her throat condition. The doctor needed to know what had happened to the child. Thus, it is justifiable to use force for a good cause.

4.     What was the child's reaction during the crisis?

Mathilda was afraid of the doctor. Her behaviors change from being indifferent to being 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 silliness. Everyone saw her reaction as shameful, but no one 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.

5.     Why does the doctor respect the child but find the parents "contemptible"?

The doctor respects the child but finds the parents contemptible. He loves her, so he says, 'I had already fallen in love with the savage brat'. He liked Mathilda so much because she was a beautiful child. She had magnificent blonde hair, which made the doctor think about pictures of children that appeared in advertising leaflets and photographs. He also respected her so much since he was impressed by her determination to defend herself from him. However, he found the parents to be contemptible because, although they were eager to cooperate, they were also distrustful of 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.

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