More Criminal Than Doctor: The Pearl By John Steinbeck

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More Criminal Than Doctor Rejection. Desperate to help your dying child, you go to the one place you can get help and the doctor says no. All because your life savings just isn't enough. In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the doctor is guilty of malpractice for breaking the Hippocratic oath: not treating Coyotito because he doesn't want to work for little payment. Coyotito is stung by a scorpion and Kino goes to the doctor to get him treated. Kino asks if the doctor will treat Coyotito, and the guard goes to talk to the doctor. The doctor says that he will not treat the baby unless there is payment. Kino gives the guard pearls, and the doctor rejects them. The guard tells Kino that the doctor has a more important patient, lying to avoid work. …show more content…

When the servant tells the doctor about Kino he says, "Have I nothing better to do than to cure insect bites for 'little Indians'? I am a doctor, not a veterinary... Has he any money?... No, they never have any money" (Steinback 11). The doctor is saying that he will not treat Coyotito because he is an Indian and calls him an animal. He is not going to treat Coyotito because Kino has no money for him to be treated. Through doing this, the doctor has broken the Hippocratic oath he took when he became a doctor. This is not allowed to happen, considering the Hippocratic oath is standard for all doctors. Some may say that the doctor can treat whoever he wants. This is not true because the doctor must treat all patients, regardless of race or social class. The third section of the Hippocratic oath is titled, "Without Fee or Stipulation" (Hippocrates 1). This quote from the Hippocratic oath means that the patient is not required to pay or make any other agreement to be treated. The doctor is a greedy dude who refused to work without payment just because of Kino's social class and race. To neglect any one of treatment is bad, but to deny a child treatment is cruel and should not be allowed whatsoever. He broke the Hippocratic oath because he wanted to go back to

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