The Use Of Force Analysis

The Use of Force, written by William Carlos Williams is a story about a conflicted unnamed doctor using physical force to determine a diagnosis. The question that is brought up is whether or not the doctor’s use of force was one of ethical duty or infuriating violence. The doctor makes it his duty to save the patient, Mathilda as she does not cooperate he makes a choice to go on and use force to open her mouth to determine her diagnosis. The choice of using force isn’t necessarily the questionable part, the motive on using physical force is debatable. The ultimate question that the short story, the Use of Force asks is whether or not the doctor’s motives become one of compassion or desirable violence.

As the story begins, the unnamed doctor is introduced as one who appears to be strictly professional. “Aas often, in such cases, they weren’t telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that’s why they were spending three dollars on me.” (par. 3) The doctor leaves the first impression that he is one that keeps his attention about the job and nothing out of the ordinary besides stating his impressions on the mother, father and the patient, Mathilda. Though he does manage to note that Mathilda has a fever. The doctor takes what he considers a “trial shot” and “point of departure” by inquiring what he suspects is a sore throat (par. 6). This point in the story, nothing remains out of the ordinary or questionable about the doctor’s methods, until the story further develops.

The doctor contains his professionalism, but as it goes on, pieces of frustrated irregularities begin to surface. As the doctor learns that the parents say no, that the girl says she doesn’t have a sore throat, he pursues the question further. “H...

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...der what motive? He had to justify his motives, perhaps to add some morality to ensure what he was doing was ethical. He would flip that thought, perhaps to try and downplay his desire to unleash his violent frustration onto the girl. He ultimately saved Mathilda’s life in a sense, but under which motive? I believe the this is the question William Carlos Williams’ The Use of Force has the reader ask themselves. Under a emergency situation the human condition can be torn between a code of ethics or a dominance of dark desire. No doubt in The Use of Force, the end of the situation turned out well as the girl could be saved, but the method to find out was ambiguous. How well would the case between doing the right thing and doing what you desire turn out in any other situation? I believe this is the question that William Carlos Williams wanted the reader to think about.