Hidden Guts Behind Thoughts

Hidden Guts behind Thoughts

"The Use of Force," written by William Carlos Williams, is a first person narrative of a struggle between a doctor, and an elementary school girl Mathilda. The doctor who is also the narrative of a story, suspect Mathilda has diphtheria. In order to make sure about the diagnose, he needs to check Mathilda's throat. But since Mathilda had fever, she resists doctor to do the check up and starts fighting with him. The battle between this two person is the whole story. But as much as the story was such an ordinary event, at some point the struggle between doctor and Mathilda became odd. Even though all information of the situation is coming from doctor's point of view, as a reader I hesitate the necessity of using force! The theme of this story is: Even in an emergency situation, is it appropriate to justify force?

Seems like Williams purposely narrated the story from the doctor's point of view. Because during the story the reader observes conflict between doctor's thought and action. Obviously, the doctor insists the necessity of the diagnosed since there was a history of diphtheria at school recently, "As it happens we had been having a number of cases of diphtheria in the school to which children went during that month" (Williams 109). But Mathilda resists and physically got hurt, "The child's mouth was already bleeding" (Williams 111). Meanwhile the doctor demanded mother to continue their dominance, "We're going through with this" (Williams 111). The conflict between doctor's thought and action became clear, since at the same time he told himself, "Perhaps I should have desisted and come back in an hour or more. No doubt it would have been better" (Williams 111). The question is why he was trying to justify himself by thinking, "I have seen at least two children lying dead in bed of neglect in such a case" (Williams 111). As a reader, I asked myself if the doctor came back one hour later, Mathilda would pass out? This couldn't be realistic because the girl had enough energy to fight in such a way, "she came down and gripped the wooden blade between her molars. She reduced it to splinters before I could get it out" (Williams 111). Doctor himself, knew the girl will stay alive if he would come back in an hour. But he still justifies himself, “I must get a diagnosis now or never I went at it again” (Williams 111) to make an excuse and dominant the little girl. So why did he consciously validate his violence? I think the answer to this question could be complicated if the narrator was someone else. But Williams let the reader observe the doctor's real thought. Although doctor tried to justify the necessity of using the force, he was also the only person who confessed the senseless use of force.

Another evidence of doctor's inappropriate use of force are moments he was admitting his intense and violent imagination of abusing Mathilda, "I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoy it" (Williams 111). The question is: was it really "pleasure to attack her?" (Williams 111), or he was nervous enough to think so he imagined hurting her is a relief! Somehow the doctor himself gave me the answer in the middle of the story, "I had already fallen in love with the savage brat" (Williams 110). From the very beginning of the story, narrator express his feeling for Mathilda in a strange way, "She did not move and seemed, inwardly, quiet; an unusual attractive little thing" (Williams 109). For a moment reader may assume, who think about a little sick girl as an attractive little thing!