"The Use of Force"

The first short story I chose to read is called “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams. It’s a story about a doctor who visits the house of a sick child named Mathilda. Her parents are nervously concerned since the girl has had a fever for three days. They know their daughter's life depends on him. Yet, the doctor realises they do not trust him much because of the way they look at him. He knows he has a duty to perform so he ignores their attitude and, as soon as he arrives at the room where his patient is, he starts trying to examine her. But the stubborn girl refuses to allow the doctor to touch her. As the doctor fears that she is suffering from a serious illness, he makes his best to examine the uncooperative child. No matter how much Mathilda misbehaves he is determined to discover the girl’s health problem. This situation turns into a sort of battle in which the doctor becomes forceful as he tries to see Mathilda’s throat while the girl continues to resist with all her strength. Eventually, the doctor is able to see that the girl has a serious infection throat disease and now he knows how to cure her.

Personally,  when I read this story I was moved by the doctor’s determination to cure the little girl. This story made me think that doctors need more than knowledge to do their work. They not only need to have a sense of love for their fellow man but also a sense of responsibility, respect and care for others. Many times the life of other people is on their hands and they have to be really committed to their work, as was the doctor in the story, in order to save their lives. Furthermore, doctors also need to be very patient so as to deal with different kinds of people with different personalities. In “The Use of Force” the doctor has to cope with Mathilda’s parents’ distrust, as they did not believe that he would be able to help them, and with Mathilda’s misbehaviour. In spite of these complications, the doctor performs his duty with his best manners and he is finally able to discover the girl’s problem.

Lastly, I believe that we do not only have to be polite with our fellow men, we have to love them and be willing to offer our help to them. In this society, we all have to help each other, no matter how unfamiliar some people may be. They need us as much as we need them.