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 dutiful 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 purs...
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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.
In her personal essay, Dr. Grant writes that she learned that most cases involving her patients should not be only handled from a doctor’s point of view but also from personal experience that can help her relate to each patient regardless of their background; Dr. Grant was taught this lesson when she came face to face with a unique patient. Throughout her essay, Dr. Grant writes about how she came to contact with a patient she had nicknamed Mr. G. According to Dr. Grant, “Mr. G is the personification of the irate, belligerent patient that you always dread dealing with because he is usually implacable” (181). It is evident that Dr. Grant lets her position as a doctor greatly impact her judgement placed on her patients, this is supported as she nicknamed the current patient Mr.G . To deal with Mr. G, Dr. Grant resorts to using all the skills she
Truth in medicine is a big discussion among many medical professionals about how doctors handle the truth. Truth to a patient can be presented in many ways and different doctors have different ways of handling it. Many often believe that patient’s being fully aware of their health; such as a bad diagnosis, could lead to depression compared to not knowing the diagnosis. In today’s society doctor’s are expected to deliver patient’s the whole truth in order for patients to actively make their own health decisions. Shelly K. Schwartz discusses the truth in her essay, Is It Ever Ok to Lie to Patients?. Schwartz argument is that patients should be told the truth about their health and presented and addressed in a way most comfortable to the patient.
From the beginning, the doctor was placed in a hostile situation where the family “[wasn’t] telling [the doctor] more than they had to,”(1) while Mathilda was “eating [him] up with her cold, steady eyes” with “no expression to her face whatever.” which is to be expected from a child towards a stranger. But she escalates extremely quickly when the doctor simply moves his chair up closer; she suddenly “claws instinctively for [the doctor’s] eyes.” This is her first attempt to resist the doctors help but the doctor just remains frank with Mathilda and...
Like other law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, New Jersey has a policy that addresses police use of force. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Use of Force Policy was first put into operation in April 1985. The purpose of the policy is to serve as a guide for police officers who are confronted with use of force situations during their duty to preserve the law and protect others. This essay will provide a summary of the policies and practices of New Jersey’s Use of Force Policy. An evaluation of these components will be presented with emphasis on the legal sufficiency of the policies and procedures. Policy strengths and weaknesses will be identified in addition to suggestions for improvement. This essay will conclude with examples and the associated issues of less-than-lethal technologies (“Use of Force,” 2000).
Delattre discusses discretion in chapter 5, for he writes that judgment and rules, respect for limits, policies and laws, force and deadly force, and anticipation and planning, which shape and or create individual discretion. Delattre says that, discretion is allowed, because there are too many variables in situations and regulations can’t dictate what to do every time. Good policies only set boundaries for discretion, though the chief or commanding officers, also can set boundaries on policies to enforce more or less. Policies can’t be fully enforced, so there needs to be discretion concerning what policies are more enforced based on factors such as, limited resources and manpower. Though policies can make discretion good or bad, depending
Jamison describes another medical figure in her life that she referred to as Dr. M. Dr. M was Jamison’s primary cardiologist, a figure who is involved in some of the most intimate details of Jamison’s life. However, Jamison describes Dr. M by saying she, “…wasn’t personal at all” (14). Dr. M would actually record personal information about Jamison on a tape recorder, however, Jamison would hear Dr. M referring to her as “patient” instead of by her name. This example demonstrates that Dr. M was indeed putting in the minimal effort needed to keep her clients, however, no additional effort was put into the process of learning about her patients. Jamison says that, “…the methods of her mechanics [were] palpable between us…” (18). Dr. M would not even put any effort into disguising her lack of interest of getting to know Jamison. This atmosphere of apathy that is exuded by Dr. M naturally causes Jamison to retract from Dr. M, which creates an environment that is not good for cultivating
Doctors are well respected within the realm of American society and are perceived with the highest regard as a profession. According to Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics in Profession polls, 67% of respondents believe that “the honesty and ethical standards” of medical doctors were “very high.” Furthermore, 88% of respondents polled by Harris Polls considered doctors to either “hold some” or a “great deal of prestige”. Consequently, these overwhelmingly positive views of the medical profession insinuate a myth of infallibility that envelops the physicians and the science they practice. Atul Gawande, in Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, provides an extensive view of the medical profession from both sides of the operating table
Instead, the doctor exclaims, “So this is the patella”, merely reducing to patient nothing but her injury. In contrast, the doctor that took care of my injury not only called me by name, but he also asked if he was pronouncing it correctly. I have an unusual name that is not often pronounced correctly. By taking the time to say it right, I felt as though I actually mattered to the doctor. Another difference between this story and mine is her doctor did not take the time to explain what was happening to her knee. Instead, he just spoke medical jargon to his colleagues. My doctor, on the other hand, explained that what he was about to do to my finger would be painful. Then he asked if I was ready for him to start. All while he was fixing my finger he was speaking very kindly to me. I can’t recall what he said, but I know it made me feel very comfortable. There are, however, some similarities to this story. The nurses and therapist that took care of the patient in this story acted in a similar manner to the doctor is this story. The patient talks highly of these people leading the reader to conclude that they had a big influence on the outcome of her injury. She concluded that the nurse who washed her hair made her feel much more
"The Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams is a window into one doctor's guilt over the negligent loss of a child patient. This story focuses on the disillusionment caused by his self-pity and guilt. The doctor's guilt triggers a fanciful illusion of "The Use of Force" that gives him giddy delight in his envisioned torture of the young, beautiful girl. His disgust for her uneducated, immigrant parents and their poor, humble surroundings only heighten this image. But his justification of these imagined actions empowers him all the more. He perceives himself above these less than human creatures, as a master lords over his good for nothing dog. In his self-empowered greatness he comes face to face with the greatest flaw any doctor can have, lack of humanity and compassion for those lesser then himself.
“The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence,” Robert Peel. The use of force for police officers is something I find to be justified and right, because it can possible help save the officers life and any witnesses lives.
In “Should Doctors Tell the Truth?” Joseph Collins argues for paternalistic deception, declaring that it is permissible for physicians to deceive their patients when it is in their best interests. Collins considers his argument from a “pragmatic” standpoint, rather than a moral one, and uses his experience with the sick to justify paternalistic deception. Collins argues that in his years of practicing, he has encountered four types of patients who want to know the truth: those that want to know so they know how much time they have left, those who do not want to know and may suffer if told the truth, those who are incapable of hearing the truth, and those who do not have a serious diagnosis (605). Collins follows with the assertion that the more serious the condition is, the less likely the patient is to seek information about their health (606).
The use of force has been around since policing began, although the rules for its use have changed overtime. In a 1964 survey, the majority of police reported they were to use “good judgement” when deciding whether or not to shoot (Walker 1993, 26). Back then, police also used force for any fleeing felon, which basically meant whenever. Now that rules have changed, the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code, established in 1962, states that police are to only use force when they feel their life or someone else’s life is in danger (Walker 1993, 27). Later on, the Omaha Police Department policy added to the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code, by saying police cannot
Diligence is a virtue. This is a theme Atul Gawande presents to the reader throughout Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance. In each story, Gawande provides insight on medical studies he has previously embarked upon. For example, in “The Mop-up” the author tells us about a time when he went to India to observe the efforts to eradicate polio. Gawande explains how he followed a supervisor around and how vaccinations were performed. Additionally, in another chapter he debates on whether physicians should take part in death sentences. Throughout his adventures Gawande provides numerous enriching personal accounts of controversial events and what it is like to be a doctor; each with diligence playing a key part.
Doctors have to go through many years of studying and many more hours of practicing on people. These qualities make any doctor seem god-like to the eyes of everyday people. Doctors are trusted blindly and people are led to believe that doctors are always honest. In the story, The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams, the parents of Matilda question the tactics the doctor is using to properly diagnose the girl but trust that the doctor knows what he is doing and lets him use force anyway. These cases are seen all over the world as well. There have been many reported cases of doctors using force to allow patients to get treated. Some patients however, do not wish to be treated because of things like religion or preference or other reasons but doctors still treat them in order to save them from themselves. The power struggle creates anger and resentment from both parties and blurs the line between personal rights and saving lives. In an article written by Jessica Grose, doctors force a woman to have a C-Section because they believe it was in the baby’s best interest. However, the woman did not want to have the surgery performed. This led to the doctors threatening to sue the woman for possible child endangerment. The woman, in fear of possibly killing her child, sided with the health care providers even though personally she did not want to have the surgery performed. This
• The doctor’s dilemma is that if he leaves the girl alone he will not be able to check if she has Diphtheria and may possibly die. If he continues on the road he’s going he will have to resort to measures that are socially unacceptable and even cruel.