Ambiguity is a key component of stirring up arguments among people. Rog Phillips’ The Yellow Pill fires off ambiguity on all cylinders as it acts to draw the reader to debate between if Doctor Cedric Elton is sane in thinking he is on earth, or if Gerald Bocek is correct in claiming that the story takes place on a spaceship. Using tools such as crime accusations and anecdotal evidence from both Cedric and Gerald that they are correct, Phillips attempts to draw two sides out of the reader: space or earth. Although Phillips is successful in achieving ambiguity, Gerald attempts to trick Cedric that they are in space when the true location of the story is on earth. Throughout The Yellow Pill, Gerald Bocek attempts to trick Doctor Elton that his office does not have officers, to show Cedric that he and Gerald are in space. Phillips establishes this at the beginning of the story as Gerald starts calling Cedric “Gar”, in an attempt to persuade Cedric that they are in space and that Cedric is the
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After Gerald is hit by an officer, he monologues to Cedric claiming that he was never hit and exclaims, “You imagine yourself to be a psychiatrist named Dr. Cedric Elton so that you can convince yourself that you're sane and I'm crazy”. Gerald is obviously trying again to fool Cedric, but earlier in the story the narrator explicitly claims, “Cedric tactfully eased his last patient all the way across the reception room and out, then locked the door and leaned his back against it” The situation the narrator explains directly contradicts Gerald’s argument that Cedric and himself are on a spaceship because Cedric has other patients to take care of, justifying that the two are obviously on earth, and Gerald claims there are no patients in the first place because Cedric is not a
After Gerald is hit by an officer, he monologues to Cedric claiming that he was never hit and exclaims, “You imagine yourself to be a psychiatrist named Dr. Cedric Elton so that you can convince yourself that you're sane and I'm crazy”. Gerald is obviously trying again to fool Cedric, but earlier in the story the narrator explicitly claims, “Cedric tactfully eased his last patient all the way across the reception room and out, then locked the door and leaned his back against it” The situation the narrator explains directly contradicts Gerald’s argument that Cedric and himself are on a spaceship because Cedric has other patients to take care of, justifying that the two are obviously on earth, and Gerald claims there are no patients in the first place because Cedric is not a