A Duty To Heal Analysis

In the book This I Believe, a collection of short essays, by Studs Turkel, a variety of people share personal stories on what he/she believe and the experiences that caused him/her to develop those beliefs. There is always the personal question on which is more important, gaining understanding of self or gaining understanding from others. Understanding of self is when an individual chooses to experience life for himself/herself instead of letting the concepts and ideas that the society around him/her consists of be his/her outlook on life. Understanding from others is when an individual chooses to accept what the people surrounding him/her believe that and he/she allows those beliefs to become his/her own, instead of creating a personal …show more content…
In A Duty to Heal, Pius Kamau, the narrator of the short essay recalls an event that took place during his medical career. In the beginning Kamau explains how he grew up in poverty in Colonial Africa and how he had hope to eventually walk on America 's streets. The hope for America sprung from the idea that America shined with equality and freedom. However, when Kamau finally steps foot in an American hospital, where he works, he quickly faces reality, racism is still very present in America. In regards to the racism in America, Kamau chooses to ignore it as he believes that in the hospital he is neither black nor white, but a doctor. Accordingly, Kamau treats every patient with the same car and the same level of concern and respect, no matter the race. This reigned true when a white supremacist, a person who believes that the white race is better than all other races and should have control over the other races, became a patient of Pius Kamau and although the man was a challenge to take care of, Kamau still found a way to help him. Although the patient wouldn 't let Kamau touch him, come close to him, or speak to him, Kamau never gave up on trying. For instance, Kamau would speak to the patient through the white nurses and assist the white nurses as they touched and examined the patient 's body. In the end, Pius Kamau and the white supremacist parted ways when it was discovered that the patient was fine. Pius speaks of how he believes that his duty is to heal, he will always care for those around him, even the individuals who do not consider him an equal. The understanding Pius Kamau has the ability to gain from others is that he is less of an individual simply because of his race. Fortunately Kamau chooses to gain understanding of self where he develops compassion by doing so. As a result, Kamau is able