William Carlos Williams 'The Use Of Force'

Decent Essays
The short story “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams is written in first person narrator by a doctor who receives a house call visit from a family named, Olson. Their daughter has a high fever for three days and is still not getting better. The doctor takes trial shot to ask her parents if she has a sore throat. Both parents answer no with uncertainty so the doctor wants to look at her throat in case she might have diphtheria and possibly die of it. However, the little girl, Mathilda, refuses to open her mouth and let the doctor check no matter what her parents and the doctor coax. In order to protect Mathilda and others, the doctor starts to use the force and orders her father to put her on his lap and hold her wrists so the doctor

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Rein M. Melba Patillo helped to change the way her town, state, and country viewed integration and racial equality; the ordeals she went through helped shape her own views. Warriors Don?t Cry by Melba Patillo-Beales, an autobiography, gives people an inside look at the struggles and obstacles African-Americans faced during their fight for racial equality. The events of the Central High integration, though a nationally regarded issue, also shaped the views and outlooks of the people involved. The trials of the integration of Central High have shown Melba?s incredible determination. After being accepted into the school, even people from her own local community discourage her.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Williams was born on April 23, 1731 in Lebanon, Connecticut. He was a Selectman for twenty-five years, served the provincial and later state Legislature for nearly forty years-during which time he was councilor, member, and Speaker of the House. He was appointed by the Connecticut Assembly to become a delegate for the Second Continental Congress after Oliver Wolcott fell ill. Even though he didn’t make it in time to Philadelphia to take part in the debates and cast a vote for the Declaration, he made it in time to sign the Declaration when most of the delegates did.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The passage is exactly as the title reads “…More That It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence”. The author, Thomas C. Foster, explains the two types of violence found in a story and the genre they are most commonly found in. He explains how the first type of violence is actual violence that cause injuries and or death.…

    • 147 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart are all composers that are universally known whether you like that specific genre of music or prefer listening to modern day artists. These particular composers have transcended the test of time because their music is taught in music classes currently and many composers have crafted their art by gaining inspiration from their music. Not many composers in this decade will have their musical accomplishments published in a textbook. However, there is one particular composer, conductor, and musician named John Williams, who has created many of film scores which he was nominated for over forty plus academy awards.…

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the story “ The Rock Pile “ by James Baldwin it addresses the issue of violence in the community (Harlem) and inside their home, in which violence is one of the causes for PTSD in children. An example of how the symbol of the rock pile is violence is when said in the story, “ They fought on the rockpile. Sure-footed, dangerous, and reckless, they rushed each other and grappled on the heights, sometimes disappearing down the other side in a confusion of dust and screams and up-ended, flying feet.” This sentence shows how the rockpile is where all the fights in the community would take place and kids would see this as the norm because it was an everyday thing occurring in their community. It's important for everyone to be aware of PTSD, to…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Can you imagine writing your personal experiences to teach readers a theme or the main idea behind the story? In the book “War Dances” written by Sherman Alexie, which published in 2009, is a collection of short stories and personal poems that describe tragedies that can occur in someone’s life and how the challenges can affect their daily purpose. Many of the personal topics that Alexie mentions in his book are the Native American stereotypes, his family’s medical history, and loss of Native American culture. More specifically, the theme of isolation and the concept of unity and togetherness of a group, which is present throughout the book.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Theatre is intended to reflect society and provoke thought. Select one theme from “Black Diggers” and discuss. Black Diggers by Tom Wright reflects society and provokes thought within the audience through demonstrating a level of hardship which commeasures a prejudiced society into a justified environment. Wright retells history to bring indigenous soldiers back into the public record by exposing the harsh environment that indigenous individuals lived in both before and after World War 1 (WWI).…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Appleman Williams’ essay The Tragedy of American Diplomacy centers around America expansion, and the idealistic and economic motivators which inspired it. Williams frames his narrative with his critique of the idea that expansion was one of the main ways in which America could extend its virtues throughout the world, and create a new era of peace. He decides the true tragedy of American diplomacy is that actions undertaken in the name of humanitarianism, self determination, and peace actually work in opposition to those ideals and instead turn the United States into an oppressive force abroad. While the United States may have desired to help others, they believed the only way they could do so was if they maintained authority over the nations they helped. The reason this occurred, Williams argues, is because expansionism has a large role in American mythos but both policy makers and citizens refuse to reconcile expansion with the idea of becoming an empire.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    You sit down to read a book to let your imagination go and you realize that the story you are reading is bringing back memories instead. Every story has different impressions on each individual reader depending on the reader’s experiences. In reading Sherman Alexie’s fictional memoir War Dances it brought back memories, anxieties, and disappointments that created mixed emotions within me. A part in the story that brought back a memory is when Alexie describes a scene between the narrator and his Native American father.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Alfred, Lord Tennyson has a positive attitude towards war. '' The Charge of the Light Brigade'' was about a hopeless charge into ''the valley of death'', where many of the 600 men died, all because of a fault in communications, although this isn't how Tennyson presents the battle. He does not call it hopeless, but instead heroic. He shows how noble and well disciplined the soldiers were to follow the order…

    • 1473 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sex, Violence and Power. Three primal urges that create a divide and contrast between fellow human beings. We see the devastating effects and the sheer volatility of these components in Ralph Ellison’s short story “Battle Royal”. In the story we find a young black boy who is showered with adulation from not only his community, but also by the wealthy and influential white people of the region as well. This only exsterbates the constant torment the young man feels, due to the fact that he cannot get out of his head the startling deathbed confession of his grandfather who calls himself a “traitor” and a “spy” to his fellow black people due to his own achieved admiration from the white folks in town.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Councils of Control Street sweepers like trash collectors are recognized as some of the lowest levels of work a person could pick. By being a street sweeper, one does the same routine activity every day, eliminating the opportunity for the mind to wonder. Society today labels trash collectors and other careers such as this as being career choices that people who have no where to go or have limited education would choose. In society today, these jobs pay well, but the brain is not stretched intellectually, thus creating a void of professionalism and respect in the community. Few would choose these jobs; usually they are jobs that one chooses as a last resort.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the historical fiction novel, “Forge,” by Laurie Halse Anderson, tells the story of Curzon Smith, a runaway slave who enlists in the rebellion against the British during the American Revolution. It is a sequel to “Chains” where “Forge” begins after Curzon has been deserted by Isabel, a friend whom of which had freed him from imprisonment at the end of the previous novel. Along the arduous journey, the protagonist faces “ignorance, mistrust, and greed” including the conditions that come along with enlisting. In this way, the theme of this novel is, “Forging your own way to get through life’s obstacles” including “Fight until the end” and the trait that changes throughout the novel is courage. To begin with, the theme is “Forging your own…

    • 1856 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When facing adversity people either have positive or negative feeling about the outcome. They are either optimistic or pessimistic. In the past, African Americans were under oppression and often expressed their feelings about the future through literature. In his poem, “The White House”, Claude McKay talks about adversity that he has faced trying to fit in the society while Langston Hughes, in his poem “I Too Sing America”, states that he feels that he is an American. While both poems talk about hardships that African Americans face, they contrast in authors’ views of African Americans in the society.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite being born and raised in the urban area of Maryland, Baltimore in September 30, 1975, where the odds are against the urban youth, especially males, Ta-Nehisi Coates was able to become a successful author and journalist because of the early exposure to writing and the opportunities created by his parents. Coates is the son of a war veteran and a former Black Panther father, and the son of a mother who happens to be a teacher. After leaving Howard University, he started writing for multiple publications to start off his career, and then he made his first big successful article for the The Atlantic, “This Is How We Lost to the White Man.” His success as a journalist allowed him to branch off to starting blogs, writing for other publications,…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays