The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams

November 10, 2009 bethanyvball12

The short story The Use of Force, by William Carlos Williams, was disturbing and really made me think of cases of rape. This physician does a housecall to a little girl who immediately finds beautiful. This wasn’t the typical beautiful but more of a creepy beautiful he feels for the little girl. This instantly scared me because I usually have such a high respect for doctors and to read that this doctor was having thoughts about this little girl scared me. It made me realize that no one is to be judged, or should be dismissed for judging, based on their occupation. The doctor decides the little girls throat should be tested and cultured but the more the little girl fights it the more he pushed it and enjoys fighting this little girl. At this point it got very disturbing because many people who rape others find pleasure in the fight the victim gives them. They feel strong and in control of the situation. It’s disgusting to know he is getting a pleasure of forcing pain upon this poor girl as the mother and father are watching in agony of fear for her health and embarrassment over her behavior. Not to mention the action of trying to force something down the little girl’s throat was appalling. Many times doctors are trusted and aren’t often questioned about their action they take. I think this story stops and really makes people think twice about trusting physicians and that they are just a person like everyone else, not a super hero. This story made me wonder, if the parent had not been present could this have lead to a more serious, horrifying action of force with this little girl?

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