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The Use of Force

“The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams shows the conflict between a doctor and his patient at one level and doctor and the parents at another level. The conflict between the doctor and the patient is physical. But the conflict between doctor and parents is psychological. 

The doctor finds the little girl to be attractive, but he is annoyed by her constant refusal to get examined. He hates her persistence and he just wants to strangle her. The parents on the other hand respect the doctor and are embarrassed that their daughter is being rude to him. The doctor is annoyed with the mother because he doesn't like the comment she made (calling him a nice man). The parents love the girl but are embarrassed by the way she treats the doctor during the story. With the tittle “The Use of Force” and by the way the doctor treats the little girl, the theme of this story would have to be not to take advantage of your power. The author states "Then I grasped the child's head with my left hand and tried to get the wooden tongue depressor between her teeth." This shows that the doctor, who has a lot of power, is almost using it for the wrong reasons, and for his own purpose. Several times throughout the story, the author portrays the doctor as having anger management, and he definitely used his power for wrong throughout the story. The doctor can be considered as a round character. He is impatient, annoyed, and he loves to make others suffer. When the doctor tells the mother, "For heaven's sake, Don't call me a nice man to her. I'm here to look at her throat on the chance that she might have diphtheria and possibly die of it," proves the doctor's repulsive behavior. He is dynamic because in the beginning he is kind to the parents and the little girl, but as the story progresses, he starts to be more aggressive. The behavior of the doctor, him forcing Mathilda's mouth open and whatnot, is definitely not something that would be allowed today.

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