William Carlos William was both a doctor and writer. He has written poems, drama, as well as short stories. In all his writings, he employed a critical approach when addressing various issues. This essay looks into some of the critical aspects that he tackled in some of his works.
One of the short stories that he wrote is “The Use of Force.” In this story, he disguises himself as a physician who was invited by the parents of a sick school girl, to administer medication (Oates 54). In the introduction of the story, he critically brings out the aspect of poverty and suffering that hit his people. He talks about the harsh lifestyle of survival that the people have to live. This is seen when he talks of the child in the kitchen. The child is kept in a damp and cold place but the family cannot afford equipment to warm up their damp house. The doctor is therefore forced to examine the girl from the kitchen, in the attempt to determine her problem (Oates 55).This depicts poverty.
In this endeavor, he strongly brings out the aspect of respect and concern to the lives of all patients together with their situations. This is also be clearly depicted when he struggles to get the ailing girl open her mouth for examination. The girl breaks his spectacles and almost hurts him. Despite of all these, he is still willing to still examine her, taking into account that he has seen two children die due to neglect. By doing this, he expresses a deep concern for humanity (Pound 25). Clearly, he does not appear to be impatient, and neither is he disturbed by the girl’s behavior. As a matter of fact, the girl does terrible things, such as screaming hysterically at him, breaking his wooden spatula almost gorging out his eyes, but he takes a stern stand on her, all in an attempt to help save her life, as she could be having diphtheria, and may not escape death.
The story also brings out the aspect of pain and suffering when the girl’s actions are attributed to the pain that she feels in her throat. She also considers the doctor as another source of pain, since he is forcing her to do what she does not want to. The girl seems to be suffering in the hands of both parents and the doctor. After all, before the doctor is brought into the scene, the girl’s mother had tried several things on her, which did not work.
He also expresses respect by consulting the girl’s parents before conducting an examination to her chest and mouth. He also seeks the parents consent before engaging in battle with the girl. Carlos expresses great concern for humanity throughout this story. He has witnessed death cases due to neglect, and thus his ceaseless determination to save the little girls life. He understands that the little girl is acting out of idiocy, and is out to protect her from the same (Williams 78). That he could stand all the brutal activities and screams of the girl clearly depicts the aspect of concern for humanity. This is exemplified by the fact that he is also not well accustomed to the girl’s parents. He holds back his fury and anger, till he overpowers the girl, and discovers the underlying health problem (William 78).
Considering the family’s hopeless situation as painted in the story, William expresses the aspect of concern to the parents. He understands that they solely depend on him to grasp their daughter’s problem, and does not disappoint them. He knows what the mother has gone though in her endeavor to recover her daughter health, empathizes with her and undertakes to assist her (Mariani 110).
The story also brings out the aspect of rebellion. The little girl is not willing to do anything the parents or the doctor requests of her, even when it does not involve much effort, as in opening her mouth. She puts up a spirited fight, trying to thwart the doctor’s efforts of examining her. She is not even moved by her mother’s persuasions. William describes the girl’s struggle as “having used a cat-like movement to inflict harm on me.” (William 54). This is a behavior which is not socially acceptable, considering the girl’s age, plus the moral values that have been instilled in her, both at home and at the school. This is further elaborated when William explains how the girl’s father is unwilling to discipline her, when she hurts the doctor, in fear of inflicting pain to his daughter. In fact, he describes the girl as being a liar (Mariani 110).
In addition, this story brings out the aspects of determination and dedication as key to success. The doctor is dogged to examine the girl even when she inflicts pain to him. He struggles with her relentlessly, determined that he must examine her throat. Even when she screams at him, he does not give up. She reaches out for his eyes to gorge them out, and yet he does not give up. Eventually, when he results to use force, she breaks up his wooden tongue depressor but the doctor results to other alternatives (Oates 54).
Moreover, this story also brings in the aspect of poverty within the society. William tells of a society that has been affected by diphtheria disease outbreak. There have been two cases of death arising from the same, although the disease is treatable, and doctors as well as hospitals are available, as explained in the story. This paints the picture of a poverty stricken community suffering from massive economic hardships. Further, the doctor says that, even though the parents have had him come to their house, he is only being paid three dollars for the examination, a meager pay, compared to the work he is doing. This is further compounded by the fact that the parents only resorted to the doctor, when everything else had failed (William 79). This means that they may not have had enough money to spend on the doctor.
What is more, the story brings out the aspect of strong family relationships. Cooperation between the girl’s mother and father is displayed all through the story. When the doctor arrives in the house, the father is holding the girl, as the mother goes to pick the doctor. When the doctor asks about the sore throat condition, both parents answer in unison. Moreover, when the doctor talks of performing a chest culture, the two parents are in agreement (Crane 59). As the battle ensues and becomes tougher between the girl and the doctor, we do not at any time see the parents conflicting. This strongly brings out the aspect of unity within the marriage institution, something which is highly regarded within this community.
On the contrary, this story has triggered criticism towards some significant aspects in Williams work. For instance, the story brings out the aspect of violence and gives details on how it has been applied practically in the medical field (Pound 90). The doctor is portrayed to be violent in his attempt to save the girl.
Besides, William brings out the aspect of perseverance when dealing with both individual and social suffering. This, he draws from his experiences with the patients and neighbors during the time of great depression (Crane 99). This is also apparent in his short story entitled “the Knife of The Times”. In this short story collection, he brings about the aspect of economical hardships, pain and suffering. He also brings out the aspect of sexual connotation, as he talks about Etel and Maura, two ladies involved in homosexuality (Pound 101). Their lesbianism behavior is their knife of the time, which is also affecting them. The aspects of pain and suffering are also elaborated when he tells of a village doctor, who is willing to go anywhere, at anytime for anybody (Mariani 78).Unfortunately, the dedicated doctor succumbs to alcohol and drugs, and thus suffering sets in the entire village which solely depended on him.
In the field of poetry, William has written a collection of poems. In these poems several aspects have been addressed, most of which are similar to those expressed in his short stories. In the poem “the young housewife”, the aspects of poverty and suffering are expressed (William 99). The young house wife is depicted as one who is very poor. “The wooden walls of her husband’s house” (line 3) speaks of a couple which is unable to afford luxurious building materials for their house. This is backed up by the fact that the young house wife goes to call the fish-man and ice man without a corset. “Shy, uncorseted, and tacking in” (line 7) She is shy about this condition. The writer hence compares her to a fallen leaf. “And I compare her to a fallen leaf.” (Line 8-9).
William Carlos did a great work in his life. In all his writings, he addressed communal issues, and different aspects were communicated. Strongly addressed concerns in most of his works are poverty, pain, suffering, and violence. From his literary work, William Carlos left a tremendous legacy in the writing field.
Works Cited
Crane, Milton. Fifty Great American Short Stories. New York: Bantam Publishers, 2008. Print.
Mariana, Paul. William Carlos Williams: A New World Naked. Berlin: Norton Publishers, 1990. Print.
Oates, Carol. Oxford Book of American Short Stories. Berlin: Oxford University Press, 1992. Print.
Pound, Ezra, et al. Pound/ Williams: Selected Letters of Ezra Pound and William Carlos William. New York: New Directions Publishers. 1996. Print.
William, C. Williams. Build Up. Berlin: Penguin Book Publishers, 1960. Print.