Character Analisis of "The Use of Force"
...tribute to the fact that the doctor, at this point, is still calm and collected and only concerned with helping the child, not his own needs. This seems to change midway through the story. His mannerisms swing from just wanting to help the girl into an odd fascination and determinism to get the throat culture. I believe that this change occurs after the girl knocks his glasses from his face, also he is aware of the fact that the girl knows that she has probably has diphtheria. These factors, plus the fact that the young girl is fighting and clawing to abstain from the examination leads the doctor to grow angry, and more determined to try to help the girl, no matter how disturbing the procedure may become. Not only does he want to help girl, but now this examination has become his own personal triumph, and he wants to succeed. He grows more and more out of control as the story progresses. The doctor knows that it would probably be easier to give the child a few hours and then return, but his own needs of overcoming the child, as well as the disease were well in charge. At one point in the story, when the little girl’s parents are retrieving the doctor a spoon, he realizes his own angst and sick excitement for the whole ordeal. This feeling is expressed in the following quote, “But the worst of it was that I too had gone beyond reason. I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to attack her. My face was burning with it.” The doctor then tries to comfort himself, make him feel less like a ...