The Use of Force by William Carlos
Williams
Plot Summary
The story is about a doctor who’s called to the
Olson family’s house because their daughter is
sick. The doctor arrives at the house and
meets the mother. She leads him into the
kitchen, where her daughter is. The girl is
sitting on her father’s lap and is quiet. The
doctor notices that they are all nervous and that
the girl has an attractive appearance. The girl
has had a fever for three days. Their home
remedies didn’t work. She says that she does
not have a sore throat, but her mother could
not check.
The doctor wants to check the girl’s throat
because there had been a few cases of
diphtheria at her school. The girl, Mathilda,
refuses to open her mouth. He approaches
Mathilda again, but she attacks him.
The doctor is annoyed by the parents' passivity
and ineffectiveness in dealing with their
daughter. He explains that he needs a throat
culture, and the parents give their consent for
him to continue.
The doctor loves the child's strength of will but
has contempt for the parents' helplessness. The uncivilized battle of wills.
father holds her still, but consistently releases ● Parent’s love: Could be seen
her at the last second, afraid of hurting her. throughout the story, where the parents
When her wrists are held, she cries out were worried about Mathilda and
hysterically. hesitated to physically restrain her
upon examination.
The doctor is furious with the child. He holds
her head and forces a wooden spatula into her
Characters
mouth. Before he can see anything, she bites
● The doctor: The protagonist, unnamed
down, breaking it apart, and cuts her tongue.
narrator of the story. A dynamic
He calls for a spoon to continue. He feels an
character- as he arrives at the Olson’s
urgency to get her diagnosed quickly, but he's
behaving professionally, but he’s
also wrapped up in the battle. His duty is put
progressively losing his rationality
aside as he feels compelled to defeat this child.
upon the stubbornness of Mathilda. It
Finally overpowering her and forcing in the
turns him into a forceful,
heavy spoon, he sees her infected tonsils.
unsympathetic man who enjoys
exerting his power over her.
Facing her defeat, Mathilda tries to escape ● Mathilda: The ‘antagonist’. The sick
from her father to attack the doctor. daughter of Olson, the patient. A
dynamic character, in the sense that
her quiet fear of the doctor transforms
Themes
into aggression. Her fear is irrational,
● Justified Violence: The doctor
and she might seem stubborn, but she
rationalizes using force against
is actually very afraid. However, she
Mathilda by convincing himself that
has an apparent strength of character
it’s for her own good.
which helps her defend herself and
● Power and control: Mathilda’s wild
even attack the doctor.
reaction to the doctor’s presence
evokes a similarly savage response
from him as they engage in an
 ● Mr and Mrs Olson: The secondary
character. The parents of the sick
Mathilda. Flat characters- did not
show significant change until the end.
They are stereotypical parents, who
are concerned for their daughter and
try to help the doctor in various
unsuccessful ways.
Settings
● Place: Unnamed town in the US.
The Olson’s house - where the
doctor went to treat Mathilda.
The Kitchen - Mathilda was
put in the kitchen as it is
warmer compared to the other
parts of the house.
● Social: The Olson’s are poor.
The mother said that the
kitchen is their warmest place,
inferring that they did not have
any fireplace. The house is
often damp, inferring that the
house is not in a good
condition/the house is old,
weren’t manage well.
Point of View
The story was set in the doctor’s narrative, Mood
using First person point of view. The ● The mood that the readers get upon
first-person point of view makes it possible for reading is stressful. They were
the reader to observe the changes that take dragged along on the stressful journey
place in the doctor’s mind. of the doctor trying to open a stubborn
child's little mouth but refused, so
Symbols many times that forced him to use
● The spoon: as a symbol of some force.
force/violence. The doctor did his best
to persuade the child to open her Irony
mouth, so that he could have a look at ● Situational Irony: The doctor's main
her throat. It didn’t work; the girl was job was supposed to heal the girl and
too stubborn for her own good. He not harm her just to take a look at her
tried to use the wooden tongue throat.
depressor, but she fought desperately. ● Verbal Irony: “He won’t hurt you” The
He then results in using the spoon and father told the child that the doctor
forces open her mouth. wouldn't hurt her, but as it turned out,
● The Doctor: as a symbol of authority. the doctor used force to examine her.
The parents submit to the doctor when
it comes to his medical care, both in
demeanor and language.
Tone
● The tone of the story is serious and
tense. This is portrayed throughout the
entire story as the parents and doctor
tried their best to open Mathilda's
mouth for examination, and the
doctor's inner thoughts until the end of
the story.
FAQs What is it about the doctor that makes the - For Mathilda, power sometimes comes
reader a bit uncomfortable? easily and sometimes does not. She
- The doctor in the story quickly can control her parents by lying to
3 reasons why force is justifiable in the story?
develops from a seemingly them, telling them her throat doesn’t
1. because the doctor needs to find out if
kindhearted caregiver into an angry, hurt when it truly does—thereby
the girl has a deadly disease.
out-of-control, and sadistic figure of keeping her potential disease a secret
2. because the little girl will not let the
authority. Because the story is narrated and (in her childish mind) keeping it
doctor examine her, so how can he
by the doctor, the reader sees the from becoming real. But her power
find out if she has a deadly disease?
actions and other characters through meets its limit when the adults exert
3. because the little girl does not realize
his point of view. Also, the reader is physical force on her, something that
the severity of the disease she might
privy to the doctor’s private thoughts, she probably is well aware of—and
have, and the doctor is older, wiser,
which disturbingly shift from that’s why it’s so important for her to
and a trained professional, so of course
benevolent to malicious. have her own means of resisting
he should use whatever means
compliance.
necessary to save the child from
What is power and why is it important for the
herself.
doctor, as well as the child? Any examples of literary devices in the story?
- The story presents power as the ability - Simile: ‘as strong as a heifer’
One moral of the story?
to command compliance or resist - Personification: ‘the child was fairly
- When authorities are empowered to
compliance, and specifically, to eating me up with her cold, steady
use force, they may go beyond rational
determine whether or not the throat eyes’
limits and become sadistic/abuse the
exam will take place. This power is - Hyperbole: ‘tears of defeat blinded her
authority.
important for both the doctor and for eyes’
the child, Mathilda. - There are a lot of metaphors.
3 reasons why the 1st POV used in the story?
- For the doctor, who typically relies on
- This point of view separates the doctor
his own authority and his gentle
from the other characters, highlights
coaxing manner to get things done,
the doctor's growing frustration, and
power comes easily. And when
offers readers insight into how the
someone like Mathilda comes along
doctor justifies his questionable
who asserts her own power to resist
actions.
him, shutting down his own power, the
doctor flies into an unreasonable fury.