The Use of Force (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Carlos Williams
- First Published: 1938
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The early twentieth century
- Setting: The United States
- Principal Characters: A doctor, Mathilda Olson, Mrs. Olson, Mr. Olson
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Children, Doctors, Diphtheria, Force
- Locales: United States
The Story
The doctor who narrates “The Use of Force” knows that the Olsons, a working-class couple, must fear that their young daughter is quite ill if they are willing to pay the three-dollar fee for his visit. Mathilda Olson is an unusually attractive child who clearly has a high fever, and the doctor sets out in his best professional manner to discover the cause. The unspoken possibility on his mind and on her parents’ is that she might have diphtheria, several cases having been reported at the school the child attends.
The story is based on the simple premise...
[The entire page is 1246 words long]
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