The Transient In William Carlos Williams The Use Of Force

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In his short story, “The Use of Force,” William Carlos Williams support the use of force for the greater good, as evidenced through the characterization of Williams’s patient, the setting of the short story along with the patient’s location, and the plot events in the rising action in which the transition to the climax is about to occur, but does not actually occur and creates suspense. Williams’s patient is characterized by the author primarily through their physical appearance. The child is portrayed as a calm, model child by Williams writing “she did not move and seemed, inwardly, quiet; an unusually attractive little thing, and as strong as a heifer in appearance. But her face was flushed, she was breathing rapidly, and I realized that she had a high fever. She had magnificent blond hair, in profusion. One of those picture children often …show more content…
When finally [Williams] got the wooden spatula behind the last teeth and just the point of it into the mouth cavity, she opened up for an instant but before [he] could see anything she came down again and gripping the wooden blade between her molars she reduced it to splinters before [he] could get it out again” (Williams). Both of these events act as if they lead up to the child opening her mouth, but at the last moment stop the transition from rising action to climax. This plot device shows that all alternatives have been exhausted, and Williams uses force for the good of the girl, as no other means are working. Therefore, the use of force for the greater good is supported by the plot devices used by Williams. The literary elements in “The Use of Force,” such as the characterization techniques of the child, the setting of the conflict, and plot devices used throughout the rising action, all evidence William Carlos Williams’s stance on the use of force for the good of