The Use of Force, written by William Carlos Williams, is the story of a conflicted anonymous doctor using physical force to determine a diagnosis. The question that arises is whether or not the doctor's use of force was an ethical duty or exasperating violence. The doctor makes it his duty to save the patient, Mathilda as she does not cooperate, he chooses to continue and use force to open her mouth in order to determine his diagnosis. The choice to use force is not necessarily the questionable part, the motive for using physical force is questionable. The ultimate question posed by the short story Use of Force is whether or not the doctor's motivations become respectful compassion or desirable violence. At the beginning of the story, the unnamed doctor is introduced as someone who appears to be strictly professional. “As often, in such cases, they did not tell me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that's why they were spending three dollars on me. (par. 3) The doctor leaves the first impression that he is the one who keeps his attention on the work and nothing out of the ordinary other than expressing his impressions of the mother, father and the patient, Mathilda. He nevertheless manages to notice that Mathilda has a fever. The doctor takes what he considers a “test shot” and a “starting point” by inquiring about what he suspects to be a sore throat (para. 6). At this point in the story, nothing remains unusual or questionable about the doctor's methods, until the story develops further. The doctor restrains his professionalism, but gradually, frustrated irregularities begin to surface. When the doctor learns that the parents say no, that the girl says she doesn't have a sore throat, he continues...... middle of paper ...... for what reason? He needed to justify his motives, perhaps to add some morality to ensure that what he was doing was ethical. He would turn that thought around, perhaps to try to minimize his desire to unleash his violent frustration on the girl. He ultimately saved Mathilda's life in a sense, but for what reason? I believe this is the question the reader asks in The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams. In an emergency, the human condition can be torn between a code of ethics or the domination of a dark desire. Undoubtedly in Use of Force, the end of the situation went well since the young girl was able to be saved, but the method of finding out was ambiguous. How effective would the difference between doing the right thing and doing what you want be in another situation? I believe this is the question William Carlos Williams wanted the reader to think about..