The Battle of the Wooden Spatula

When the words illuminating and essential are used to describe a quotation things like alliteration, parallelism, and imagery come to mind as literary devices that include themselves in a quotation like that. Quite is the contrary in William Carlos Williams’ short story “The Use of Force.” The quotation that I think sums up the majority of the short story is, “Then the battle began.” It’s not much, just four words that give you an idea of what the situation in that tiny kitchen may have been like. It was a battle. The author does not give us any sort of indication of how long the exchange between the doctor, Mathilda, and her parents lasted but, with the use of the word battle, it is safe to say it was grueling regardless. The battle is between a doctor and a sick little girl name Mathilda. For some reason Mathilda has been hiding her sore throat from her parents for three days and the doctor is there to take a look at it. When the doctor mentions that it may be diphtheria the girl refuses to let him see down her throat. She fights back, scratching his glasses off his face, with her mouth clenched shut. That is when the doctor recounts, “Then the battle began.” On one side, the doctor will do anything possible to peer down her throat at an attempt to diagnose her and save her life. On the other hand, Mathilda protests this invasion of privacy motivated by one thing: fear. The quotation shows how, just as in a battle, both sides are not willing to surrender. The battle is not only between doctor and patient. The doctor and Mathilda are both battling the parents as well. Mathilda is being restrained by her father and coaxed by her mother in order to allow the doctor to do his job. Except as soon as they see Mathilda in any sort of pain they relinquish control back to her. She takes advantage of how much they care about her and uses it to her benefit. Because of this fickleness the doctor is extremely upset and annoyed at the parents. The parents help hold Mathilda back until he is just about to see down her throat and then they release her. If only they understood the severity of the situation then maybe they would remain steady and unwavering in their attempt to suppress her fury. The quotation, “Then the battle began,” perfectly summarizes the three conflicts of the story and gives the reader insight into the emotions of each character as they battle, literally, for life and death.