In the short story “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams, a doctor attempts to help a sick child, but ends up becoming overly aggressive and invasive towards the patient. The author writes the plot from the perspective of the aggressor, the doctor. Although the readers sees the young girl’s out cry, only the doctor’s internal thoughts are revealed. I thought it would be interesting to rewrite part of the story from the lens of the young girl. I chose this piece of the text to rewrite:
From the Doctor’s Perspective (original text):
Come on now, hold her, I said.Then I grasped the child’s head with my left hand and tried to get the wooden tongue depressor between her teeth. She fought, with clenched teeth, desperately! But now I also had grown furious–at a child. I tried to hold myself down but I couldn’t. I know how to expose a throat for inspection. And I did my best. When finally I 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 I could see anything she came down again and gripping the wooden blade between her molars she reduced it to splinters before I could get it out again.Aren’t you ashamed, the mother yelled at her. Aren’t you ashamed to act like that in front of the doctor?Get me a smooth-handled spoon of some sort, I told the mother. We’re going through with this. The child’s mouth was already bleeding. Her tongue was cut and she was screaming in wild hysterical shrieks. Perhaps I should have desisted and come back in an hour or more. No doubt it would have been better. But I have seen at least two children lying dead in bed of neglect in such cases, and feeling that I must get a diagnosis now or never I went at it again. But the worst of it was that I too had got beyond reason. I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to attack her. My face was burning with it.The damned little brat must be protected against her own idiocy, one says to one’s self at such times. Others must be protected against her. It is a social necessity. And all these things are true. But a blind fury, a feeling of adult shame, bred of a longing for muscular release are the operatives. One goes on to the end.In a final unreasoning assault I overpowered the child’s neck and jaws. I forced the heavy silver spoon back of her teeth and down her throat till she gagged. And there it was–both tonsils covered with membrane. She had fought valiantly to keep me from knowing her secret. She had been hiding that sore throat for three days at least and lying to her parents in order to escape just such an outcome as this.Now truly she was furious. She had been on the defensive before but now she attacked. Tried to get off her father’s lap and fly at me while tears of defeat blinded her eyes.” (Williams)
From the Young Girl’s Perspective:
I knew I didn’t trust him the moment he walked in. The big doctor looked down at me with eyes full of hunger… for something. Whatever it was, I knew his eyes weren’t friendly. He even had my own parent’s turn against me.
The doctor shoved the wooden stick of pain down my throat. I tried my best to block it with my teeth. I bit down with all the strength I could. It splintered all in my mouth, cutting parts into shreds. My cheeks bled red. My face felt hot. But at least I stopped him from invading me.
Aren’t you ashamed? My mama yelled at me. Aren’t you ashamed to act like that in front of the doctor?
The blood dripped from my mouth. No, I felt no shame. I felt tired. And pain. A lot of pain. The doctor only made it worse. I knew he was bad. I knew he was going to hurt me. I wanted him to leave me alone. Tears streamed down my face as I screamed. I screamed from the pain, from the helplessness. My chest started to hurt, but I kept on screaming. Maybe Mama and Pop would stop this man from touching me if they understood the pain I was in. Screaming was the only thing I could do.
He focused on me with a new sense of determination, I could see it on his face. He wasn’t going to leave me be. Lunging at my jaw, he brutally yanked it open. More tears fell into my mouth, leaving behind the bitterness of salt. He took out a metal spoon. I knew this spoon. It’s one from the kitchen, one I used to eat my mama’s chicken soup for when I’m sick. One that I used to eat ice cream on hot summer days. My spoon. And I didn’t want the doctor to have it.
But he shoved it down my throat. It was cold, like an icy snake. I felt it hit the back of my throat, causing my throat to gag and close. I couldn’t breathe. My chest hurt even more. I was going to die. I was going to die. I was going to die. If my parent’s weren’t going to stop this man, then I was going to die. I had no choice but to stop him myself.
I jumped at the doctor from my Pop’s lap. I had to stop the doctor. I had to. But Pop only held me tighter. He wasn’t gonna let me go. And I couldn’t hurt my Pop, no matter how much pain he gave me by bringing this doctor into the house. My parent’s didn’t care about my pain. They would let the doctor do whatever he wants to me. So I just stayed there on Pop’s lap, defeated. And I couldn’t stop crying.
I tried to keep some elements of a child in the piece, while also balancing the tone used in the original writing. Keeping the sentences short reflects a younger mind, while simultaneously leaving a greater impact on the reader. The real text shows the young girl’s pain, but I wanted to show her thought process and the amount of pain she experienced from the ordeal. I even added a small detail, such as her connection to the metal spoon, that was not added in the original text. By including these thoughts, I believed it layered on another level of mental anguish the girl felt. The doctor only perceives the girl feeling pain, but she also feels betrayal. Aspects that never would be explored if someone hadn’t written the story from her view point.
Ink Blot Thoughts 
I really liked the emotion you used and the different perspectives of the story. It really helps the reader gain a better perspective and allow them to not make assumptions about the characters as easily.
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