the use of force

Language features


自由直接引语 指可在不用引号或不用引述动词的情况下，直接把要讲的 话或心理活动表达出来。时态则采取当时当地讲话时的时 态，句子形式也保持原形式不变。 自由间接引语不用引述动词，不用引号，但其意义与间接 引自由直接引语在形式上相对自由，它摆脱了引号的束缚， 有时甚至连提示人物思想的引述句也省略了。它呈现在读 者面前的是角色的思想内容，而非由作者用自己的话转述 或总结概括出来的思想，是完全不受作者控制的话语表达 方式语基本相同
The Use of Force


4 The child was fairly eating me up with her cold, steady eyes, and no expression to her face whatever. 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 blonde hair, in profusion. One of those picture children often reproduced in advertising leaflets and the photogravure sections of the Sunday papers. 5 She's had a fever for three days, began the father and we don't know what it comes from. My wife has given her things, you know, like people do, but it don't do no good. And there's been a lot of sickness around. So we tho't you'd better look her over and tell us what is the matter.


1 They come down as soon as you can, my daughter is very sick. 2 When I arrived I was met by the mother, a big startled looking woman, very clean and apologetic who merely said, Is this the doctor? and let me in. In the back, she added. You must excuse us, doctor, we have her in the kitchen where it is warm. It is very damp here sometimes. 3 The child was fully dressed and sitting on her father's lap near the kitchen table. He tried to get up, but I motioned for him not to bother, took off my overcoat and started to look things over. I could see that they were all very nervous, eyeing me up and down distrustfully. As often, in such cases, they weren't telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that's why they were spending three dollars on me.
6 As octors often do I took a trial shot at it as a point of departure. Has she had a sore throat? 7 Both parents answered me together, No . . . No, she says her throat don't hurt her. 8 Does your throat hurt you? added the mother to the child. But the little girl's expression didn't change nor did she move her eyes from my face. 9 Have you looked? 10 I tried to, said the mother, but I couldn't see. 11 As it happens we had been having a number of cases of diphtheria in the school to which this child went during that month and we were all, quite apparently, thinking of that, though no one had as yet spoken of the thing.
diphtheria白喉


白喉是由白喉杆菌所引起的一 种急性呼吸道传染病，以发热， 气憋，声音嘶哑，犬吠样咳嗽， 咽、扁桃体及其周围组织出现 白色伪膜为特征。严重者可并 发心肌炎和神经麻痹，全身中 毒症状明显。 白喉可分为四种类型，其发生 率依次为咽白喉、喉白喉、鼻 白喉和其他部位的白喉。成人 和年长儿童以咽白喉居多，其 他类型的白喉较多见于幼儿。

Brief outline: Mathilda has been ill for three days. Her mother had given her some medicine, but it didn’t do any good. So they had to ask the doctor to come. When the doctor arrived at Olson’s house, he wanted to examine Mathilad throat first. But no matter how he coaxed, she wouldn't open her mouth. So the doctor had to get the tongue depressor into her mouth. At last, the doctor let her father hold her wrist and open her mouth before her diphtheria is confirmed. Form this story made us think such a question that something in life can’t only depend on selfwillingness. Under some circumstances, certain force seems necessary.


Main idea: Though there are reasons often justifiable, what compels the use of force against others isn’t simply altruism（利他主义） alone. The overall theme of the story revolves around power and submission(服从) and the doctor’s unnerved（不气 馁的） feeling following the forceful encounter.
The Use of Force
By William Carlos Williams
About the author
William Carlos Williams (1883 1963) Born in Rutherford, New Jersey, William Carlos Williams studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. started to think of his medical career as a means of supporting himself while he composed poetry, even as he interned in New York City and pursued postgraduate studies in Germany. In his work, he wished to speak like an American within an American context of small cities, immigrants, and workers.




12 Well, I said, suppose we take a look at the throat first. I smiled in my best professional manner and asking for the child's first name I said, come on, Mathilda, open your mouth and let's take a look at your throat. 13 Nothing doing. Aw, come on, I coaxed, just open your mouth wide and let me take a look. Look, I said opening both hands wide, I haven't anything in my hands. Just open up and let me see. 14 Such a nice man, put in the mother. Look how kind he is to you. Come on, do what he tells you to. He won't hurt you.