Four years ago my knees began to swell, ache, and crack when walking and standing up. They grew to be twice their original size in four months. I didn't tell my mother, a nurse, until after my freshman tennis year, 6 months after the pain started and was no longer bearable. After visiting several doctors, I was diagnosed with arthritis at age 15. I do not like doctors and I hate getting attention for injuries, so "The Use of Force," by William Carlos Williams is very appealing to me because I relate to the antagonist character, Mathilda easily.
In the short story, Mathilda realizes she has a deadly disease and does not want to admit it or find out the truth. "I smiled in my best professional manner and asking the child's first name I said, come on, Mathilda, open your mouth," (1403). This quote is a great example of me at the doctor's office.
English: Cropped portrait of Mary Shelley
English: Passport photograph of American poet and ...
Capsule of right knee-joint (distended). Lateral a...My mother, like Mathilda's, wants me to describe when, how, and where my pain is, but I don't like doctors and I still have a hard time admitting I have arthritic. Consequently, my mother is the one who answers the doctor's questions because I am scared and don't want to know the severity of my condition. Mathilda, in "The Use of Force" also does not answer the doctor. "But the girl's expression didn't change nor did she move her eyes from my face," (1403) is how I also act at the doctor's office.
Mathilda hides her sore throat from her mother and father, similar to how I hid my arthritic for six months. In the conclusion of The Use of Force, "tears of defeat blinded her eyes," (1405). This quote describes exactly how I felt after I found out...