Doctor patient relationship - Essay Example

Carver takes this idea further by looking at the way in which a career limits the communication skills of a person. The minimal style enhances the starkness of loss especially when it is accompanied by a distant doctor. The paper concludes that the intention of both texts is to illuminate the inequality of the doctor/patient relationship although, unlike Carver, Williams resolves this. Carver provides a hint at the answer by the family finding resolution with the baker. 'A Small, Good Thing' and 'The Girl with the Pimply Face' are initially comparable because they share the subject matter of the medical profession and the narrative techniques are superficially quite similar.

The primary theme is the sensitivity of patient/doctor relationships. Williams' story focuses on the doctor's humanity; his susceptibility to desire, boredom and irresponsibility, but also his caring response to a family facing several problems. Changeability is a central quality of being human. Everyone is subject to the same whims and desires whether they are a doctor or not. He has the desire to help, gives his work freely, possesses a genuine interest in the family and does not criticise his patients when they cannot pay.

On the other hand there are hints that he is nave because he does not realise the family are taking advantage of him. Furthermore his reasons for being interested in the family are ambiguous. His concern possibly stems from his attraction to the girl with acne rather than genuine professional interest. Although his interest in her is professional; he wants to help her acne and her legs, his thoughts reveal there is something about the girl that would be of interest to him whether or not she needed his attention as a doctor,.

Conversely Carver treats the medical profession with suspicion, focusing on the gap between doctors and the ordinary family. Where Williams uses similar language for both the doctor and the girl, Carver uses different language. Williams emphasises the willingness of his doctor to step over professional boundaries and help the girl with advice and money whereas Carver's doctors shift the blame of Scotty's death away from themselves, emphasising that there was nothing they could do. Dr. Francis was disinclined to linger with the parents at the end and Ann feels as if he wants her to leave before she is ready.

He never crosses over the professional line. Each story uses distinctive narrative methods to expound this theme. Firstly, neither story has an objective narrator. The Williams' story is told by the doctor and the language is colloquial. There is an outstanding lack of conventional grammar. Spoken words mingle with description. For example, 'What's the matter with her I asked.' (79) The effect is two-fold. Firstly it envelops the reader in the doctor's world, inviting sympathy. However it also makes him susceptible to criticism.

His language is not medical and his attention darts quickly away from his patient. He is different from the traditional image of a doctor. 'For the moment at least I had lost all interest in the baby.'(80) By having access to the doctor's inner thoughts the reader is privileged to his true opinion of his patients, feelings not expected of a doctor, 'this young kid in charge of the house did something to me that I liked.'(80) On the other hand Carver's technique incorporates the inner