Summary Of William Carlos Williams The Discus Thrower

The essence of a good doctor is their ability to love all without discrimination, to have patience, to listen and to understand their patients in order to find an appropriate treatment. William Carlos Williams embodied this essence. To have experience, to have lost himself in the minds of his patients has given William Carlos Williams the ability to love and care for his patients, which is seen throughout his poetry.

As many of us know, life as a physician is hard. Williams explains a time where he “couldn’t keep his eyes open a moment longer.” However, seeing his patient rid the weariness he had felt. Williams states his patient “called for attention, his peculiarities, her reticences or candors.” This demonstrates the physician Williams was, a doctor who was there for his patients regardless of any obstacles.
Williams continues to show his care and commitment to his patients by stating “my business, aside from the mere physical diagnosis, is to make a different sort of diagnosis concerning them as individuals, quite apart from anything for which they see my advice.” What he means is there is more to a patient than just providing a diagnosis. There is a level of care and understanding physicians want to see and have with their patients, a bond that physicians and patients should achieve to obtain. Overall, William Carlos William is intelligent,
caring, committed, and loving towards his patients. He truly symbolizes what a good doctor should be.

As I read The Discus Thrower by Richard Selzer, I saw him as a typical physician.
He is curious, but I felt he didn’t want to overstep boundaries. He spies on his patients because he wants to see their personality and understand any behaviors that probably wouldn’t be present if he or any other person were there. Selzer examines the patient and understands this patient is terminal ill given by his physical description. He wonders about the patient’s feelings as he is performing the procedure. He cares about his patient, but I think like many physicians, Selzer doesn’t differently than Williams by watching and
observing.

The difference between Selzer and the head nurse is Selzer showed concern on why the patient was throwing the food and he decided to spy on him to conclude any hypothesis. However, the head nurse proved to be someone mostly like there for a check. She says “Nasty. That’s what he is…” proving she has no care for him then says, “they probably can’t stand him any more than we can.” The head nurse did not try to empathize or understand the patient. She quickly judged him, opposed to Selzer who watched him to develop a better understanding of him.

There is no doubt that this patient was suffering from a terminal illness. What I concluded is probable diabetic retinopathy, which is kidney disease caused by uncontrolled diabetes. This could cause blindness, the amputation of his leg, and even his skin to appear rusted. Also, I do believe the patient suffered some severity of mental illness. At the beginning the patient asks Selzer who he is, Selzer says he is the doctor. When Selzer joins the head nurse after the patient throws the plate, he again asks who Selzer is displaying some form of memory loss. I believe the patient was handling with his death the best way he could, which was finding joy in throwing the dish.