Interpreting Two Titles Both Literally and Figuratively: "The Use of Force" and "The Gift of Sweat"

second draft so far

No matter what kind of work someone looks at, whether it is a book, short story, or even a poem, most every work has a title. Now how you interpret that title might be a different story, but often titles tell us a great deal of information. “They tell us not just what we’re reading, but what we’re writing- about its thematic, metaphoric, or symbolic content” (A Meditation on Titles). From the titles of the two short stories we read, “The Use of Force” and “The Gift of Sweat,” the reader is able to get a feel about what the story is going to be about, and possibly the tone of voice used throughout. When looking more deeply into the titles of these two short stories, we begin to notice something; they look very similar. Both titles have four words, each consisting of a transition and two nouns. However, these two short stories are very different. Therefore, the author’s preference of titles in both short stories, “The Use of Force” and “The Gift of Sweat” set aside readings intended for two extremely different stories: one to be taken literally and one to be taken figuratively.
“The Use of Force,” by William Carlos Williams is about two characters in confrontation. The story describes the fight a little girl puts up against a doctor who thinks she has diphtheria. Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness that is characterized by a sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils. In order for the doctor to diagnose her, he must first get a throat culture. However, this task is not easy for the doctor as force must be used on the little girl to facilitate the throat culture.
As one can see, the title of this short story, “The Use of Force” should be taken literally. It is evident that force is a motif throughout the story as the doctor uses the force of himself and his instruments on the little girl. The force of the little girl’s parents and of her resisting is also very obvious in the story. In the last paragraph on page 93 we read:
Then I grasped the child’s head with my hand and tried to get the wooden tongue depressor between her teeth. She fought, with clenched teeth, desperately! 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 gripped the wooden blade between her molars.

From looking at this quote, the reader can definitely relate the literal meaning of the title to what is happening here. It is extremely clear that the doctor is using force to get the wooden spatula down the little girl’s throat. He uses force not only with the wooden spatula but with his hands as well. The doctor states that the diagnosis needs to be done in order for the girl to be cured and possibly get rid of diphtheria.
However, due to the fact the little girl does not like what the doctor is doing, she too puts up a fight and uses force. She does not want that man anywhere near her and will do anything to keep him as far away as possible. In the last paragraph on page 92 we read, “As I moved my chair a little nearer suddenly with one catlike movement both her hands clawed instinctively for my eyes and she almost reached them too. In fact, she knocked my glasses flying and they fell, though unbroken, several feet away from me on the kitchen floor” (pg. 92). This is a great example of how the title is to be taken literally. In this situation the little girl’s force is so strong that she knocks off the doctor’s glasses. The girl not only uses her force to keep the doctor away, but she uses it to try and hurt the man.
As a result, it was now the parent’s time to step in and take their roles. They too must now use force against the girl in order for the doctor to take the throat culture. After the daughter had already put up enough of a fight, the doctor ordered the father to hold his daughter down. The doctor stated her father should, “Put her in front of you on your lap, and hold both her wrists” (pg. 93). If this was the only way the throat culture was going to get done, then that’s the way it had to be. From this quote, the reader can clearly see that the parents had to use physical force on their daughter. Even if she screamed and carried on, her father was not going to let go. She was not going to have her way and hide her sore throat any longer. If force was the only answer to this problem then it was the method the parents were going to use. Once again, the literal meaning of the title “The Use of Force” is predominantly noticeable throughout the story.
Although some titles may be taken literally, they may also be taken figuratively. “The Gift of Sweat” is an example of this kind of title. “The Gift of Sweat” by Rebecca Brown, is about two male gay lovers, Rick and Barry. Rick has lost his gay lover to AIDS and now has to cope with living alone. This loss of Barry not only affects Rick, but also causes him to greatly suffer throughout the story. He eventually becomes very sick one day to the point where he can't even open the door to let his "lady friend" in. By the end of the story, Rick dies and we can infer that he too has lost his life to AIDS.
Rebecca Brown’s title, “The Gift of Sweat” is an interesting title that has a figurative characteristic to it. The title is open for much analysis, however, the story itself is written in an extremely plain and simple style. After looking at the title more closely, we notice that the word sweat immediately follows the word gift, and think to ourselves how can these two words possibly go together? Although these two words may not fit together by definition, their connotations come together in the short story, “The Gift of Sweat.”
On page 105 we read:
He was still shaking. I pulled my body close to him so his butt was in my lap and my breasts and stomach were against his back I pressed against him to warm him. He pulled my hand onto his stomach. I opened my hand so my palm was flat across him, my fingers spread. He held his hand on top of mine, squeezing it like the quilt. I could feel the sweat of his hand on the back of mine, and of his stomach, through his shirt, against my palm. I could feel his pulse all through him; it was fast.

From this quote, we see that Rick’s sickness is beginning to kick in, and his “lady friend” is trying as hard as she can to help him. She realizes that this might be the last time she is with him and therefore, could care less about all the sweat she has on her. Although we may never know, we can infer that Rick’s sweat might be a gift to his “lady friend.” This gift may signal that Rick will no longer be alive and will be free of any pain he was coping with. This gift of sweat is something his “lady friend” will always remember and cherish. This gift to her can be looked at as a gift of love and happiness from Rick.

......last paragraph to come!