In James Dillard’s essay “A Doctor’s Dilemma,”
In James Dillard’s essay “A Doctor’s Dilemma,” the author talks about a weirdly complicated situation in which he finds himself. The case revolves around the decision to save a life or not. While describing the accident the doctor and his friend Amy had witnessed on their way near Gettysburg; the author openly presents a situation in which the doctor has to choose between saving a life and not saving it. This is precisely the main point of the story – the dilemma that faces the doctors.
There was a significant risk of the man becoming quadriplegic if the doctor chose to attend to the situation. This, openly, was a delicate matter that involved life and death. Anyway, the doctor decided to save the life of the injured man and attended to him. If the man developed quadriplegia, the doctor would have received a lifetime ban from practicing medicine.
Dillard describes, however, that after all the events of the day, the doctor confesses that he had done a foolish thing. He adds that despite being licensed to practice medicine, and sworn into the profession, he would drive past an accident scene if a similar something happened on a different day. This, in my opinion, is a selfish conclusion of the beautiful narration. Whereas his primary justification is the safety of his medical career, I believe it is natural for any human to respond and help another human in danger just as he did.