One Of These Days

This is a little paper I wrote after reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story One Of These Days, http://www.flashfictiononline.com/fpubli…

In this striking short story, the author introduces the somewhat laughable character of the Dentist Aurelio Escovar, whose office is poorly furnished and whose clothes are of poor taste. Something in his absentminded but not entirely rational manner seems to suggest that he is not at peace over something, or at the very least worried for a particular reason.

The dentist is suddenly visited by the Mayor, whose imperious manner and threatening gestures seem to suggest he is accustomed to power, and not always of the democratic kind. The Mayor, suffering from a very painful abscess, threatens to shoot the dentist unless he is treated. Seemingly very much at peace with his decision, the dentist is unimpressed with this and wills the Mayor to be done with it, revealing his own pistol and putting it at the ready.

Once the Mayor appears, however, the dentist is able to examine the effect of the abscess first hand, and despite whatever previous qualms he may have had, goes ahead and removes the wisdom tooth at the root of the abscess. He does this with a cold, almost disgusted air of professionalism, deciding that the tooth will be removed without anesthetic. During the procedure, he remarks that the Mayor is now repaid for “our twenty dead men”.

Once the tooth is removed the Mayor once again assumes control, leaving at once and telling the dentist as he exits that it makes no difference where he sends the bill, since the city and himself are one and the same.

I believe this short story illustrates the willingness of a human being, in this case the Dentist (whose profession is to relieve dental suffering), to help another, despite what it is that other has done. At the outset, the Dentist is unwilling to help the Mayor, feeling that he does not deserve help for whatever offenses or abuses of power he has committed. However, when he sees how much the Mayor is suffering, he goes about relieving the other’s pain; deciding to forgo the use of anesthetic in order to cause him pain and pay him back.

The story ends with the Mayor back on his feet and once again assuming control, washing his hands of the dentist and seemingly ungrateful for his help. For that brief moment when the Mayor was suffering because of his abscess, he was within the power of the Dentist. The Dentist, however, being honest and a professional besides, does not take advantage of him and sends him on his (possibly) evil way once again.