THE DOCTOR’S WORLD – SUMMARY - R.K. NARAYAN

THE DOCTOR’S WORLD  –        R.K. NARAYAN

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION:

The Doctor’s Word, is a short story from the collection of  “Malgudi Days” by R K Narayan  published in 1943. In “The Doctor’s Word” R.K.Narayan tells the story how a doctor’s word save the life of a patient, that’s very reason his opinion was valued; he was not a mere doctor expressing an opinion , but a judge pronouncing a verdict.”

CONTENT:

Dr. Raman was an experienced doctor. He spoke plainly and always spoke the truth. So, his pronouncement held in high esteem. Gopal was the dearest friend of Dr. Raman. They had been friends for 40 years. They spent their time in dinning, seeing  pictures and talking. Their friendship was not at all affected by chang of time.

One day Dr.Raman was informed that Gopal was ill. He went to Gopal’s house. Gopal was lying on the bed as if asleep. Dr.Raman examined him and gave necessary treatment. He is exceptionally fond of him and scolds Gopal’s family for not notifying him earlier about Gopal’s illness. He was worried about his friend’s life and he had no hope of saving his life.

The patient asked the doctor about his condition He wanted to sign the will and settled the property before he dies to avoid the “endless misery for his wife and children”.   If Dr. Raman reveals his pessimistic opinion, that Gopal will not survive the night, then it would “virtually mean a death sentence and destroy the thousandth part of a chance that the patient had of survival.” So, Dr. Raman decided to tell a lie. For the first time in life, he told his patient a lie. He informed Gopal that he would live for long time. Gopal was relieved to hear this information. The next morning the doctor was surprised to find Gopal alive with study pulse. How the patient survives would be a puzzle to him all his life.

CONCLUSION:

Throughout the story Dr. Raman’s genuine concern for Gopal was seen. The concern was not only with professional ethics but also with the tension that often arrives when personal ethics and professional ethics intersect. It is clear that Dr. Raman violates his usual practice of truth-telling so as to save the life of his friend ‘Gopal’. Dr. Raman still remained a man of his word though he does remain puzzled as how Gopal has survived.

“Human life is more important than the Science.”