The story ‘How to Get into Medical School- Part 1’ is an account written by a third party, about two characters studying hard to get an admission to medical school, and who love each other, but one of them cannot openly admit. The author’s intention is to bring out the conflict by putting the reader in a position where he/ she visualizes the actual events as they occur. This paper analyzes the story ‘How to Get into Medical School- Part 1’. It looks deeper into the characters as portrayed in the story, how the writers theme is brought out, the setting and point of view.
The characters Ming and Fitzgerald are in a form of conflict both academically and socially. In their endeavor to study to achieve their goal of being admitted to a medical school, Ming falls deeply in love with Fitzgerald but does not want to admit it openly to him. Fitzgerald, on the other hand, is aware of it, tries to convince her to accept him, but his efforts do not seem favorable. Academically, they both strive to get an admission into medical school; Ming manages to go through, while Fitzgerald does not, which conflicts his interests of wanting to pursue Ming further.
Fitzgerald chases her on numerous instances and actually impacted when she turns him down. To get her out of his mind, he chooses to go on a drinking spree (Lam 6). The night before her trip to Toronto, he interjects and confesses to her that he loves her, despite the fact that she ‘pretends’ not to be interested in that topic.
Ming and Fitzgerald are both portrayed differently. Ming is hard working. She tape records lecturers and listens to them later to have a deeper understanding. Additionally, she highlights all the important points to create a better understanding. Moreover, she meets with Fitz on several occasions to discuss class work. She is also orderly in that during exams; she tackles the less difficult questions first, the handles the uncomfortable ones later, and erases any visible markings on her paper. Ming is a secretive individual. She knows that deep down she is in love with Fitz, but keeps it to herself. She continues the relationship with her cousin Karl a secret affair, something she opens up to Fitzgerald later.
Fitzgerald, on the other hand, has a lazy character. Instead of making general class work notes, he only made notes on what he considered as necessary. Additionally, he replaced notes with diagrams, which he did not label. He is a straight forward person. This character is depicted from the manner in which he tells Ming that he is in love with her, and forces her to admit that she is in love with him too. For service, humanity and the urge to help the society, both Fitz and Ming have the in depth purpose of going to the medical school. Their desire is not purely derived from the financial prospects that are associated with a career in medicine, but by the services that they hope to give to the community (Lam 10).
The writer incorporates several other minor characters, whose purpose is to bring out the personalities of the main characters, and help understand them better. Ming’s father is concerned with her daughter’s success and welfare. He serves to enlighten the reader on her background, her upbringing and also understand about her past. While in high school, her father constantly reminds her to work hard.
Karl- Ming’s cousin contributes a lot to her studies. It is through him that we understand Ming’s past, and get to know her real personality. He is sexually involved with her. This aspect works to erase any trace of innocence that readers might have been holding for her. It portrays a side of her that had not been brought to light (Lam 27). At the start of the story, the reader might get the perception that Fitzgerald is forcing a relationship on her. However, on reading about her relationship with Karl, one erases any possible doubts.
The writer of the story sets it a contemporary schooling and household environment of the average school going individuals. This has the advantage that the reader converges his thoughts on that particular line of narration. By having this type of setting, the user can easily play the scenes in his/ her mind without losing track of who was where and when.
The story is written from a third person’s point of view. This form of point of view has several benefits. Firstly, the reader has the freedom to shift between different characters with varied opinions, without distorting the flow of the story. Secondly, one can expand their scope of the story as they interchange between the various sceneries and from conflicting points of view. Thirdly, the leader is at liberty to deliberate on the story by keeping to the major characters and intentional minor character’s thoughts.
At the end of the story, Ming and Fitzgerald manages to be together. Their fantasies of being in each other’s arms are finally fulfilled. The writer succeeds in keeping the reader on high alerts, and eager to find to find out whether their desires come to be fulfilled. He strategizes his/ her events in such a manner that part of the conflict is tackled in every chapter, till it finally comes to a good ending.
Work Cited
Lam, Vincent. Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures: Stories. Toronto, Ontario: Anchor Canada, 2006. Print
