I am reading Black Flies by Shannon Burke. It describes the experiences of a man, Ollie, who just started his job of being an EMT. He describes in detail the people, insects, and deaths he witnesses. He descries the scene of a suicide: "The girl had cracked the pavement, indenting it. One leg was bent backward beneath her body. Her head was at a crazy angle. She was completely still"(6). The reader can really picture the scene. It is bizzare and disturbing. Ollie also describes how his partner, Rutkovsky, acts like nothing happened as he gets back into the ambulence and eats his dinner while the mother of the girl pleads with him through the window to save her daughter. All of the "seasoned" medics act in that way. The new medics have to get used to all the death in their lives. The veterans taunt them by calling Ollie "The Coroner" for almost not being able to save a man having an athsma attack and by putting a transfer form in Phelps'(the other newbie) mailbox. They even put a dead dog, covered in maggots, in the drivers seat of his car so it looked like it was driving. Phelps, "...just stood there with his head on the car....I could see his back shaking. He couldn't stop. It went on for ten minutes"(21). First of all, that is absolutely disgusting. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like to have to deal with seeing hurt or dead people every day and then have to deal with a dead dog in your car after work.
This book is really really good so far. It is graphic and they swear fairly regularly but it is really captivating. I didn't think I was going to like it because I don't like blood and guts but it works with the book. It makes the reader understand what it might be like to have to see that in person everyday and how it might affect someone. I would never ever want to be a medic. I am almost 100% certain that by the end of the book, there is going to be no way I would ever become an EMT. Shannon Burke, the author, includes tidbits of interesting medical information between the different emergency calls Ollie and Rutkovsky go on. It is a nice break from the intense situations going on. I am looking forward to seeing if Ollie survives and actually stays with this profession!
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4 comments:
I too am reading this book and i agree with you. I'm not the biggest fan of blood and gore but the writing style of the book and the story behind it all mix together extremely well to make this book a great read. Your analysis is great, it gives the reader all they need to know and your voice shows through really well. Great job!
The word choice of the author really lets the reader see the image. It is interesting to see how the behavior of the "seasoned" medics differ from the newbies. The story can develop in a lot of different ways.
It sounds like Ollie has a really hard job to get used to. I don't know if it's really healthy to act so nonchalantly towards death, the way the "seasoned" medics do. I imagine that becoming desensitized to death and the grief that usually accompanies it would make someone kind of disturbed. Maybe Ollie shouldn't make it his goal to behave "like nothing happened" when he is in a traumatic situation the way Rutkovsky does.
I agree with you Katie that I will never become a medic. They become so used to death because they work with it daily whereas to everyone else death is something very tragic and often hard to understand.
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