View on "The Clinic" by Jeff Gremmels

Narratives are created to amuse others, generate a specific idea or meaning behind the story, or to even enlighten those with events that may or may not have happened. All narratives have one common yet specific trait in that they are basically the definition of storytelling, whether the story is interesting and funny or dull and depressing. Looking back at Back to the Lake by Thomas Cooley, a good narrative requires a thorough chronological order of the events, the plot of the narrative is recognizable and clear for the audience, and the readers are able to identify the who/what/when/where/how/why of the story. In addition, explicit details to the events and/or characters is helpful for the readers in understanding the story overall.

After reading The Clinic by Jeff Gremmels, I understand what the boy in the narrative was going through when he went to the hospital with his mother. When I was younger, I received multiple injuries, such as tearing my left ligament, fracturing my right elbow, breaking my nose, dislocating my right shoulder, and even undergoing several concussions. Much like the character of the boy that had to go to the hospital, my mother acted the exact way the mother in the narrative did.

As a writer, I liked how Gremmels used dialogue and details to enhance the experience of the story. Unlike some writers that would not use dialogue, Gremmels used dialogue to express the opinions and actions of the characters in the narrative. Adding onto the dialogue, details to the events helped in describing what was going on and how these events affected the characters and future occurrences. On the other hand, the one aspect of this narrative I somewhat disliked was that the narrative was too short of a story. I mean I understand that it is better to have less, in terms of writing, because it focuses on the overall message/purpose of the narrative. But I just wanted to acknowledge the ending of the medical student's case on this boy and his self-destructive behavior.

The Clinic is about the medical student's story. Throughout the entire narrative, the medical student was speaking from his perspective of the case on the boy and his mother. The medical student was expressing his view on this case to the audience by describing what was going happen, who was involved, why the boy was injuring himself, etc. This narrative in not from the boy's viewpoint because the boy was only mentioned by the doctor as a case and not necessarily as a character like the medical student or the mother.

Gremmels' purpose in writing this particular narrative is to explain how this one case taught him more about life than his experiences in lectures or labs. In the end of the narrative, Gremmels stated, "Years of lectures, labs, and research could not match the education I received in five days with this single boy" (The Clinic, Jeff Gremmels). Based on the text, Gremmels experience as a medical student has changed in that he faced cases that are more of a psychological matter rather than physical problems. Also, a key note was mentioned to the right-hand side of it, stating that it was the narrator's main point in informing the narrative. Gremmels chose this genre of a medical detective story because he wanted the narrative to have the character solve the issue of the case for the readers than having the readers attempt to understand the meaning behind it. It was most likely easier for Gremmels to explain the purpose of the narrative through the use of the medical student's views.