Hospital Sketches

Today I have an interesting account to present you “Hospital Sketches.” Hospital Sketches is a personal account of Louisa May Alcott as she worked at an army hospital during the Civil War. When she wants to do something useful and her brother suggests she becomes a nurse to the soldiers. She decides to be a volunteer nurse according to her brother’s advice. She writes this story to tell the daily life experience of all time she spent in the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, Washington D.C. I’m impressed three things on reading it.

About character, when Alcott asks for suggestions from members in her family, her father suggests “Write a book” and she answers “I don’t know enough.” When she thinks herself no skill in this way, she doesn’t decide to do it. Alcott is firm to her deciding. When she decides to be a nurse to the soldiers, she is enthusiastic to planning to arrange for an interview as soon as possible. When Alcott loves nursing, she can do a duty of a nurse happily. It can show that if we love to do anything, we are happy to doing those things although it is difficult to achieve.

About background, in a part of the account on December 14, 1862, she wrote “In they came, some on stretchers, some in men’s arms, some feebly staggering along on crude crutches. Everywhere was hurry and confusion; the hall was full of the injured and hurt.” It can show that a harmful war has occurred, and war is a bad thing, it refers to destruction all everything. Many people must get wounds or die and materials are destroyed by a violence of war. Rectifying problem with using violence, it always causes damage in a later time. And we can perceive a poignant and immediate window into the suffering of Civil War soldiers and their loved ones and vivid insight into their care.

About motive, in a part of the story “The sigh of several stretchers, each with its wounded soldier, reminded me that I was there to work, not to wonder or weep. So I held my feelings in check and went about my job.” We can learn that there are people wait helping from us, it will encourage we have willpower to work with full speed ahead. “I tried to keep my boys in a jolly state of mind since it is a know fact that I believe that he who laughs most is surest of recovery.” This can indicate that she would like to make the boys to be happy although their bodies have suffered. Because she understands that a happy state of mind helps a patient to recover. And she can also do useful something to society as she want.

What do you think about it?

More details: http://www.classicauthors.net/Alcott/hospital/