Sariah Morey
Dr. Kerry Spencer
Writing 150
October 17, 2011
We do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story
In 1973 the Supreme Court made a landmark controversial decision deciding that it is a woman’s right to choose abortion in the court case Roe v. Wade. Due to that decision, abortion has become a way to prevent unexpected pregnancies, control whether or not parents have a handicapped child, and much more. A registered nurse Sallie Tisdale wrote the essay “We do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story” from her own personal experiences in the world of medicine. Throughout the essay it is apparent that Sallie is using emotional appeal to evoke a response out of the reader, yet she never lets the reader know whether or not she agrees with abortion to allow her audience to make their own decision on the matter.
Sallie Tisdale’s essay describes the emotions, thoughts, and procedures that she as a nurse in an abortion clinic had to deal with daily. She even goes so far as to explicitly describe the contents of the basin after the abortion is complete. The grief and the pain, as well as the strength and bonding experienced in her job are all talked about. Another thing that Sallie does is show the variety of women with whom she deals with, and the differences in their experience at the clinic.
Sallie uses very descriptive phrases to help her convey her emotions throughout her interactions with the women. Such phrases include “chafing loss,” “numbing sameness,” and “sweet brutality (183).” By doing this she allows the reader to visualize the scene that she deals with every day. It helps her audience to be able to more fully understand the situation that she is in.
Another aspect of Sallie’s essay that helps appeal to the emotions is describing each situation with such detail and clarity so as to make the reader feel as if they are standing by witnessing the experiences. On page 184 she goes through the process of an abortion step by step. Starting with “I give a woman a small yellow Valium” to the actual procedure, and ending with the sorrow the women feel once they realize what they have done (184). Beyond describing the steps, she also very clearly paints a picture of the range of women that she works with. She portrays her experience with girls as young as a 14-year old to women in their 40s all dealing with the same pain and heartbreak. Without such thorough descriptions the reader would not connect as well with Sallie, and then misjudge her as to why she still works in such a clinic.
As the reader finishes the essay, they expect Sallie to address the question of whether or not abortion is a good or bad thing. While she says “we’re too busy to chew over ethics,” it never answers that question. A major reason for her to leave that up in the air is so to allow the reader can think for themself. She provides all of the information by talking about the good the bad and the ugly associated with her job. Some of the good include “what I offer is not power, but solidness, offered almost eagerly,” and “It’s nice to be with women all day. I like the sudden, transient bonds I forge with some clients: moments when I am in my strength (183).” Some of the bad and the ugly is that “there are weary, grim moments when I…cannot bear another basin of bloody remains,” and “ my own belly flip-flops with sorrow…there is a numbing sameness lurking in this job…and the worst is the sameness of human failure (183).” With this information, she skillfully never talks about one side too much to make the reader believe that she favors one side over the other. By doing this her true opinion remains unknown.
In the last sentence of the essay Sallie states “I imagine a world where this won’t be necessary, and then return to the world where it is (189).” This sentence gives a little glimpse into Sallie’s mind as to what her views are on abortion, but is still phrased in a way to leave it open for discussion. It was a very brave decision for Sallie to leave her audience with such an open ended question. Without it the essay would be weakened and would lack the impact that that question gives it. By requiring the reader to think, the essay will make more of an impression than if she had spouted off the answer at the end.
Through her use of emotion as well as leaving a question unanswered, Sallie Tisdale’s essay has a tremendous impact on her readers. The reader is more informed on abortion, obtaining information from a primary source, and can leave having a more informed opinion. While no one will truly know why she does her job, Sally can at least be respected for being willing to help the women in need of her strength.
Work Cited
Tisdale, Sallie. “We do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story.” Reading For Intensive Writers. 5th ed. Comp. Susan Jorgensen. Provo: BYU Academic Publishing, 2007
I had difficulty figuring out what point you were trying to make in your analysis-what, in your opinion, was the author's goal, and was she effective in achieving it? Your thesis mentions the use of emotion, but doesn't spell out any other tools; instead, there are tools listed in other paragraphs as sort of "sub-tools" under the use of emotion. You constantly mention the fact that Sallie never lets the audience in on her opinion, which is interesting, but not entirely pertinent to a critical analysis. There are a few phrases that a little grammatically off, and could use rewording. The quotes you chose to include were powerfully descriptive, and added to the serious and sensitive tone of the analysis.
ReplyDeleteNice structure, however your wording makes your point a little fuzzy. For example you have a case of some subject confusion: "...deciding that it is a woman’s right to choose abortion in the court case Roe v. Wade" sounds like a woman can only have the freedom to choose abortion in that one instance.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would not use the phrase "talked about" in paragraph 2, as it is rather weak wording. "Discussed" would be a good replacement.
You are missing something here in the third to last paragraph: "Some of the good include “'what I offer is not power...'"
I thought your introduction paragraph was excellent. I liked your hook and how you introduced the essay. I thought you did very well in tying each paragraph back to your thesis in each concluding sentence. However, as is mentioned in the first comment, I thought your thesis could have been stronger. Also personally, I don't believe Tisdale's point was to have the audience "make their own decision on the matter", but to show just how complex this issue is. From a sociological perspective, this is shown each time she emphasis the importance of a woman's context.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the analysis, your sentence fluency is a little weak. While your ideas are solid and well thought out, the choppy sentences detract from your overall analysis. If you work those problems out, you'd have a great essay.
ReplyDeleteI found that the introduction to your essay was interesting, but it confused me as your paper went on. Your arguments are fairly clear, but I think you could have improved the strength of your thesis statement earlier on. Good work over all though!
ReplyDelete--Jamie Smith
I had a hard time finding the thesis of the paper, and finding the point you were trying to make. I also did not really understand whether or not the author was successful in conveying their message. Also you need to reference the audience more. You have great points, and I liked how you incorporated the text; however, maybe you could just be more clear.
ReplyDelete