Barbara Huttman's Essay 'A Crime Of Compassion'
Euthanasia, the painless killing of a patient suffering from an agonizing disease, is a very controversial topic. Some argue that it is an act of murder and doctors should do all they can to extend life. Others argue that life should not be forced by resuscitation but patients should instead be relieved of their suffering through death. Barbara Huttman addresses the opposers of euthanasia in her essay, "A Crime of Compassion". Huttman tells the reader of her experience with Mac, a terminally ill cancer patient. Within the essay, Huttman explains how she watched the treatment take all he had, affecting Mac and those around him, and ultimately allows him die. Using rhetorical devices, she conveys the message that suffering patients should have
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The audience first meets Mac when he was a, “young, witty, macho cop who walked into the hospital with 32 pounds of attack equipment” (Huttman 1). The exaggeration of the amount of equipment Mac carries creates the image that Mac is powerful and can win any battle that threatens him. By lifting Mac so high at first, his decline in health is more striking to the audience. This hyperbole allows doctors or lawyers who oppose euthanasia to see how the treatment for patients can cause more pain than aid. Mac comes in to the hospital to try to get rid of a simple cough, but, “before the day was over, tests confirmed that he had lung cancer. And before the year was over, [Huttman] loved him, his wife, Maura, and their three kids as if they were [her] own” (Huttman 1). In the above quote, the phrases “before the day was over” and “before the year was over” are parallel and are both followed by simple ideas: “he had lung cancer” and “I loved him”. The use of parallel structure establishes balance and flow and refutes opposers of euthanasia who say that it is murder. By demonstrating the love between the patient and the nurse, claims of murder are discredited and Huttman’s message that euthanasia should be a solution to suffering patients can be proven. As the essay goes on, Huttman continues to use rhetorical devices to get her message
The audience first meets Mac when he was a, “young, witty, macho cop who walked into the hospital with 32 pounds of attack equipment” (Huttman 1). The exaggeration of the amount of equipment Mac carries creates the image that Mac is powerful and can win any battle that threatens him. By lifting Mac so high at first, his decline in health is more striking to the audience. This hyperbole allows doctors or lawyers who oppose euthanasia to see how the treatment for patients can cause more pain than aid. Mac comes in to the hospital to try to get rid of a simple cough, but, “before the day was over, tests confirmed that he had lung cancer. And before the year was over, [Huttman] loved him, his wife, Maura, and their three kids as if they were [her] own” (Huttman 1). In the above quote, the phrases “before the day was over” and “before the year was over” are parallel and are both followed by simple ideas: “he had lung cancer” and “I loved him”. The use of parallel structure establishes balance and flow and refutes opposers of euthanasia who say that it is murder. By demonstrating the love between the patient and the nurse, claims of murder are discredited and Huttman’s message that euthanasia should be a solution to suffering patients can be proven. As the essay goes on, Huttman continues to use rhetorical devices to get her message