In my group's class discussion (which was a while ago but I really want to get my thoughts down), the writing prompt was to compare Dr. Golden vs Dr. Glass, and I didn't really say anything at the time but I definitely have some things to say about the two psychiatrists.
So Dr. Golden. He is a jerk. I guess I kind of understand why he wouldn't want to invest himself too much in Bethany's life and might not want to become best friends with her or anything, but at the same time he's her doctor. He has a job to do, and he doesn't seem to be doing it very well. In this way, I guess is the opposite. She quickly befriends Bethany, and although she cares more for Bethany's well-being, this also seems to skew her judgement and cause bias. Neither doctor really seems to be helping her like they should be. Bethany doesn't improve with Golden, who really couldn't care less, and it sort of seems like Glass helps her get a bit better, but we kind of already know how it's going to end.
I strongly disliked Dr. Glass because of how she treated Smithy, but after discussion, I don't dislike her as much (still not her fan though). Smithy does come off as a sketchy character, and probably only looked at her chest every time they met. I personally don't see Smithy as too creepy, although I do remember once he told Dr. Trivitch that he used to think he loved his sister. I don't really know how to interpret that, but it does make Smithy seem a little more creepy. I guess what I'm trying to say is I can see why she might think he would be creepy, but still, the whole scene to me was just frustrating, especially with his response to the allegations.
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I agree with your view of Dr Golden, but I dislike Glass more. She just seems totally clueless, oblivious to context clues and insistent on doing it her way (she ignores charts or information about Bethany from her previous hospital/doctor experiences). She just cant put 2 and 2 together; Smithy has to tell her that Bethany has a voice in her head after Glass has been with Bethany for around a month. The one conclusion that Glass did come to, that Smithy was molesting Bethany, seems to be rushed and only based on evidence from Bethany. Then, Glass goes on to call the Ide family rich, which I found hilarious. Smithy drives an old, used car, come on, use your context clues!
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, I really disliked both psychiatrists.
I too found discussion enlightening on the subject of Glass' allegations. When I first read them, I was totally outraged. Now, while I still think that she's an idiot, I have a little more understanding for her mistake. We, throughout the course of the book, have seen Smithy's love and caring for his sister, she hasn't, and the thought of somebody raping their sister (especially when she's mentally unstable) is horrific. Again, we see the our Smithy vs everybody-else's Smithy dynamic here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that I found Glass' allegations incredibly frustrating, but I do see where she was coming from. Since she cared for Bethany so much, she was much more inclined to believe her than Golden probably would have been. It's a shame that Bethany never found a doctor or a therapist who truly connected with her and helped her. I would like to think that that would have influenced her life to end differently, but of course we never know.
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