In this section of the book Black Flies, Ollie is starting his third week as a paramedic and is beginning to understand how the job works. Ollie is clearly the one to pick on at the station but he is beginning to realize that he isn't the only person who isn't well liked. There is another man, Phelps, who had been working at the station for eight months, is a very kind nice man who loves his job and is thrilled by it as well. Due to this happiness and eagerness to be at work the other men aren't fond of him and always give him a hard time. One day Phelps's partner put a transfer slip in Phelps's mail box. A transfer slip is a form the workers fill out and give to their partner if they aren't happy with what their partner is doing. Phelps's partner wasn't fond of Phelps and didn't want to work with him any more, so he filled out a transfer slip and gave it to Phelps. When Ollie sees this he knows that it's not the right thing to do because Phelps is a good worker and loves his job, yet due to Ollie's status at the station he wasn't allowed to interfere with the situation. This transfer slip is rude and extremely embarrassing for Phelps, but unfortunately his coworkers didn't stop there, in addition they put a dead maggoty dog in the front seat of his car. Ollie returns home that night and talks it all over with his girlfriend, Clara. Clara got in to med school, while Ollie did not. Clara believes that Ollie is an amazing medic, but he didn't get in to school because he wasn't confident. Clara isn't fond of Ollie's new job because she thinks it's not helping him become more confident, so Clara tells Ollie that if he wants the other guys to like him he has to give them something to like and respect. The next day at work Ollie and Rutkovsky see a boy walking down the street with a trail of blood and a dog following him. While the other medic's help bandage the boy's wound Ollie goes to check on the dog. They had successfully locked the dog inside a parking lot, and the friend of he injured boy was about to shoot the dog when Ollie walked in. Ollie took out a sandwich and gave the dog pieces of it, and soon the dog let Ollie grab him by the collar. The police took the dog away and the owner of the dog came to the scene. The man was crazy only caring about his dog, and not apologizing to the boy or thanking Ollie Cross. While the EMT's were standing there Rutkovsky told Ollie good job, but rather than calling him his nickname, Coroner, he called him Cross. After this name change every one had a little more respect for Ollie, changing his situation. At the beginning of this section Ollie was insecure with himself, and this attitude radiated off of him giving his co-workers a reason and opportunity to make fun of him, but by the end of this section he proved himself on the job. Ollie was brave enough to take care of the dog rather than killing it, and this action earned him respect. No one else wanted to even go near the dog. but because Ollie had the strength to confront the dog showed his partner that he was serious and was confident. Ollie also realized that he wasn't the only guy on the job who was getting a hard time, but he did realize that he could control it. He proved himself to everyone and created a better environment for himself at work. Hopefully Cross will now have and easier time at work, and will be able to stay this confident and continue to progress in his work otherwise he will never have a chance at getting into med school and possibly becoming a doctor at a hospital. I'm very happy to see that Cross is learning to adapt to his new environment and learning how to deal with all the obstacles that he faces while working in Harlem.
Burke, Shannon. Black Flies. New York: Soft Skull P, 2008.*Black Flies should be underlined
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5 comments:
I was disgusted when LaFontaine and some of the other medics put the maggot-filled dog in Phelps's car. I do not understand why someone would want to be so mean that they would be willing to pick up and position a dead dog in a car so that they could hurt someone else. Being willing to do something disgusting to yourself just to be mean shows just how mean you want to be. I do not find LaFontaine's sense of humor funny at all. I was proud of Ollie when he got the dog. The dog was not a nice dog, and yet Ollie had the confidence to face him. I was also happy that Ollie did not abuse the dog or force him into submission. I think this sets him apart from the other medics in that he would rather help and befriend a hungry dog than shoot it. This scene also shows how tough a medic in Harlem's job is because the dog owner does not apologize for his dog biting a child, he just demands the dog back. When people are unwilling to cooperate, it makes the job difficult. So far I think Ollie is doing a good job as a medic.
It would be very hard to be such a hard worker and get a transfer slip. Wow you would have to have some hatred for a person to put a dead dog in his car. But I guess it develops his character.
I like what you say about confidence- how the other EMTs are drawn to pick on Ollie because they know he is insecure. When he "proves himself" to his coworkers, they back off and respect him. I think Ollie's experience is shared by others. Often times, people are treated poorly because the people around them sense that they are not confident. I wonder what other things, like confidence, that Ollie will learn from his job.
wow its amazing how mean people can be. i can't even imagine the embarrassment Phelps must have gone through. it just goes to show that when you stand up for yourself and believe in what you do and have so much passion, good things come of it.
I really wanted to read this book so now I just follow your blog! :). ha. anyways this book sounds good but grusome. I mean maggoty dog...is this necessary? But I think the situation that Ollie is in is really realistic, with like not being appretiated and then ending up somewhere that only drags you down more. People can end up in like a pit of no confidence and it's incredibly hard to get out because a lot of the time that requires some about of confidence. I think it's cool how he ended up being able to redeem himself a bit and hopefully it will only continue to get better. great job!
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