Pain, The One Thing That Saves Us

Boyle in his sixties seems to show no sings of slowing down when it comes to being a published writer. In 1977 Boyle received a Ph. D in Nineteenth Century British Lit from the University of Iowa. Along with being published in numerous prestigious magazines, he has written many novels such as After the Plague and Talk Talk. Currently he lives in Santa Barbara with his wife. In the October 8th edition of THE NEW YORKER, Boyle writes “Sin Dolor” a story set in a small town, about a Mexican doctor who tends to a child incapable of feeling pain. When the doctor first examined Damaso the first and only thing that could describe such injuries was child abuse by his father Francisco and mother Mercedes. This doctor appears to be some what of a prick, no longer intrigued by his work, focused solely on a the little cottage him and his wife have put aside. However the doctor is able to see the boy grow older, aging very rapidly (although only thirteen) as he becomes a freak show to his father, a means for profit. Damaso comes to his fatal end when he takes a challenge to jump off a building. The doctor uses Damaso as a project, similar to the boy’s father did, simply a way for him to become famous, a vechile for making a name in the medical world. Absence of pain to the doctor seems as though it would serve as a great solution to munerous things, but in reality absence to pain makes Damaso more vulberable. Pain is actually what saves us, is the foundation of all decisions. I liked the narration of this story; it seemed to have fluidity throughout even though time seemed to pass rather quickly. The dialogue in this stroy feels as though it could go straight to play, its very visual.