Code Blue for Humanity. Wait, better make that DNR.
Susie: (Pushing them away from the bed) Patient is no code. Get away from her!
Code Team Head: (Reading) Do Not Resuscitate. Kelekian. Shit
Jason: (Whispering) Oh, God.
Code Team Head: Order was put in yesterday.
Code Team:
-It's a doctor fuck-up.
-What is he, a resident?
-Got us up here on a DNR.
-Called a code on a no-code.
Jason: Oh, God.
(Wit p.85)
Alright, so in this scene we're introduced to the Code Team for the first and only time in the play, and their totally simplistic level of dialogue shows the lack of depth to their characters, and a lack of humanity as well. We also witness Jason, the brilliant med student, burn in flames after messing up the code. This shows how much he focused on the research and not on the patient. Susie, who was just a nurse and was definitely put on a much lower level than the others, was the only one who paid attention to the patient's wishes and brought the mistake to everyone's attention. And all throughout this ordeal, Vivian was never referred to by name. So much for her hard-earned respect and prestige as a leading John Donne scholar.
I've never read any bit of dialogue packed with so much internal meaning as this one.
Code Team Head: (Reading) Do Not Resuscitate. Kelekian. Shit
Jason: (Whispering) Oh, God.
Code Team Head: Order was put in yesterday.
Code Team:
-It's a doctor fuck-up.
-What is he, a resident?
-Got us up here on a DNR.
-Called a code on a no-code.
Jason: Oh, God.
(Wit p.85)
Alright, so in this scene we're introduced to the Code Team for the first and only time in the play, and their totally simplistic level of dialogue shows the lack of depth to their characters, and a lack of humanity as well. We also witness Jason, the brilliant med student, burn in flames after messing up the code. This shows how much he focused on the research and not on the patient. Susie, who was just a nurse and was definitely put on a much lower level than the others, was the only one who paid attention to the patient's wishes and brought the mistake to everyone's attention. And all throughout this ordeal, Vivian was never referred to by name. So much for her hard-earned respect and prestige as a leading John Donne scholar.
I've never read any bit of dialogue packed with so much internal meaning as this one.
You do make a good point Jessie, their dialogue is very simplistic. And I agree that they do not seem to be very intelligent. However, I think partially the code group does not have a very large part in the play and therefore, I think it is hard to guess at their intelligence. They certainly do seem bothered about being troubled to save a dying woman though. So no, they are probably not the most compassionate people. But don’t you think that the more intelligent you are the more responsibility you have to others? As an intelligent person, one should be better able to realize the importance of being kind. The Code Team almost is not even a character—they seem almost representative of the medical institution as a whole, uncaring and simply preoccupied with their job and not the lives they are saving. They are almost not even people, more like mindless zombies. Jason and Vivian, who can think independently from a group, should be able to recognize their harshness towards others, while the institutionalized code group does not have enough individuality to realize they should be compassionate, since they as characters are almost nonexistent.