Dan Baldwin Comments

“Utopia” Response:

This story was a fun read; I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out what crimes the doctor had committed. The first paragraph does a good job of introducing the doctor and helps the reader get an understanding of how his mind works. It’s written in a tone that suggests maybe he’s crazy or at the very least a megalomaniac. I thought the dialogue was well versed, especially in the scene when the doctor realizes who his cell mate is. One of the most important lines of the story is when the guard says, “Tax payers want to watch him die…” In real life under these circumstances, a man wouldn’t be sentenced to death; he would be put into a mental health facility. In the story however, the doctor’s fate creates the image of a martyrdom which in turn transcends his physical death into the death of ideals. I could be overanalyzing it, but I got the impression you’re story was intended to have a greater meaning.