Genre
Short fiction, Medical fiction
Setting and Context
“Witness” takes place in a hospital setting. "Whither Thou Goest" takes place in Texas and Arkansas.
Narrator and Point of View
In "Witness," is a doctor narrates using the first-person point of view. "Whither Thou Goest" employs a third-person omniscient view.
Tone and Mood
The tone in "Witness" is sympathetic, whereas the mood is apprehensive. The mood in "Whither Thou Goest" epitomizes determination, whereas the tone is persuasive.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Protagonist in "Witness" is the indisposed young boy. The antagonist is his father, who mistrusts the doctor who is supposed to help his father. The protagonist in "Whither thou Goest" is Hannah, whereas the antagonist is Mrs. Inez Pope.
Major Conflict
The conflict in “Witness” is diagnosing the young boy and treating him. The major conflict in "Whither Thou Goest" entails Hannah finding the beneficiary of her husband's donated heart.
Climax
The climax in "Witness" ensues in the operating room when the doctor recognizes that the boy was not suffering from hernia. The climax in "Whither Thou Goest" occurs when Pope grants Hannah her wish of listening to his heartbeats.
Foreshadowing
Hannah's dream in "Whither thou Goest" foreshadows her resolution to trace the beneficiary of Sam's heart.
Understatement
The doctor in "Whither Thou Goest" tells Hannah, "I'm asking you to let us put an end to it, unplug the machinery, let him go." The doctor's remarks are simplistic because, for Hannah, letting go is not as effortless or painless as the doctor wants it to be.
Allusions
In “Witness” the doctor alludes to Mythology by speculating that the sick boy could be a flawed “Changeling” that had been used as a replacement for a normal child “stolen by fairies.” "Whither Thou Goest" alludes to scientific advancements (specifically in regard to organ transplant).
Imagery
The darkness in the “Resolution” of “Witness” underscores the uncertainty regarding the sick boy’s situation. "Whither Thou Goest" paints vivid imagery of Organ donation.
Paradox
The doctor describes the man's love for his son in "Witness" as "deep black joy." Blackness is predominantly associated with gloominess. In "Whither Thou Goest," Hannah is disenchanted by the paradox of the biblical verses that alluded to resurrection, whereas her husband is dead.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
In “Whither Thou Goest," Hannah uses the term "flesh" to allude to humanity. Also, Hannah writes a letter to Mr. Pope, in which she insists that she is the owner of the heart that is in Owen's body. The heart denotes the love she had for Sam, which hasn't dwindled even with his death.
Personification
The doctor personifies a cat in “Witness" by describing its extraordinary kindness and humanness.
