An Approach to Teaching “A Face of Stone”

Abstract

“A Face of Stone” (1934) is a story that has generated controversy from the start. Whether it was first published in Betty and Fred Miller’s magazine, Blast, which featured proletarian short stories, is uncertain; the Millers had entreated Williams to revise the story’s blatant depiction of antisemitism, to no avail. Perhaps the story seemed inflammatory to the Millers. This was understandable given widespread nativist prejudice against the immigrant poor in the industrial cities of the Passaic River Basin of the early 1930s. Williams, on the other hand, likely felt the imperative to explore a “teaching moment” from the medical doctor’s perspective: “A Face of Stone” recalls the structure of case histories. In teaching the story, the article author appeals to students’ identification, as Puerto Ricans, with the history of medical discrimination and bias. She asks students to become “phantom patient advocates.” To be a “phantom patient advocate” means being an engaged, active reader, one who not only is able to envision a better outcome of the first visit, but who acquires accessible historical background to better understand an instance of medical bias. Literature trains the active reader to develop their powers of advocacy, on behalf of themselves and of others.