I tell you we must have bodies. You cannot make doctors without them, and the public must understand it. If we can't get them any other way we will arm the students with Winchester rifles and send them to protect the body-snatchers on their raids.
In "The Devil in the White City," Erik Larson explores the dark realities surrounding the Chicago World's Fair and the medical practices of the time. A significant issue was the shortage of cadavers for medical education. The quote emphasizes the desperate need for bodies to train doctors, which illustrates the lengths to which people were willing to go to obtain them. It reflects a grim predicament faced by the medical community, highlighting the importance of proper anatomy education.
The suggestion of arming students to protect body-snatchers reveals the extreme measures taken to address this shortage. This not only underscores the desperation among medical institutions but also critiques societal attitudes toward ethics in acquiring bodies for study. The narrative conveys how the intersection of medicine, morality, and the darker sides of human nature can lead to unsettling choices, shaping the history of medical education.
