The Sympathizer

The Sympathizer

by

Viet Thanh Nguyen

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The man who metes out most of the torture methods used on the narrator. He injects the narrator with truth serum and shocks him with a device that delivers static electricity. Near the end of his release, the doctor delivers another ream of paper and orders the narrator to recopy his confession. The narrator obeys, including additional information about what he experienced in the examination room. The revised manuscript pleases the doctor.
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The Doctor Character Timeline in The Sympathizer

The timeline below shows where the character The Doctor appears in The Sympathizer. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 21
Cultural Duality Theme Icon
...answer. The Commissar notes how he can’t even get his name right. He suggests that the doctor inject the narrator with “the serum” to get him to tell the truth. (full context)
Loyalty vs. Duplicity Theme Icon
Moral Ambivalence and Purpose Theme Icon
The doctor pulls out a contraption from a burlap sack. Its purpose is to deliver static electricity... (full context)
Chapter 23
Moral Ambivalence and Purpose Theme Icon
The narrator goes back to his isolation cell. All he wants to do is sleep. The doctor pulls a sheaf of 307 pages out of his briefcase—the narrator’s confession. He pulls out... (full context)