Saturday, January 8, 2011

My Sister's Keeper
My Sister's Keeper is a tragic story involving a family that was bound to fall apart no matter what decisions were made. The main character Anna Fitzgerald was born purposefully to save her sister Kate who was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two. She was genetically made to be a perfect match for any type of donation to her sister. Anna was always a relatively healthy child, but you would not have known it due to the numerous tests and procedures she had undergone. Anna was never quite able to live her own life, because every time Kate went into relapse, Anna had to be right by her side as if she were the patient herself.
Anna was tired of living a life in the hospital when she was not even sick, so she went to Alexander Campbell with her problems. He was an attorney who was willing to fight for Anna's right to make decisions on her own when it came to her own body. He advises her to file a case regarding her emancipation which would make her free to chose what medical procedures she would undergo, however Anna was not sure what she wanted. She loved her sister more than anything, and did not want to see her die, but with Kate alive Anna would never get to be a person of her own. She would always be Kate's sister and never herself.
Going into the lawsuit everyone realizes that this case, whichever way the judge rules, nobody will win. If the judge rules against Anna then obviously Anna would be in the same situation as she was before; not in control of her own body. However if the judge rules in Anna's favor then there is a decision to be made. Either Anna will give the kidney any ways and still be attached to her sister for medical reasons not to mention hurting Kate all the while because she knows how she is affecting Anna's freedom, or Anna chooses to not give the kidney getting the freedom she wants but having to live without a sister, and know that it is her fault Kate died.

1. Taking a look from Kate's perspective, how do you think she feels about the entire situation with Anna? Do you think she blames Anna for putting up a fight? Do you think she is glad Anna is finally standing up for herself so Kate can stop feeling guilty about holding Anna back?
2. Was it wrong of the parents to ask Anna to go through this from the beginning? Should they have let Kate go and not have two children suffering from the consequences, or did they make the right choice in doing everything they could to save Kate even at the expense of Anna?

6 comments:

Hannah K. 1-2 said...

1. I would guess that Kate would feel very guilty about the situation that Anna is in, but unless she did not have a will to live, she would always hope that Anna would go along with their parent's wishes, if it was not a danger to her. The most ideal situation for Kate would then be for Anna to win the case, but still donate the kidney for her sister if no other matches could be found.
2. It is hard to find right in wrong in a situation that, while horrible, was done completely because of the parent's love for their daughter. However, bringing a child into the world that will not be cared for and given choices is unforgivable.

Sydney S. 1-2 said...

1. I do not think that she blames Anna. I think she understands how she feels, and feels guilty herself for making Anna go through it.

2. Even though the parents had good itentions of trying to save Kate, I think that it is horrible that they would have another child just to help the first.

Leah K. 7-8 said...

1. I don;t think that Kate blames Anna for putting up a fight. It is Anna's body so she doesn't have to go through surgery all the time. I think that she is glad Anna is standing up for herself because for all these years she hasn't had any choice of what she wanted to do.
2. It wasn't completely wrong but they never asked Anna they just assumed that they could take parts from her body whenever they wanted to.

Morgan O 7-8 said...

The relationship between Kate and Anna was very strong throughout the book and even though Kate knew Anna didn't want to give her a kidney they were still best of friends. I think you all were right about Kate's feelings about what Anna was doing. I think she felt guilty for making Anna live this way for so long and would rather not have the kidney to let Anna be happy.

Morgan O 7-8 said...

I think one of the main points of the book is there is no right and wrong in a situation like this. Of course parents would do anything they could to save their child from a horrible disease, but is it okay to genetically engineer another child to be a donor for the sick one? I think the intentions of the parents were good, and they thought that in addition to Anna being a donor for Kate she would be another amazing part of the family. However they did not take into consideration how Anna would feel knowing that the only reason she was born was because of Kate. I don't think it was right for them to do that to Anna, and maybe they would have seen that if they thought it through a little more.

Unknown said...

2. The whole situation must have been horrible and hard for the parents but I think it was wrong of them to have Anna because usually everything happens for a reason.