moral issues
- Genetic engineering - Genetic engineering has been looked down on since it was first used. As the population of genetic engineering has grown, so have the moral questions genetic engineering brings. Many people argue that it genetic engineering isn't moral, it's unnatural, ect. However, when it comes to life or death of your child, what would you do? My Sister's Keeper brings up this issue. It isn't about making sure they have a super-smart baby, or one with blonde hair and blue eyes, but about saving one of their children. However there is a point where i think enough is enough and that brings me to my next point.
- A minor's rights to control his/her own body - Anna was created to make sure she would be an exact match for her sister. The plan was for her to give her sister whatever her sister needed. Stem-cells, a kidney,ect, but is it right? In my opinion, if it was just some stem cells a few times, sure why not. But when it gets to they point where they are just using Anna for her blood, stem cells, and organs, thats where I think they should draw the line. Especially when you do not have the minor's consent. Most of the time in My Sister's Keeper, then never even gave her a choice. Taking away from one child just to give your other child is wrong. No child should be forced to give up a part of their body if they don't want to.
- The right of terminally-ill patients to elect to die - If a patient has a disease/illness that is uncurable and there is nothing they could left, I think they have a right to die if they want to. In My Sister's Keeper, the mom wanted Kate to keep on fighting, to keep on living when she couldn't anymore. She felt like it was her time to go. It's different if she had a chance of living. The doctor in My Sister's Keeper even said that she was very weak, and there was a high chance that she wouldn't even make the surgery to get a new kidneyv(even though she ended up surviving the surgery). If it gets to the point where there is nothing left for the doctors to do, I think the patient has the right to elect to die.
differences in the movie compared to the book
To be honest, this was one of the worst film adaptations I have seen. It was nothing like the book! Half of the scenes in the movie never happened in the book and most parts from the book were left out! Here are the major parts I found:
- They left out an important character in the movie... Julia! Julia was an old girlfriend of Campbell Alexander and isthe guardian ad item for Ana Fitzgerald's case. In the book, Julia helped me get a better understanding of the characters. She would interview them and it would help me understand them better and see them in another light. Without her in the movie, I feel as though I didn't connect to the characters as well because I felt like i didn't know them. When a movie has characters that are relatable and you feel like you know them, it usually does better.
- In the movie, Jesse Fitzgerald was a minor character! When in the book,he is one of the narrators. From the movie you don't really know what kind of kid Jesse is. He could be quiet, shy, or depressed, it's hard to tell. When you read the book, you find out that he uses drugs, drinks, and an arsonist. He was always overlooked by his parents because Kate's needs always came first, so he turned to drugs, drinking, and fire. In the movie there is a scene where he gives Kate a painting he made of her. I want to know where that came from! There is nothing in the book at all that even suggests he likes art. It is like they changed his whole character.
- The last main difference is also the biggest difference. Let me just say Kate doesn't die. Anna does! After Anna won her case and becomes medically emancipated from her parents, she gets in a car crash. In the same car is Campbell and Julia. They are hurt but they live. Anna on the other hand, gets blunt force trauma to the head and ends up going brain-dead. Campbell makes the decision to take her off like support and donating her organs, which means Kate gets her kidney and lives. In the movie Anna doesn't get into any accident, Kate doesn't get an organ, and dies in her mothers arms. It is the polar opposite from the book. Personally, I like the books ending better. It was totally unexpected and made me want to finish it even more! I feel like they should have kept more true to the book!
character analysis
- Anna Fitzgerald - Anna is the youngest Fitzgerald child and the protagonist of the novel. Anna is 13 years old and she is smart, funny, and observant. Anna was a designer baby made to save her sister Kate's life. Anna’s actions drive the plot, when he sues her parents for the right to her own body (which we find out later in the book that it was requested by her sister Kate) when her parents ask for her kidney to give to Kate.. While the rest of the family has often been left to sit by in Kate’s fight against cancer, Anna, because her genes match Kate’s, has been an active participant. Anna’s role in Kate’s survival has been a blessing and a curse for her, as it has made her Kate’s savior but has also made Anna unable to be her own person.
- Kate Fitzgerald - Kate is the middle Fitzgerald child and the focal point of many of the novel’s events. Kate’s cancer is the main part of the story, but she only narrates the prologue and epilogue. She has struggled with cancer nearly her entire life, and she appears to have come to terms with the fact that she might die.
- Jesse Fitzgerald - Jesse is the oldest of the Fitzgerald children and the most delinquent. Despite his tough exterior, Jesse is in reality a vulnerable and sensitive character. He uses his destructive behavior to mask a feeling of uselessness. Jesse cannot save Kate, and he has never been able to forgive himself for that. In addition, he has often felt ignored by his parents, who focus their attention almost exclusively on Kate, and he acts out in part to gain their attention.
- Sarah Fitzgerald - Sarah is the the mother of the Fitzgerald family. Sara is strong, stubborn, and intelligent, and her life centers on her efforts to keep Kate alive. She has extremely strong maternal instincts, but her single-minded focus on saving Kate sometimes exists at the expense of her marriage and her relationships with her two other children. Even so, she has a deep love for all her family, though she does not always know how to show that love.
- Brian Fitzgerald - Brian is the father of the Fitzgerald children and a firefighter. Brian can view the situation from his children’s perspectives, making him both more perceptive and understanding than Sara at times. Yet Brian also escapes into his work to avoid dealing with the hardships surrounding his family. He can be kinder than Sara, but by the end of the story Sara proves to be the emotionally stronger of the two.
- Campbell Alexander - Campbell is Anna’s lawyer and he is Initially arrogant and blunt, Campbell gradually becomes a character with many layers. In many ways, he mirrors Anna. Both have found it difficult to be who their parents want them to be, and both have secrets they are unwilling to share. Also like Anna, he has no control over his body. He suffers from epilepsy so he knows how it feels to have no control over your body, which is one of the main reasons Campbell takes on Anna's case. He ultimately experiences the most personal growth of any of the characters, and by the end of the story he has formed strong bonds with the people around him.
- Julia Romano - Julia was an old girlfriend of Campbell Alexander and isthe guardian ad item for Ana Fitzgerald's case. Throughout the book Julia and Campbell go from liking each other to hating each other. Julia never fully recovered from their breakup and tries to not fall for him again all the while being the guardian ad item for Anna's case.
plot summary
The story takes place in Rhode Island in 2004. Anna Fitzgerald's older sister suffers from leukemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer. Anna was born specifically so she could save her sister's life. There have have been times of success, but Kate eventually continues to relapses as she does throughout most of her life. Anna is usually ok with donating whatever Kate needs. but that all changes when anna turns 13 and Kate needs her kidney. The surgery required for both Kate and Anna would bea big deal. Also there is a chance that the surgery won't work because the stress of the operating may end up kiilling Kate nayway, and the loss of a kidney could have a serious impact on Anna's life. Anna petitions for medical emancipation (where she would make all her medical decisions and have the right to her own body) with the help of a lawyer named Campbell Alexander. That will make is so that she will be able to make her own decisions regarding her medical treatment and the donation of her kidney. Anna's mother, Sara, is an ex-lawyer and decides to represent herself and her husband in the lawsuit. Over the course of the novel, she tries on several occasions to make Anna drop the lawsuit. Anna refuses each time, so tension builds between her and her mother, resulting in her moving out of the house to live with her father Brian in the fire station where he works. This is done on the advice of Julia Romano, the court-appointed guardian ad litem whose job it is to decide what would be best for Anna. Julia was once Campbell's girldfriend when they were in highschool, but Campbell broke her heart.However, Julia doesn't know Campbell left her because he discovered he had epilepsy and thought she deserved better.
Meanwhile, Anna's brother Jesse, who has spent most of his life being ignored by his parents because of Kate, spends most of his time setting fire to abandoned buildings with home-made explosives and doing drugs (he is a juvenile delinquent). The one moment when his parents pay him any attention is when Brian discovers that it is Jesse who has been setting the fires. Brian forgives him, and by the end of the book, he has rebuilt himself and is enrolled in a police acadamy.
During the trial, it is revealed that Kate asked Anna to sue for emancipation because she did not want Anna give up her kidney, because she believes that she will die anyway. The judge rules in Anna's favor, and grants Campbell medical power of attorney . However, as Campbell drives her home after the trial, their car is hit by an oncoming truck. Brian, the on-call firefighter who arrives at the scene, retrieves an unconscious and injured Anna from the reck, and rushes her and Campbell to hospital. At the hospital, the doctor tells Sara and Brian that Anna is brain-dead, and that they can turn off the machines keeping her alive if they would like, and asks them if they have considered organ donation. Campbell steps in, and declares that he has the power of attorney, and that "there is a girl upstairs who needs that kidney". Kate is prepared for surgery, and Anna's kidney is successfully transplanted. Kate survives the surgery and remains in remission for at least six years (the book ends in 2010).
Kate believes that she survived because someone had to go, and Anna took her place. Six years later, she works as a dance instructor. She mentions that every time she sees two girls doing pliés at the bar she thinks of how she and Anna used to be.
Meanwhile, Anna's brother Jesse, who has spent most of his life being ignored by his parents because of Kate, spends most of his time setting fire to abandoned buildings with home-made explosives and doing drugs (he is a juvenile delinquent). The one moment when his parents pay him any attention is when Brian discovers that it is Jesse who has been setting the fires. Brian forgives him, and by the end of the book, he has rebuilt himself and is enrolled in a police acadamy.
During the trial, it is revealed that Kate asked Anna to sue for emancipation because she did not want Anna give up her kidney, because she believes that she will die anyway. The judge rules in Anna's favor, and grants Campbell medical power of attorney . However, as Campbell drives her home after the trial, their car is hit by an oncoming truck. Brian, the on-call firefighter who arrives at the scene, retrieves an unconscious and injured Anna from the reck, and rushes her and Campbell to hospital. At the hospital, the doctor tells Sara and Brian that Anna is brain-dead, and that they can turn off the machines keeping her alive if they would like, and asks them if they have considered organ donation. Campbell steps in, and declares that he has the power of attorney, and that "there is a girl upstairs who needs that kidney". Kate is prepared for surgery, and Anna's kidney is successfully transplanted. Kate survives the surgery and remains in remission for at least six years (the book ends in 2010).
Kate believes that she survived because someone had to go, and Anna took her place. Six years later, she works as a dance instructor. She mentions that every time she sees two girls doing pliés at the bar she thinks of how she and Anna used to be.