1 March 2017
Individual Text Feature: My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
For my final project, I chose to
examine the novel My Sister’s Keeper,
by Jodi Picoult. A novel inspired by her own personal family hardships, the
story written from between the lines, as it was discovered that Picoult’s own
son had cholesteatoma, a benign tumor in his lift ear. If they had not gone
through with the multiple surgeries, the result would have led to her son’s
deafness. My Sister’s Keeper follows
13-year-old Anna Fitzgerald, who, quite frankly, was born for the sole purpose
to save her sister Kate’s life, who was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic
Leukemia (APL) at the age of two. Throughout the novel, we encounter a sense of
darkness, time and time again. The constant threat of death is at the
Fitzgerald’s doorstep. Anna comes to dislike undergoing these procedures every
time her sister isn’t feeling well, and feels herself lost, without a true
existence. Her every waking moment ties her back to Kate. Everything is
connected to Kate. The novel is written in various first-person accounts, while
occasionally jumping back and forth in time, which helps widen the scope of the
stories events.
We are first introduced to Anna, who
seems matter-of-fact while talking about the different circumstances that lead
to childbirth, and afterwards reveals, that she was born for a very specific
purpose. She describes the procedure her parents went through in order to have
her genes arranged in a certain combination that would make her compatible with
her sister, so that she would be able to save her sister. Anna talks a bit
about her family, and the various procedures she has to go through every time
Kate gets sick. Anna is tired of being constantly poked and prodded, and not
being able to live a normal life. She sometimes has thoughts of killing her
sister. At one point, Anna has had enough, and sets out to meet Campbell, an
attorney, to represent her in court for a medical emancipation, since her
mother, Sara, is planning on having Anna donate one of her kidneys to Kate. The
point of view changes to Campbell, who recounts his version of the meeting and
agrees to represent Anna, free of charge, as well as for publicity’s sake.
Not longer after, we encounter
Sara’s frustration and anger, when she is presented the paper for the lawsuit.
She simply cannot understand why or how Anna has come to such a decision. Moving
forward with the lawsuit, Anna is assigned a guardian ad litem, Julia, who
happens to be familiar with Campbell. It is evident that these two have known
each other for some time; they just have not seen each other in a very long
time.
As time goes by, Kate becomes
gravely ill and has to be hospitalized, after which the doctor says that she
does not have much time to live. It is during this time, that Sara decides to
represent herself and her husband, Brian. As a result, before the trial
pursues, Anna goes to stay with her father at the fire station to keep away
from her mother, just in case she ends up caving on her decision. In the mean
time, the novel reveals Campbell and Julia’s backstory through a series of
flashbacks, dating back to their high school romance. Campbell breaks things
off without explanation, leaving the audience curious. After the flashbacks, we
witness the two not getting along very well; however, after some time, the two
end up getting intimate with each other the night before the trial officially
begins.
Once the trial begins, arguments
ensue and witnesses are questioned. After some deliberation, Anna hesitantly
takes the stand. The shocking truth is revealed. It was Kate who had told Anna
to get the medical emancipation, with which Anna agreed, because frankly, she
can stand going through so much pain when the procedures end up fruitless. As
she admits these details, Campbell un-expectantly collapses due to an epileptic
seizure. After recovering, we find out that this is the reason why Campbell
left Julia those many years ago. Hearing this, Julia accepts Campbell the way
his is, and they reconcile.
Returning to the matter at hand,
Anna explains the reason why Kate asked her not to give Kate her kidney, and it
is because Kate is tired of always being sick. Then, Anna expresses her own
feelings about the situation, and is granted, by the judge, medical
emancipation. Campbell is given medical power of attorney over Anna, and the
case is closed.
The turning point of the novel is
revealed in the end. As Campbell and Anna drive to the hospital to visit Kate,
they get into a really bad accident. Once at the hospital, the doctor tells the
Fitzgerald’s that Anna was left with irreversible brain damage. Being her
medical power of attorney, Campbell relents to the procedure, and Anna and Kate
go under surgery for the kidney transplant. In the epilogue, it is Kate who
narrates the remainder of the story. Anna has died, and their family is still
grieving. Kate blames herself for her family’s grief and Anna’s death; however,
she tries to be hopeful, knowing that her sister will always be with her.
The abrupt change from the expected ending is reminiscent of death itself. Death comes when you least expect it. My Sister’s Keeper discusses the imminence of death and the resulting family struggles. What is the right thing to do in these situations? For the purpose of this final project, I want to examine how My Sister’s Keeper demonstrates the power/knowledge dynamic concerning death and the adolescent. In Chapter Five of Roberta Seelinger Trites', Disturbing the Universe, Trites comments on death’s occurrence onstage, stating that “[t]his confrontation with death seems essential for adolescents to gain knowledge of death’s power and of their own powerlessness over it” (120). Trites goes on to conclude at the end of the chapter, that death “is the ultimate and inviolable authority in adolescent literature” (140). The aspects of the relationship between death and the adolescent are quite intriguing; for this reason, I want to closely examine these instances found within the novel.
The abrupt change from the expected ending is reminiscent of death itself. Death comes when you least expect it. My Sister’s Keeper discusses the imminence of death and the resulting family struggles. What is the right thing to do in these situations? For the purpose of this final project, I want to examine how My Sister’s Keeper demonstrates the power/knowledge dynamic concerning death and the adolescent. In Chapter Five of Roberta Seelinger Trites', Disturbing the Universe, Trites comments on death’s occurrence onstage, stating that “[t]his confrontation with death seems essential for adolescents to gain knowledge of death’s power and of their own powerlessness over it” (120). Trites goes on to conclude at the end of the chapter, that death “is the ultimate and inviolable authority in adolescent literature” (140). The aspects of the relationship between death and the adolescent are quite intriguing; for this reason, I want to closely examine these instances found within the novel.
Hi Liz,
ReplyDeleteThis book certainly has a lot to work with when it comes to adolescent power, but I think that adolescent knowledge of death might be too broad. You will want to take a more specific angle because the issues of life and death are complicated in this example. Deanna Scherger has an article called "Technodrama of the Designer Baby in My Sister's Keeper and Pride." Central to these big decisions about death between these two sisters is the issue that one sister was not granted a natural birth and life. She was designed specifically for this purpose, so her autonomy as an adolescent and her connection to life and death are complicated by that. You may also want to look at disability studies as a possible lens as there seems to be some assumptions about quality of life for the sick and disabled in the novel. I This novel also taps into that question we discussed in class about legal autonomy. That question of when an adolescent becomes autonomous is wrapped up not only in knowledge but also in their legal rights, and the central drama of this novel stems from the fact that Anna's rights belong to her parents unless she sues, even when her lack of rights could lead to her death. I think that makes a pretty powerful statement about the power of adolescence if your parents can design you and then command you to undergo life threatening surgeries. I would also question the ending. What does the ending say about Anna's power as an individual, as an adolescent, as an autonomous identity, that she dies and still fulfills the purpose her parents selected for her? You may also want to look at Ginia Bellafante's "Jodi Piccoult and the Anxious Parent." It seems to me that the most interesting statement this novel is making is about parental authority vs adolescent authority, and death is just one of the battles between these two forces.
Hi Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteI chose a similar topic for my analysis, as I am examining death as a lens to view the tragedy of the Holocaust, especially for adolescents. Kristen mentioned above that this is a wide theme for your novel, so perhaps a solution would be to focus in on how Anna views death through the focus of her sister's illness. How does it compromise her living style, and why is this significant in the context of adolescent literature? One source that I found particularly helpful in formulating my argument that may be helpful for yours is the chapter of Disturbing the Universe that discuss death in adolescent literature (Chapter 5). There is a particular quote: "...children's literature is very much defined by children learning to separate from their parents" (Trites 118), that came to mind when reading about your argument. It appears that Anna's voice is important in the story, and her voice about death could be helpful in your paper.
I personally have never read this novel, but from your description it seems like a goldmine of information and ethical issues that stand to be introduced further to the world of YA literature. Honestly, I would love to see an exploration of these ethical issues as opposed to the concept of death in the novel. As Professor Gregory said, "one of the most interesting statements this novel is making is about parental authority vs adolescent authority." This is only the tip of the iceberg, as it were, but I feel like this novel offers a large number of ethical issues to explore, wether it be the one the Professor mentioned or another. I have attached a link below that leads to a 2014 Honors Thesis concerning ethical issues in this novel by Sarah Bianchi and Kelsey Schroskey. This might be a good place to start looking for ideas. Good luck!!
ReplyDeletehttp://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1337&context=honorsprojects