Reading Response # 1

Theme:

One theme of ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ is conflict. This is developed by Anna not wanting to continuously be living, just so that her sister Kate can live. She also does not want to be living in her sister’s shadow, by having to drop everything just because Kate has a relapse. Anna wants to be valued, for herself and not because she is a perfect match for her sister. Anna is required by her parents to go though all these procedures because she was engineered to be a perfect match for Kate. This leads her to seek out Campbell, a lawyer, to gain custody of her own body.

Character:

Anna: At the beginning, she is very quiet, and will do anything for her sister, Kate. Then as the story moves on, you start to see more of her personality, and see her speak up more about the procedures that she undergoes so that Kate can stay alive. One of the main changes that you see is that Anna goes to Cambell to sue her parents to the right to her body. You later learn that this is because Kate requested that Anna stop going though everything just to save her.

Kate: Throughout the story, you see her as being strong because of her leukaemia, but you also see when she is weaker, and just wants to end it. You also see her being dependent on others because of her illness.

Sara: You find her to be strong willed in her convictions, but she also puts her eldest and youngest children on the back burner in favour to Kate. Most of the time, she only pays attention to Anna, if she needs her to donate something to Kate.

Jessie: We see how he is neglected in favour of Kate, and we learn how this leads him to drugs, alcohol, and arson. At the end of the book we see how he turns his life around to become a 

Brian: You can see him try to be strong for his family, but he escapes it by going to the fire hall. He changes sides at the trial, from supporting Sara, to supporting Anna to back to supporting Sara. He does not know his own feelings on whether or not Anna should be forced to donate to Kate.

Cambell: When we first encounter him, we find that he is rough around the edges and seems to not like anyone. He seems to only want to help Anna win her case for the money. Later on, we see that he does have feelings and that he comes to care for Anna.

Julia: She starts off coming off as strong willed and brave, but later on you see her vulnerability, and sensitivity.

Mood/Atmosphere:

The mood of this novel is serious and thought provoking as it makes you ask those thought questions, whether it is ethical that Anna was created to save her sister, questions like that.

Conflict: 

The conflict of this novel is that Anna does not want to be a donor for Kate any longer; she wants the rights to her own body. Anna takes her parents to court and with the help of her lawyer Cambell and guardian ad litem, Julia; she wins the rights to her own body by becoming emancipated medically.

Settings:

The main settings of this book are the hospital, the Fitzgerald’s house, and the courtroom. The hospital is important for many reasons, such as that is where Kate spends most of her time, and that is also, where Anna dies. The Fitzgerald’s house is also very important as that is where they find evidence of Kate being sick and that is also, where Kate spends her time when she is not in the hospital. The last important setting is in the courtroom as that is where Anna gets emancipated medically from her parents and where a lot of truths come out, ones that were buried for along time.