My+Sister's+Keeper

=**Title of the Work:**= //My Sisters Keeper//

=Author:= Jodi Picoult

=Nationality/Ethnic Background:= American Author

=Pertinent Biographical Information= Jodi Picoult lives with her husband Timothy Warren Van Leer and three children Sammy, Kyle, and Jake, and a handful of pets in Hanover, New Hampshire. She studied writing at Princeton University and graduated in 1987. She then went to Harvard University to get her masters in education. Picoult had a love for writing that started at an early age, at the age of 5 she wrote her first story "The Lobster Which Misunderstood". She then took her writing a step farther and published two stories in Seventeen Magazine while attending Princeton. Picoult then furthered her career by writing and publishing her first novel, //Songs of The Humpback Whale// while pregnant with her first child.

=Literary Historical Period/Movement and Pertinent Background= The novel opens up telling the story of Adam Nash who is the first "designer baby to be born on August 29,2000. This theme of designer babies remains dominant throughout much of the novel because it is based on the sole story of Anna who was only born to support her sister Kate. This genetically modified baby becomes a major historical controversy in the novel when Anna request the be emancipated from her parents. The trial becomes a very dominant part of the novel and ensures that the historical period is the twenty first century.

=Genre and Sub-genres:= Commercial Fiction; Women’s Fiction; Tragedy

=Major Characters, Their Relationships, Their Conflicts= 1. **Anna Fitzgerald**- She is a thirteen-year-old girl who is the youngest in the Fitzgerald family. Anna is the main character in the novel, she is bright, funny, and observant. Her actions are what drive the plot, making the book the way it is. Anna is an active part in Kate's fight against cancer. She was specifically made as a donor for Kate. Anna feels as if her body is not hers, it is only for Kate. Even though she loves her sister dearly, she feels like she is trapped as a person who is picked and poked at for Kate. In order for Kate to survive, Anna's role is a blessing and a curse for her, as it has made her Kate's savior but also made Anna unable to be her own person.

2. **Campbell Alexander**- Campbell is the attorney of Anna Fitzgerald. His case with Anna allows him to grow into a more caring and open person, rather than the protective and closed off man he was in the opening. Campbell suffers from seizures and has a service dog named Judge. Campbell feels a special connection with Anna because in a sense they both have no control over their bodies, thus creating the special relationship they build over the course of the novel. Campbell also has a relationship with the character of Julia. The two reconnect after a long time apart when he begins working on Anna's case.

3. **Kate Fitzgerald**- Kate is the middle child in the Fitzgerald family. Her story and fight for cancer is the center and focus point of the novel. She has fought cancer her entire life and this is what defines her character. Kate does not narrate much of the novel, only the prologue and epilogue. The reader gets the idea that Kate has come to terms with the idea of death.

4. **Sara Fitzgerald-** First and foremost, Sara is the mother of Anna and Kate Fitzgerald. Sara faces many problems with her three children, but is always motivated by the need to keep her daughter Kate alive. She faces problems in her delinquent son Jesse, and Anna's fight to become independent. Sara gets so caught up in her fight to keep her daughter Kate alive that she forgets to consider how Jesse and Kate are really feeling. All of Sara's relationships revolve around Kate. Throughout the book one can notice that even when she is speaking to her husband and sister, all she can seem to talk about is Kate. Sara only speaks to Kate about how she is feeling physically rather than mentally and emotionally. So when Kate takes the stand at Anna's trial and reveals that she no longer wishes to live, Sara is astounded because she has never spoken with Kate about these feelings before.

5. **Jesse Fitzgerald**- Jesse is the delinquent son of Sara and Brian Fitzgerald. Jesse is a character with a tough exterior, but sensitive on the inside. Jesse feels responsible as the oldest child. He knows that he can not save Kate and has never been able to forgive himself for that. Kate takes most of the attention in the family, which is why Jesse acts out. He feels ignored by his parents and acts out as a cry of attention.

=Brief Plot Summary= The book //My Sister's Keeper// alternates between first person between the many main characters. Sara Fitzgerald, a former attorney and current stay-at-home mom, narrates the remainder of the story from different points in the past but moving gradually toward the present. In 1990, doctors diagnose Kate, Sara's two year old daughter with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. Kate starts chemotherapy, and her oncologist, Dr. Chance, suggests she will eventually need a bone marrow transplant, preferably from a related donor. The parents, Sara and Brian test their four year old son, to see if he is a match for Kate, but he isn't. Dr. Chance informs the Fitzgeralds that an unborn sibling could possibly be a match for Kate. Sara suggests to Brian that they should have another baby. Sara describes how scientists help them conceive another daughter, Anna, who is a perfect genetic match for Kate. Over the course of the next few years, Anna undergoes several procedures, including frequent blood withdrawals and a painful bone marrow extraction, to help keep Kate alive. Sara focuses mainly on Kate and her suffering. Chemotherapy and radiation make her violently ill. Sara and Brian’s marriage suffers to the point where both Jesse and Anna act out at Sara because of her focus only on Kate. Thirteen year old Anna goes to see a lawyer named Campbell Alexander and asks him to represent her. Anna wants to sue her parents for medical emancipation. The thirteen year old has a desire to file a lawsuit so that she will not have to donate a kidney to Kate. Campbell agrees to represent Anna for free. Their family becomes torn apart when they get the papers for the lawsuit, Sara is furious with Anna as she cannot understand Anna's decision. The father, Brian understands Anna's urge to free herself from Kate. Julia Romano,Anna’s guardian ad litem, goes to see Campbell, it becomes clear they have a romantic past and have not seen each other in many years. Throughout all of these events, Jesse has been setting different abandoned buildings on fire. Jesse acts like a delinquent in other ways as well, such as drinking alcohol excessively, but much of this behavior stems from anger over his inability to save Kate and his feelings of being ignored by his parents. Kate becomes seriously ill and must be hospitalized. Dr. Chance says she will die within a week. Anna refuses to change her mind about the lawsuit, however. At the hearing, Sara decides she will represent herself and Brian. In the end, Brian takes Anna to stay with him at the fire station to give Anna some distance from her mother. He believes if they remain in the same house together, Anna may unwillingly cave to her mother’s wish that she donate her kidney. At the trial, Anna takes the stand and admits that she filed the lawsuit because Kate told her to. At the very moment she makes this announcement, Campbell has an epileptic seizure and collapses. He explains that the seizures are the reason he has a service dog, which can tell when another seizure is coming on. Back on the stand, Anna explains that Kate asked Anna not to donate her kidney because she was tired of being sick and wanted to die. Anna also admits that while she loves her sister, part of her wanted Kate to die, too, so that she could have more freedom with her life. Judge DeSalvo decides to grant Anna medical emancipation and gives Campbell medical power of attorney over her.On the way to the hospital, Campbell and Anna get into a serious car accident. At the hospital, the doctors tell the family that Anna has irreversible brain damage. Campbell tells the doctors to give Anna’s kidney to Kate. Kate narrates the epilogue, set in 2010. She discusses the grief her family went through after Anna’s death, and the fact that she blames herself. She knows, however, that she will always carry Anna with her.

=Motifs (Recurring Images, Ideas, Figures of Speech, Symbols, Colors) & Their Thematic Significance= Brian Fitzgerald's love of astronomy- Brian uses the stars and the sky as a chance to get away from the stresses of his life at home and at work. Brian also uses the stars as a chance to bond with Anna and a conversation topic. When Anna comes to visit Brian at the firehouse, she goes up to the roof to look at the stars with him. One time when they are star gazing, Brian takes the chance to tell Anna the story about Orpheus. Orpheus loves Eurydice so much that he would not let death take her away. The story sparks a thought of Kate in both of their minds, but the two never really talk about Anna's trial.

Campbell's lies about his dog- In the beginning of the novel, Campbell says that his dog, Judge, is because he has an iron lung or he is color blind. He never says what his dog is really for until he has an epilepsy outside the courtroom. His lies serve as diversions and also point out the lies and secrets of the other characters. When he reveals the truth, his confession counts among the examples of other characters revealing the reasons for their secrets.

**Other Significant Thematic Elements (Significant Character's Names, Significant Quotations, Significant Actions/Events)** 1. “Although I am nine months pregnant, although I have had plenty of time to dream, I have not really considered the specifics of this child. I have thought of this daughter only in terms of what she will be able to do for the daughter I already have…Then again, my dreams for her are no less exalted; I plan for her to save her sister’s life.”- This quote best reveals the character of Sara Fitzgerald. In this quote, she is talking about her daughter Anna. However, when pregnant with Anna she can only talk about how she will benefit Kate rather than seeing this child as its own individual person.

2. " The answer is that there is no good answer. So as parents, as doctors, as judges, and as a society, we fumble through and make decisions that allow us to sleep at night—because morals are more important than ethics, and love is more important than law." This quote is significant because it relates to the major theme that there is no clear distinction between the line of right and wrong.

=Major Themes= 1.The Line Between Right and Wrong  Anna has a desire to put her own interests first as well as Kate's interests. The trial centers this resolving conflict. There is no easy distinction between which is right and which is wrong. For one, Anna has not legal obligation to donate her kidney, this would require surgery and carries a risk of health problems. On the other hand, Anna's kidney, which Anna can live without, Kate will die because of her kidney failure. Many characters in the book struggle to determine which is the right option. Throughout the novel, several characters argue their view points on this issue, but no one can settle with a solution that ends the madness. Sara and Brian become strangers to one another because Sara backs up Kate all the way and cannot see how the surgery will effect Anna, Brian on the other hand, leans towards Anna because her whole life has been based on helping Kate stay alive. Anna happens to be Brian's favorite because she was the one who mainly resembles him. On the day of the trial, Anna reveals Kate's wish to die, making it clear the even Kate does not want Anna to go through the pain. When the Judge hears of this, DeSalvo issues the ruling that Anna is medically emancipated from her parents.

2. The Contrast Between Appearance and Reality  This book encounters the theme of the contrast between appearance and reality because everyone puts on a facade around each other. Several characters in the novel keep secrets from each other. Anna disguises her real motivation for her filing her lawsuit, and Jessie keeps his acts of crime secret. Even thought these characters are keeping a deep dark secret from each other, they all have some motive for somebody else. For example, Anna doesn't want to reveal Kate's wish to die, and Jessie doesn't want to be found out by he police of his acts. Throughout this whole book, every character seems keep something from the everyone. Anna's mother, Sara thinks of Anna's wish to be medically emancipation a very selfish decision and does not understand why Anna would do something like this. In each instance, the character prevents other people from knowing the real motivation for her/his actions, creating a discrepancy between what people think the motivation actually is. Campbell Alexander, the man who is representing Anna has a medical dog, but he never reveals his secret. Campbell and Julia had a high school romance but ended it quickly without her full knowledge of his decision. After he had a seizure in front of the judge, and everybody else, he finally told the truth. He broke up with Julia because he didn't want her to see him as weak. The characters in the novel create a contrast between their appearances and their true feelings and actions.

3. The Bonds of Sisterhood Family bonds take a major role in this novel, especially the relationships between sisters. This is revealed within the characters of Anna and Kate, Sara and Zanne, and Julis and Izzy. In each of this relationships, the sisters share an intense bond, that even the readers don't understand. These sisterly bonds are what any relationship between sisters would be like, they support each other, Zanne takes care of Anna and Jesse when Kate is very sick and when Julia allows Izzy to move in with her. The relationship between Anna and Kate is more intense and more fragile than the other sisterly bonds revealed in the book. Anna was born for only one reason, to help Kate. She had to be extra careful not to do anything bad or dangerous because her role is Kate's donor. They are not just normal sisters who talk about boys and argue, she serves as so much more to Kate. Both sisters know this and they show this gratitude towards each other. Anna's blood literally flows through Kate's veins, which is not a usual thing someone would hear about sisters. Even though she sometimes feels hatred towards her sister, she feels so strongly connected to Kate. She uses a metaphor symbolizing their relationship as Siamese twins; they are interconnected, not just sisters.