{Post B Week 7}

Dear Brian,

I am so glad that you have finally taken a moment to recognize Anna. She really truly needs someone to be able to look at her and not think about her sister's well being and source of life. For the entire book I have been wondering when you will take notice on her, the daughter who is just forgotten because the other is so sick. You did take small notice of her when she stopped wearing the locket that you gave her, but that was just a little glimpse of the attention Anna truly needs.
Moving Anna to the fire department house was probably the best decision that you have made for your family in a long while. Sara was far too much of a poor influence on Anna , because at the end of the day when its just a young child, she will always listen to her mother because of how much she admires her. With Sara being the opposing counsel in the case, it would be too tempting for her to try and coerce Anna into believing that her case is completely unnecessary. I think that Anna really likes the attention that she can get from you while staying at the firehouse, not to mention the other firefighters who care for her like their own.

Best of luck,

-C

{Post A Week 7}

VOCABULARY

anathema (227): a person or thing detested or loathed

glib (206): readily fluent, often thoughtlessly, superficially, or insincerely

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:

"In my mind, i can still see those lights--red and blue and yellow, blinking over and over on a tree as overdressed as an Eskimo in Bali."(192)

This is figurative language because a tree is being compared to an Eskimo through a simile (comparing two unlikely things using the word like or as). I liked this one because it is just kind of funny and odd to think about an Eskimo in Bali!!

"My parents and I are sitting together at a table in the hospital cafeteria, although I use the word together loosely. It's more like we're astronauts, each wearing a separate helmet, each sustained by our own private source of air." (179)

This is not only good figurative language, but it is also very significant as to the relationship that Anna has with her parents, especially while Kate is in the hospital, and Anna is in the middle of the lawsuit in suing her parents.

"I swirled my pinky in my martini. It was an optical illusion, making the finger look split and crooked." (157)

This is great imagery on Jodi Picoult's behalf. She makes it exceptionally easy to imagine Sara sitting in a hotel, trying to unwind.

SIGNIFICANT QUOTE:
"Neither do you," Zanne says. "You're not living, Sara. You're waiting for Kate to die." (175)

Zanne is always there, saving the day. Zanne offers Sara and Brian the money to get Kate more treatments when their insurance refuses to help cover the extreme costs. Zanne is also the voice of reason, who helps Sara come closer to term with what is going on with her family. Sara is constantly wondering if Kate will live long enough to go on her first date, prom, graduate from high school, etc. Zanne makes a good point by saying that Sara often behaves like once Kate dies, life can move on.

PROBABLE THEME:
The theme is family-centered and about the obligations--there or not.

{Post B Week 6}

As I read further and further into My Sister’s Keeper, I feel like I’m really starting to understand better how the family functions. The whole dynamic of the Fitzgerald family really intrigues me. There is the mother, Sara who gave up her high-powered career as a lawyer in order to raise her family. Sara’s idea of an ideal family was just two kids, with a small possibility to expand on the brood. There are some moments where it is clear that Sara misses they way things were when she had a normal 9-5 job, unlike the 24/7 one that parenting requires. Her husband Brian wanted to be a firefighter to save lives and when he is telling this to the reader, it seems like it is his journal and life story. The thing that he says he ‘forgot’ when he dreamed up his firefighting career was who specifically he wanted to save. Brian was perfectly happy with two children and seemed reluctant to add a member to their family. This is ironic, because that third child that he did not really know that he wanted is the one that only he really pays attention to or notices if something is wrong. I just found out that Jesse, the oldest son is an actual pyromaniac. He lights vacant buildings on fire, and enjoys watching them burn to the ground while the sounds of the fire truck’s sirens ring in the background. Jesse is also into drugs and alcohol, which is perhaps his way to escape the reality of his hurting family. What is weird is that even though this whole book is about Anna and her sister that she is electively no longer wanting to keep alive, little is known about Kate aside from her potentially fatal medical condition. With the Fitzgerald family, there is an elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge but that they all know is there. The leukemia is tearing the family apart, putting each on a different path for the rest of their lives.

{Post A Week 6}

VOCABULARY

brandish(142): wave or flourish something as a threat in anger or excitement
rhododendrons(135):an ornamental shrub

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:

"She is small, with wild hair that makes me think of a forest fire."(143)
I know that this is figurative language because Brian is comparing Julia's hair to a forest fire--a simile because of the employment of "like" or "as" to compare.

"He swaggered over to my mother, and kissed her so long and slow that my own cheeks started to burn, because I was sure the neighbors would see." (137)
This is a great romantic description <3. I can envision it perfectly. This is a very effective use of figurative language--imagery.

"...and we all watch the cord of blood slowly slide through the tubing, a Crazy Straw of possibility." (106)
This is very cool figurative language because of the use of a metaphor (comparing 2 things without using like or as). I used to drink out of Crazy Straws as a child, so this is easily envisioned.

SIGNIFICANT QUOTE:

"The safety of the rescuer is of a higher priority than the safety of the victim. Always." (142)
I don't think that Brian implied this literally. Anna is much like the rescuer, and Kate is the victim. Brian is talking about firefighters in the quote, however I wonder if he thought at the time just how much this relates to his home life and the lawsuit between his minor of a daughter and his family.

PROBABLE THEME:

Whose safety/life is more important: that of the rescuer or that of the victim?

{Post B Week 5}

UNDERSTANDING THE CHARACTERS:

ANNA: Anna is the youngest daughter of Brian and Sara. She was conceived as a perfect genetic match for her older sister, Kate, who suffers from leukemia. Anna has always been a good sister, and has allowed her body to be subjected to procedures each time that Kate needs to go in for any sort of treatment. She is very mature, cool, calm and collected for her age, but at the same time, she has to be to deal with this kind of a situation on a daily basis. I think shes about in 8/7th grade.

KATE:Kate is the oldest daughter of Brian and Sara but not the oldest child. She has battled with leukemia since she was a toddler, and in order to save her life, she needs the assistance of her sister Anna's body. Without Anna, Kate would never have survived. Kate also has a good head on her shoulders, considering that she did not freak out upon hearing the news of her sister's decision to desire medical emancipation.

JESSE: Jesse is the oldest Fitzgerald. He was completely dragged through all of the early stages of Kate's treatments. He is 17, and loves his independence. He no longer really has to be involved with the family and all their medical dramas. Jesse lives above the garage, and the only thing that he has to commit to in the family is coming to dinner. He is an inspiration to Anna, as she seeks freedom from the family's burden.

SARA: Sara gave up her high powered career to be a mom. She has had the most pressure from day one of the diagnosis to keep everything together. Upon hearing her daughter that keeps the other alive is seeking medical emancipation she shows her side that lacks composure and rationality.

BRIAN:Brian, as I just found out, is a former lawyer who changed career paths to become a firefighter. Brian is the only one who really notices Anna (if anyone does at all to begin with!)Once Sara loses her strength and composure, Brian always has the voice of reason and consistency to make sure that the family doesn't crumble.

CAMPBELL ALEXANDER:Anna's attorney, who at first doubt's the potential this case holds, but soon gets over it and is Anna's support and advocate.

JUDGE: Judge is Campbell Alexander's service dog to predict any medical emergency that Campbell might have before they happen and are fatal. It is very comical when people automatically think that Campbell is blind. Many jokes come about, like "I'm not blind, he is a service dog, and I have SARS. Judge counts the number of people I infect".

{Post A Week 5}

VOCABULARY
Cog (82): a wheel or bar with a series of projections on its edge that transfers motion by engaging with projections on another wheel or bar.
Bailiff (81): a person who performs certain actions under legal authority

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
“She holds her hand up like a privacy partition in a cab.” (90)
This is an example of figurative language because it is a simile, comparing two things through the use of “like”. Sara’s hand is not a partition in a cab, but she makes it seem so to silence the firecracker conversations between the front and back seats.

“…where Kerri, naturally, is hanging on our words like a cat on a rope.”(79)
This is an example of figurative language because it is a simile, comparing two things through the use of “like”. Kerri is not actually hanging on the words, because unless they are block letters or something, they are not tangible.

“He walks out of the room, his flip-flops making small sucking slaps on the tile floor.” (89)
I personally love this sentence for the use of figurative language. The sound of the flip-flops is described as “sucking slaps” which is exactly onomatopoeia. The idea of flip-flops making such a noise on such a formidable man makes him an easier character to connect to.

SIGNIFICANT QUOTE
“I expect this tirade to put an end to the litigation, to reduce Anna to a wavering puddle of indecision. But to my surprise, she looks right at me, cool and collected. “Are you still willing to represent me?” she asks.
Against my better judgment, I say yes.
“Then no,” she says, “I haven’t changed my mind.”(79)
This is by far the most significant quote that I have come across in the book. There is a run-in between the parents and the attorney, and only one of them (attorney) knows the truth about how Anna feels about suing her parent’s for medical emancipation. I nearly questioned whether or not Anna would continue with the trial against suing her parents (while keeping in mind that I was only on page 79 and there was a good chunk of literature ahead of me!). I also think that she is handling this situation so maturely!

PROBABLE THEME:
It reminds me a lot of in All My Sons; if one has a greater obligation to themselves or their family.

{Post B Week 4}

Dear Sara,
I strongly admire your courage through your daughter’s illness. It must be so difficult to watch her struggle. Since the start of chemo, you and Brian discussed how not just Kate is going to survive this—but the whole family. The toll that this disease has taken on Jesse isn’t surprising; with runs to the emergency room at all possible hours of the day or night and sleeping in a nest mad with multiple coats sufficing for a bed. Keeping your family together should become the greatest of priorities, because once Kate gets better, it will be too difficult to fix what has already been broken and left alone. While staying with Kate at the hospital, you suggested to Brian about having another baby. He got upset about wanting to replace Kate so soon when she hasn’t even died yet (who knows if she even will?). You had other motives. If you could produce a perfect genetic match to be Kate’s donor, then she would have a greater chance of survival. Not only would you have another child, but you would also be saving the life of the other one. I think that this would be very difficult for Brian to swallow. You were certainly not planning on adding on to your family. Not only that, but a pregnancy might add some difficulties to everyday life. How would you get by not being able to lift things, and what if your pregnancy brought complications? Because your discussion with Brian was being told as a memory, and we already know what happened (followed through with pregnancy and had Anna), I know that you went through with the pregnancy. I look forward to reading about how you dealt with a deathly ill child, pregnancy, and other things that you had to do to take care of for Jesse.
-C

{Post A Week 4}

Secretion (69): a substance discharged
Misbegotten (66): badly conceived or designed

“Kate’s ribs seem as thin as matchsticks, and there is a large gray blot just off center.” (69)
This is an example of figurative language because of the use of “as” to compare what Kate’s ribs look like to matchsticks. This is when Kate is laying in the hospital bed, and her mom is looking at her and the toll chemotherapy has taken on her small body.
“It comes out in a thick clump, drifts down to the carpet like a small blizzard.” (67)
Once Kate goes home after her first infusion of chemotherapy, she comes back into her parents’ bedroom, worried. When her parents, they inquire as to what is troubling their daughter. Kate shows them how her hair is falling out, and Sara describes back to the reader what it was like using a simile.
“With grim resolve I make a ballet out of rinsing the emesis basin and bringing it back. If you focus on sandbagging the beachhead, you can ignore the tsunami that’s approaching.” (65)
I chose this not only because it’s an example of figurative language (metaphor: comparing two things without using like or as), but also a very true statement. I like how she compares focusing on small aspects of being her daughter’s caretaker instead of her illness like focusing on sandbagging for a tsunami.
“After Zanne takes Jesse home for the night, Brian and I become bookends in the dark, bracketing Kate. “Brian,” I whisper. “I’ve been thinking.”
He shifts in his seat. “What about?”
I lean forward, so that I can catch his eye. “Having a baby.”
Brian’s eyes narrow. “Jesus, Sara.” He gets to his feet, turns his back to me. “Jesus.”
I stand up, too. “It’s not what you think.”
When he faces me, pain draws every line of his features tight. “We can’t just replace Kate if she dies,” he says.
In the hospital bed, Kate shifts, rustling the sheets. I force myself to imagine her at age four, wearing a Halloween costume, age twelve, trying out lip gloss; age twenty, dancing around a dorm room. “I know. So we have to make sure that he doesn’t.”.” (72)
This quote is significant because this is how Sara introduced the concept of adding a family member just to keep the original siblings alive. It is the whole foundation of the story, and relates to when Anna said that if you were born for a purpose, you must make sure that purpose remains, because when the purpose is gone, so is yours.

PROBABLE THEME:

I think that the theme comes down to how much of an obligation one has to their family, and where it begins and where it ends.