Samantha Plett
3043524
Mike Link
March 20, 2014
My
Sisters Keeper: A Intense Read
“My Sister’s
Keeper” by Jodi Picoult is a fictional story about the Fitzgerald family and
its struggle for survival presented in a novel format. The story is told from multiple points of
view and provides many perspectives of the various conflicts the characters face.
Kate is the middle child of the aforementioned family and she had leukemia. Her
decease is the central conflict of the story and is the catalyst for most of
the problems the characters face, either directly or indirectly. Leukemia is a
cancer of the blood or bone marrow that is often treated through chemotherapy
and various transplants. Although Kate’s
exceptionality is what drives the plot of this novel, her point of view is only
known at the beginning and end of the book because all of the remaining
chapters are written in the first person of other characters.
The
story begins with a chapter narrated by the character Anna Kate’s younger sister.
Anna is the main protagonist in the story and it is through her actions that
the main conflict of the plot surrounds. Anna’s parents chose to have her after
Kate was diagnosed with leukemia. Anna is, what some people would call, a “test
tube baby” because she was specifically selected due to her genetic makeup being
a direct match to Kate’s. Anna was created to provide Kate with umbilical cord
blood for a transplant to help treat the leukemia. From Anna’s perspective, she
only exists a living organ donor to provide Kate with whatever she needs. Anna
decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation because she feels she does
not have control over her own body. She hires a lawyer, Campbell Alexander, and
her mother is served with the court documents shortly after.
Campbell
Alexander is another perspective the author uses to express the narrative. His
character acts as an observer of the Fitzgerald family’s conflict. However, Campbell
also had his own story. He tried to keep people away with his sarcasm and
negativity. He also had a service dog named judge but he doesn’t tell anybody
what the service dog is for. In fact when asked directly about it, he provided
a sarcastic response or a joke. Anna is assigned a guardian by the court for
the duration of the trial. Campbell’s high school sweetheart Julia was assigned
to her case. Campbell ended his relationship with Julia because he found out he
had epilepsy, and he did not want to tell anyone, a fact that is not revealed
until the end of the novel.
Sara Fitzgerald
is the matriarch of the family. Her point of view starts with the day that the
family discovered that Kate had leukemia. Sara character decided to do whatever
it took to prevent Kate from dying the night after finding out. Sara’s only concern,
from that day on, is the physical well being of Kate. Before becoming a mother,
she used to be a lawyer and she decided to represent herself and her husband,
Brian, in the trial.
Brian Fitzgerald
is a firefighter and spends a lot of time at work. Brian seems to be
legitimately concerned about the entire family but does not have a lot of power
within the home. He senses that something seems wrong with Anna before the
family finds out about her lawsuit.
Jesse Fitzgerald
is Kate’s older brother and is the eldest child. Jesse “acts out” by drinking
alcohol and starting fires in order to attract his parent’s attention. He often
blames himself for being unable to help Kate and even offers her a kidney when
she needs one. Unfortunately, Kate needs a kidney that is a complete match and
Anna is the only one who can help.
The majority of
the book focuses on a week and a half during the trial with Sara’s narrative interspersed
throughout that describes the previous experiences the family had with Kate’s
illness. During the trial Kate becomes extremely ill. Her doctors estimate she
will pass away within a week if she does not get a kidney. At the trial, many
witnesses are questioned about Kate’s medical history and Anna is called to the
stand to be questioned as well. Anna explains the reason she filed the lawsuit
was not for control over her own body, but to fulfill Kate’s wish to die. At
the exact moment she makes this claim, Campbell has a seizure and the rest of
the characters learn for the first time that he has epilepsy. After the seizure,
Campbell and his Julia reconcile and Anna resumes her testimony. She explains
that Kate wants to die because she is tired of being sick. Anna also explains
how she doesn’t want the burden of being responsible for her sister’s life.
After the trial,
Anna is in a car accident. The emergency doctor tells her family that she has
brain damage and he asks if they have considered organ donation. The family
decided to give Anna’s kidney to Kate, and she survives. Kate narrates the
Epilogue of the book. She explains the hardship the Fitzgerald family faced after
Anna’s death and then their transition into a more “normal” existence.
I was curious
how accurate the medical information about leukemia was throughout the novel,
so I asked my father in law, Dr. Gordon Dyck. He had read the book and
confirmed author researched the disease carefully and that the medical
terminology was accurate.
One theme of the
book is a lack of control of outcomes in life. The fact that Kate’s point of
view was only used for the prologue and the epilogue furthers the theme that
she did not have any control over her disease or her life. Her parents made all
of the important decisions in her life. She did not get to choose whether to
fight leukemia or whether to let it take her life. Of all the characters in
this story, Kate was the least able to act on her own free will.
The
novel contained many extremely challenging conflicts and experiences. The
emotions described for each character are overwhelming and I felt the author
relied on shock value to draw her readers in. The degree that Sara Fitzgerald
went to to save her daughter from leukemia was extreme and even unrealistic.
The fact that Anna’s conception and all the cancer treatments for Kate would
have been expensive and I was unsure how the family could have afforded it. I
could not imagine how a single income family could have afforded this and it
made the story unrealistic.
Despite
some unrealistic aspects of the story, there were certain themes presented in
this novel that many people could relate to. The foremost theme that I believe
the author was trying to communicate was about relationships, especially between
two sisters. There were many interactions between different sets of sisters
throughout the book. Campbell’s love
interest, Julia, lived with her twin sister Izzy. This relationship is defined
by Izzy’s protective nature of Julia, which exhibits itself when Campbell tries
to reconnect with Julia. Sara Fitzgerald also interacts with her own sister
Zanne often. Zanne is very different than Sara and is almost a complete
opposite. Zanne chose a career over having a family and did not have any
children of her own. She is close to Sara and supports her by taking care of
Anna and Jesse while the Fitzgerald parents take Kate to the hospital. The
final sister relationship is the most important and at the centre of the novel.
Kate and Anna show the relationship sisters have while growing up together.
They often get annoyed with each other often but they also express their need
for each other. Anna and Kate both state that they cannot imagine life without the
other. They share a close physical connection because of all transplants that
Anna has provided to Kate due to their close genetic match.
I relate to this
theme strongly because I have two sisters of my own that I am very close to. My
sisters and I understand each other in ways that no one else can. We love each
other deeply but we also have moments of anger and irritation. I would do
anything in my power to support and help my sisters. I will always cherish the
shared experiences we have had together.
This book is
best for anyone interested in dramatic soap opera style stories. The reader
should be wary of the sensationalized and exaggerated nature of the book but
all the medical information is accurate. It is easy for many to relate to this
story because so many issues and emotions are dealt with and so many points of
view are explored. The relationships between sisters portrayed within the book
are heartwarming and encouraging.
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