My Sister's Keeper - Character Sketch

Kate – Character Sketch

            In the book My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, we meet many interesting characters. One of these very interesting and well-written characters is Kate Fitzgerald.

            Kate Fitzgerald is one of the main characters. Kate Fitzgerald is the one character that, in this book, that everybody’s lives is conflicted by. Why is this, you ask? Kate has leukemia, and was diagnosed at the age of two-years-old. Here family’s life was definitely conflicted the most because the parent’s lives are all about taking care of Kate, meaning Kate’s siblings, Anna – her younger sister, and Jesse – her older brother, who is very close to a juvenile delinquent, mainly because he doesn’t get ANY attention from his parents.

            Kate is a 16 year-old girl in this book with blue eyes. She did have blond curly locks when she was two, but because she has chemo-therapy, she doesn’t have any hair.

            She is very weak because she does have leukemia and so with all of her therapy, she is weakened. She is strong in a sense though because she has fought the leukemia for these many years, and still is trying to.

            In this book, it looks like Kate really likes her family, especially her sister, Anna. She and Anna is each other’s best friend, and they are inseparable, until the leukemia gets in the way. Even then, at the end of the day, they still love each other and worry about each other. For example, in the middle of the book, there is a quote from Anna; “’Friends?’ She shakes her head. ‘You can’t really have anyone over to your house when your sister needs to be resting. You don’t get invited for sleepovers when your mom comes to pick you up at 2:00 in the morning to go to the hospital. It’s probably been a while since you’ve been in middle school but freakhood is contagious.’

‘Then who do you talk to?’

            She looks at me. ‘Kate,” she says.” (pg.111)

This shows how much Anna loves Kate, and how Kate loves Anna because she also talks to her. There’s also a quote in the book from Kate; “Kate doesn’t crack a smile. ‘See,’ she says, ‘my sister’s the one who’s always had to imagine a life without me.’” This shows that Kate really feels bad for Anna and understands why she’s going through with the law suit; her parents pay no attention to Anna, and they are forcing her to risk her life to save Kate’s. Sometimes it is as if they don’t care if Anna dies, they just want Kate to stay alive.

            The main “bad guy,” per say, is leukemia. It’s affecting Kate’s life especially, but at the same time, everyone else’s. This could be the antagonist of the story if Kate was the protagonist. Kate definitely hates leukemia because it is killing her, and it is creating conflict in everyone’s lives around her. She, again, really feels bad for her siblings because she is taking away all of her parents’ attention from her siblings. She especially feels bad for Anna because they are almost like best friends. Kate really hates leukemia because it is killing her and it is separating her family. For example, in the middle of the book, Sara, Kate’s mother is explaining how the leukemia is affecting Kate and the family.

            In the beginning of the book, Kate seems like the average teenage girl/big sister: she seems like she teases Anna but cares for her: “‘Preston looks like he’s made out of plastic.’

            ‘Then why did I hear you whispering his name last night into your pillow?’

            ‘Shut up,’ I say.

            ‘You shut up.’ Kate smiles at me. ‘He probably is gay, though. Quite a waste, considering the Fitzgeralds sisters are –‘” (pg. 13)

            As the book goes on, Kate seems pretty much the same, but getting sicker and sicker every day that goes on: “She hands but everything I’ve given to her. ‘Where is everyone?’ she asks.

            ‘That’s what I hoped you could tell me.’

            Anna’s gaze slides to the front door. “I hoped nothing happened to Kate.” (pg.110)

            This is showing how Kate’s illness is unexpected and she is getting sicker, so she might have gone to the hospital.

            I think that Kate is a very nice girl: she is caring for her sister, she tries with her brother, and she is also accommodating for her parents. A lot of people in her shoes would’ve been miserable and might’ve taken it out on their family and friends. Kate doesn’t; she always caring for her family and is trying to be as happy as possible before she dies. “’Everyone thinks about dying.’

            ‘Everyone thinks about you dying.’ I said.

            The room went so still that I wondered if we ought to go for a different record – how long can two sisters hold their breath?

            Then a twitchy smile spread across her face. ‘Well,’ Kate said. ‘At least now you’re telling the truth.” (pg. 135)

My Sister's Keeper - Plot Summary

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and role that she has never challenged... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. A proactive novel that raises some important ethical issues, My Sister's Keeper is the story of one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning moral parable for all time.




Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper is very well praised:
"This beautifully crafted novel will grab readers with its stunning topic." --People

"It's difficult to find a book combining a timely moral dilemma with well-drawn characters for whom on cares. Picoult has written such a book." --The Boston Herald

Literature Circle #1 - Wild And Crazy Word Finder

B)Wild and Crazy Word Finder: - literature circle #1  Find 4-6 interesting, powerful or tricky words from today’s reading.  Write them down along with the page number.  Use flags, such as a highlighter to mark these words.  You will be asked to share these words during our next guided reading discussion.

·        Ex.  Granulocyte    page # 10

·        Ex.  Geneticists  page # 102

·        Ex.  Parenthood  page # 105

·        Ex.  diaper page # 105

·        Ex.  neutrophil page # 105

·        Ex.  Subcutaneous  page # 105

My Sister's Keeper - Analyzing The First Two Chapters

Analyzing The First Section of your Novel:

Setting (Time, Place, Circumstance): The setting of the story is in their house. The time is the present day, based on the times of 2004.

Tone (The term is usually used to refer to the tone of language in novel. Think about what the author wants you to feel): The author made the story so that it was in a serious matter but it did have some happy and funny parts to humor you to keep you interested.

Mood (is the atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work`. Think about how you feel while reading the novel): The author wants you to feel sort of sad but still intrigued to read one. At the same time, you are always wondering what is happening to Kate, to you want to read on.

Journal #1

Read the assigned selection and write a response. Begin each response with the book title and the date of your journal entry. Your entry should be no fewer than 250 words!

·       Tell about what is currently happening in the story.

·       Ask questions about things that confuse you or that you wonder about.

·       Describe your feeling about the events.

·       Describe your feelings about characters.

·       Copy down a quote from a character and tell why you think it is meaningful and or important.

The journal entry is below.

My Sister's Keeper - 1st Journal Entry

My Sister’s Keeper – February 14, 2011

During the first two chapters of the #1 New York bestselling author, Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, we meet a thirteen year old girl named Anna, who was born for a purpose: to save her older sister, Kate, from acute promyelocytic leukemia, which she was diagnosed with when she was just two years-old, and has had it ever since. In the beginning of the story, Anna it telling us about her life: her household is very abnormal. She was born for a specific purpose: to save her sister. Her parents got scientists to make her a perfect sibling match just so that she can donate organs to Kate.  Anna is talking about her life on a daily basis. She is describing her hard life: her mother always nervous and always around Kate, always worried about her; her father a fireman, so never home, and also worried a lot about Kate; her brother living practically out of the house, and very close to a juvenile delinquent. She has to go to Campbell Alexandar, a lawyer who represents on behalf of some children. He is going to say no to the case, but then she explains how she has to donate her organs against her will, and her parents won’t listen to her, so he takes her case. He just does it, though, to earn more publicity, and he thinks it’s not even going to go through.

That last point really interested me. The way the author put it, it sounds like he is going to do it just because of the publicity in the beginning, but then he is going to change his reasoning: he is going to change it because he cares for her, sort of like a father. The other thing that could happen is that the case won’t go through, but Anna comes through and donates her kidney to Kate. This could result in Anna’s parents paying more attention to her and Anna’s family becoming more of a family, more as one.

Something confused me in the story: why would she sell her locket? I understand that she wants to make money to help pay for the lawyer – Campbell Alexandar – but what surprises be and confuses me is the fact that she would rather see her sister die than give up a kidney. She has to pay for the lawyer, so she has to sell her locket. Also, in the story, it doesn’t sound like she is a mean girl: she seems like a very nice girl, always caring for her sister Kate. And if she really has to have the money, can’t she make a lemonade stand? That locket is really special to her. I really feel bad for her because she probably had no other choice.

Why wasn’t her brother Jesse very welcoming into his room? Was he hiding something?

The events in this book are more about serious matters that are happening everywhere in Canada to all around the world, I feel that it is important to read about these events and I find them interesting, but at the same time, very sad. L

I think the characters in the book are very unique and interesting. They are all very different in many ways; they go from the little sister, who was born to save her older sister by donating organs, to the lawyer who is taking the case for Anna, the little sister. They are all well described and seem like very good character, for this role in the book! There is really no main character. There are main characters, but it is in the perspective of all of the main characters, sort of like a script.

A quote I find meaningful and important is: “’It’s 14 karat gold, hardly warn.’ This is a lie until this morning I haven’t taken it off in seven years. My father gave it to me when I was six after the bone marrow harvest, because he said anyone who is giving her sister such a major present deserved one of her own.” I think it is meaningful because her dad is saying you did such a great thing for your sister you should deserve something in return! It is very touching because she is only 6 years-old and she has already donated a tremendous about of body parts to save Kate.

My Sister's Keeper - Reflecting on Chapter 1

Reflecting on the first Chapter

1.      Give a brief explanation on the following based on the first chapter of your novel:

In this story, each chapter is in the perspective of a different person, so there is no real protagonist, there are many of them. In the first chapter, it’s in the perspective of Anna, Kate’s (the girl with leukemia) little sister, only born because her parents wanted to save Kate. It was a perfect sibling match so that Anna could donate her organs and such to Kate whenever Kate needed them.

2.    Protagonist (the main character): In the first chapter the main character is Anna Fitzgerald.

3.    Antagonist (character in conflict with the protagonist): In the first chapter, it is leukemia or cancer because it is eating away at her sister’s body and all her parents care about is Kate’s health because they are so overwhelmed. Anna’s parents are both antagonists because they make her donate her body parts without permission, and they only had her to save Kate. Kate is also one because

4.    Setting – Time: Written in present time for 2004.

5.    Setting – Place: The story takes place in her house and at Campbell Alexander’s office in the courthouse.

6.    Internal Conflict: The parents are always worrying about Kate and so they basically focus all of their attention on her, and not the other children in the house.

7.    External Conflict: Anna is mad at her parents because they make her donate her organs without her consent and so she is filing a case against them in court.

2. Find two quotations from the novel that include examples of imagery (descriptive language that appeals to one of the five senses).

“If Mr. Webster had decided to put the word freak in his dictionary, Anna Fitzgerald would be the best definition he could give. It's more than just the way I look: refugee-skinny with absolutely no chest to speak of, hair the color of dirt, connect-the-dot freckles on my cheeks that, let me tell you, do not fade with lemon juice or sunscreen or even, sadly, sandpaper.”

“He’s got black hair and he’s at least as tall as my dad – six feet – with a right-anglie jaw and eyes that look frozen over.”

3. Copy 4 quotes (could be the narration or dialogue) from the novel that would help describe the protagonist to someone who has never read the book.

“I was born because a scientist managed to hook up my mother's eggs and my father's sperm to create a specific combination of precious genetic material.”

"‘It's fourteen-karat gold,’ I pitch. ‘Hardly ever worn.’ This is a lie; until this morning, I haven't taken it off in seven years. My father gave it to me when I was six after the bone marrow harvest, because he said anyone who was giving her sister such a major present deserved one of her own.”

 “’Don’t mess with the system Anna,’ he says bitterly. ‘We’ve all got our script down pat. Kate plays the Martyr. I’m the Lost Cause. And you, you’re the peacekeeper.’ He things he knows my, but that goes both ways – and when it comes to friction, Jesse is an addict. I look right at him. ‘Says who?’”

4. Choose four interesting words from the first chapter and define them.

Leukemia: Any of several cancers of the bone marrow that prevent the normal manufuncture of red and white blood cells and platelets, resulting in anemia, increased susceptibility to infection, and impaired blood clotting.

Transplant: Surgery. To transfer (an organ, tissue, etc.) from one part of the body to another or from one person or animal to another.

Cancer: a malignant and invasive growth or tumor, especially one origination in epithelium, tending to recur after excision and to metastasize to other sites.

Neutrophils: A phagocytic white blood cell having a lobulated nucleus and neutrophil granules in the cytoplasm.

All definitions gotten from www.dictionary.com.