-
Essay / The unfathomable line between good and evil in My Sister's Keeper
My Sister's Keeper is about the Fitzgerald family. The story revolves around Sara and Brian Fitzgerald whose second child, Kate, was diagnosed with a rare leukemia at the age of two. The eldest child, Jesse, was not genetically compatible with Kate. So he couldn't donate bone marrow or blood to Kate. With the help of a doctor, Sara and Brian were able to conceive Anna; which matched Kate perfectly. Over the next few years, Anna underwent several procedures, including frequent blood draws and a painful bone marrow extraction, to help Kate stay alive. The current action of the story begins on a Monday. Thirteen-year-old Anna goes to a lawyer named Campbell Alexander and asks him to represent her. Anna tells Campbell she wants to sue her parents for medical emancipation. Kate, her sister, is in terminal kidney failure and Anna wants to take legal action to avoid having to give Kate a kidney. When she receives the trial papers, Sara becomes furious with Anna because she does not understand Anna's decision. Brian, however, understands Anna's point of view to some extent and recognizes that she wouldn't have sued if she wasn't truly unhappy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Kate becomes seriously ill and has to be hospitalized. Dr. Chance says she will die within a week. Anna, however, refuses to change her mind about the trial. At the hearing, Sara decides that she will represent herself and Brian. At the trial, Sara and Campbell question witnesses, including one of the doctors with knowledge of Kate's medical history. Reluctantly, Anna speaks up and admits that she took legal action because Kate told her to. Anna explains that Kate asked Anna not to donate her kidney because she was tired of being sick and waiting to die. Anna also admits that although she loves her sister, a part of her wanted Kate to die too, so she could have more freedom in 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, doctors tell the family that Anna suffers from irreversible brain damage. Campbell tells the doctors to give Anna's kidney to Kate. Kate narrates the epilogue. She talks about the grief her family endured after Anna's death and how she blames herself. My Sister's Keeper presents different themes throughout the story. But the most important thing is that there is an ambiguous boundary between good and evil. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay This is illustrated in the story through Anna's wish to put her own interests first; specifically to live independently of Kate and to stop unwittingly serving as Kate's donor and her incompatible desire to put Kate's interests first. The trial, which occupies a considerable part of the novel's plot, focuses on the resolution of this conflict. During most of the trial, it is not possible to make an easy distinction between what is right and what is wrong. Anna has no legal obligation to donate her kidney, which would require surgery and carry a risk of health problems. Yet without Anna's kidney, which Anna can do without, Kate will die. Several characters struggle throughout the book to determine what the right solution is, different characters..