Elie Wiesel quote really speaks volumes about the book. Knowing his background and his experiences in the holocaust, it means even more in relation to the book. Weisel says “We must not see any person as an abstraction”. This means that we can not just think of someone as a idea but we have to recognize that they actually lived and had a life. Henrietta is often interpreted as an abstraction and not a real person. Very many people get so caught up in the story that they forget that Henrietta was a real life living and breathing person. Once you understand that, you can really appreciate what her family has gone through and what she had to go through in her lifetime. Elies’ quote also relates to people of Henrietta’s time. When her cells were being passed around to different doctors without anyones consent, they didn’t think of her …show more content…
Obviously the family was going to be skeptical of her due to the past experiences with anyone asking about Henrietta. Rebecca was the first person who really cared enough about the real story of Henrietta and eventually the Lacks family saw that. Deborah was able to see the medical and the personal aspect of the story with no selfish motivation. She genuinely interested about bringing to light what happened to Henrietta. Rebecca saw Henrietta exactly the opposite of an abstraction. She recognized the events and didn’t see Henrietta as an idea.
In summary, Elie Wiesel’s words were able to personify the story of Henrietta almost perfectly. He recognized she was seen as just an idea and not a real person. Even people who know Henrietta’s story still see her as an idea and not a real person. They treat her story as just that, a story. Through reading her book, it becomes apparently clear the amount of wrong doing that was done and how it was never compensated. All though she may not be properly recognized for what her body did for science, the amount of lives she saved is