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My Sister's Keeper

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My Sister’s Keeper

Based on the book by Jodi Picoult

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, we would all like to thank the Man with the Big guns from above named God. We thank you the most for without you we would never be able to do the things we love in life. We would never be able to see and feel the great wonders of the world that you have made for us especially the friendship and love that you never fail to provide us. Thank you for that. To our teacher we thank you for giving us a chance to show you what we can do. For always teaching us the right things to improve in ourselves not only in our writing of essays in class but also in our own separate lives. You have helped us in so many ways but the most would be for giving us the opportunity to make peace with the ones we have hurt in the past. Without you we would have lost another friend in life and lost the opportunity for friendship that could last for a life time. Thank you from the Bottom of our hearts. We also thank those who have helped us in making this book of ours, for without them we wouldn’t be able to finish. Thanks for our parents for providing us with everything we need in class just to give us a good education. Thanks to those who became patient with us under pressure thank you for understanding. And lastly the leader would like to thank her members for all the things they have done, for doing their own parts and cooperating oh so well with everything she asked for them to do, thanks for the greatest of efforts! More Power!

“God would never put us in a situation which he knows we cannot surpass or get better from it is only a matter of making the right decision and believing.”

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Page Chapter 1 – Introduction Concept of the Movie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 About the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Chapter 2 – Elements of Fiction Important Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Synthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Chapter 3 – Analysis Point of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Chapter 4 – Conclusion Individual Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 English 200 Influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Chapter 5 – My Sister’s Keeper Picture Preview of the Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Chapter 1
CONCEPT OF THE MOVIE

Directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on the bestseller by Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper is a melodramatic yet realistic film that would surely redefine “Family Values”. It expresses this uplifting unfortunate tale and how major disease affects on family’s individuals in astonishing and overwhelming ways. This film also conveys the unlimited supply of love any parent has and the endless boundaries any parent is willing to cross. Everything in life happens for a reason but a tragedy is not something any of us wishes to encounter. Although, when we are forced to face with such unlucky fate, we must make difficult decisions and sacrifices. The director purposely made the film so sincere that this film could be ranked as one of the very few movies guaranteed to make audiences cry! As audiences watch the film, carefully selected cast members definitely make them feel as if they were part of the Vassilivea Family and assure audiences could relate. As Anna, one of the main characters, puts it, ''I wasn't the result of a cheap bottle of wine or a full moon or the heat of the moment. 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.'' Though we cannot afford to encounter genetically engineered babies every day, doesn’t mean we can’t also experience the safe effects, that’s why the director produced this astonishing film using all of his talented skills.

PRODUCTION

It's a sad fact that innocent, great kids can get cancer, and few movies have really dug into this tragic corner of life the way My Sister's Keeper does. But rather than search for any real emotional truths or demand dynamic performances from its talented cast, the movie just hijacks your tear ducts from the word "go." Odds are you'll cry during this movie, but you might be too confused by the time-jumping narrative, too busy wondering how many pop song montages they can cram into the running time, and too ashamed of your giggles when the melancholy tips the scales toward schmaltz.

Director Nick Cassavetes, who helped audiences guiltily swoon over The Notebook, pulls out all the cinematic stops to no great effect; if he's not using hazy filters to evoke innocence of childhood or letting the camera linger on an overly production-designed scrapbook, he's busting out floaty pop songs that substitute for actual dialogue. In Jodi Picoult's original novel each of the central characters took turns narrating, and at the beginning of the film the characters are introduced with a title card and a turn at narrating the story. That device, which might have helped ground the audience in this mess of squabbling family members, gets abandoned about halfway through; I gave up my willingness to go along with this nonsense long before then.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Nick Cassavetes was born on May 21, 1959, in New York City, New York. Cassavetes is the son of actress Gena Rowlands and Greek-American actor and film director John Cassavetes. Both of Cassavetes’ parents have been involved in the film industry before he was even born. Despite the fact that Cassavetes’ entire life has been surrounded by the film industry, he had no intentions to go into the field. Cassavetes instead attended Syracuse University on a basketball scholarship. Cassavetes was driven to adjust his ambitions due to an injury that ended his athletic career. As the result, he decided to take acting seriously and attended his parent’s alma mater, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Cassavetes married Isabelle Rafalovich in 1985 and had two daughters together, Virginia Sarah Cassavetes and Sasha Cassavetes, before divorcing. Presently, he is married to Heather Queenie Wahlquist, who has acted in a number of his films. Nick Cassavetes also has appeared in several films: Face/Off, The Wraith, Life, Class of 1999 II: The Substitute, Backstreem Dreams and the Astronaut’s Wife. He has directed a total of five films, including John Q, Alpha Dog, She’s So Lovely Unhook the Stars, The Notebook, and My Sister’s Keeper.
Chapter 2
IMPORTANT CHARACTERS

• Cameron Diaz – Sara Fitzgerald Sara Fitzgerald was the mother in the film. She was the kind, warm-hearted mother of Kate Anna and Jesse and the loving wife of Brian Fitzgerald, but it all changed when Kate was diagnosed to have the symptoms of leukemia. She became obsessed in the treatment of Kate’s sickness. She always insisted that Kate should be in the hospital at all times and that she should undergo all the treatments no matter what the cost may be. She became blind of the emotions of her other children. • Alec Baldwin – Campbell Alexander Campbell Alexander was the counselor or lawyer to whom Anna Fitzgerald ran to when she needed help for her legal emancipation from the control of her parents. He agreed to help Anna as long as Anna was sure about her decision. Campbell Alexander was known for his reputation because he has helped many of his clients win many kinds of cases. Anna Fitzgerald knew him because Campbell had his own TV commercials. Alexander always had his dog, Judge, with him. This is due to his epilepsy. His dog can detect symptoms of an epileptic attack. • Abigail Breslin – Anna Fitzgerald Anna Fitzgerald was the engineered sister made to save Kate Fitzgerald by lending her organs, particularly her kidneys and some components of her blood to her sister. Anna made a very hard decision that is to emancipate her from her parents. To “Sew” her parents. Getting rid of their control over her because of the things that they are making her do. She wants to do this because her sister Kate told her to because Kate considers her sister important too and she should live as a normal person. • Sofia Vassilieva – Kate Fitzgerald Kate Fitzgerald is the Main character in the movie. She is Anna’s sister who has been diagnosed to have leukemia in the bone marrow. Also she was diagnosed to have kidney or renal failure so she needs many treatments and many transplants to undergo. She also had the role of tying the family back together. She was the one who convinced her sister to undergo emancipation because she is very considerate to her. She wants her sister to enjoy life too because even though she is only engineered, she is still a human being and has the right to live as one. • Jason Patric – Brian Fitzgerald Brian was the father of the Fitzgerald family. He works as a fireman in their place. Most often he does not stay home so the members of the family are not that close to him except Kate because Brian’s attention was concentrated on her due to her condition.

• Evan Ellingson – Jesse Fitzgerald Jesse was the youngest sibling in the family. He was the one most left out when Kate’s condition started to peak. During these times, he was the most lonesome in the family. All the attention was taken from him. There was one scene wherein he came back to their house just to find out that nobody was around. This contributed to his loneliness and thus making him angry with his parents because they were blind of the real situation that Kate wants to let Anna live as a normal person. • Joan Cusack – Judge De Salvo Judge De Salvo was the Judge who was hired to handle the case of Anna versus her parents. She was supposed to be on leave because of the grief that the death of her son brought to her. But beyond this, she was able to understand the situation of the case because of her experience. • Amit Khanduja - Chief Surgeon The Chief Surgeon was the one who handled Kate when she was still hospitalized. He contributed much to the situation by helping the parents of Kate make a decision so that their current problems would be reduced. Like the obsession of Sara in the treatment of Kate’s sickness. He was also the one who suggested to make Anna, an engineered offspring to save Kate.

SETTING

Home (Fitzgerald’s Residence) -In this setting. This is where the place that Kate lives and spends most of her time while she is feeling well. This is the place where Katie did most of her memorable experience with her family

Hospital (not stated)
-In this setting this is where she got her chemotherapy and met the love of her life (Taylor) and this is also the place where she died

Montana
-This setting/place is her favorite and dream place. They went to Montana together with her family and had a memorable time together.

The Beach (near their house)
-In this setting, this is where Kate had fun for the last time in her life. This is also the place where her mother didn’t only recognized Kate but also Anna. And every year during Kate’s birthday they spend their day at the same beach reminiscing the days where Kate was still with them.
PLOT

My Sister’s Keeper is about Anna Fitzgerald, a 13 year old teenager who seeks the help of an attorney, Campbell Alexander, to sue her parents for the right to her own body. She was genetically made in a dish for her sister who had leukemia. This was the only option that her parents had back then when no match for a body parts had been available for Kate, for she was a very sensitive case but at the same time, time was gold for her. Ever since Anna was born, she had been giving her sister her body parts like bone marrow and the most recent one is her kidney. But now that she is 13 she would now like to stop giving her body parts and simply life as “Anna” and be become an important part of the family and not just because of her sister. The conflict starts when Kate got hospitalized and her mother, Sara, received documents about Anna’s law suit. She would not accept it and even told Anna asked what was she thinking, was she just suddenly going to stop helping her sister? Brian, the father, on the other hand did not know what to feel. He was confused. Mixed emotions were all he had. He was torn between satisfying, Sara, Anna and Kate too. None of them knew exactly why she was doing this so in the effort to convince Anna to drop the case, Sara even went back to her old job as Lawyer to have a trial to convince Anna to do so. Kate wasn’t exactly the only conflict of the whole story but her mother and father too. It was her mother, Sara, who wasn’t able to notice the things around her. She was too engrossed in taking care of her daughter and keeping her alive that she didn’t notice the times that Kate asked her if she could end her life. Also the dad was contributed to the problem because he was also not able to hear his daughter and help her. He didn’t have much of a clear mind and that was a problem for the situation they were in.

SYNTHESIS

Conceived by means of in vitro fertilization, Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) was brought into the world to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia. Because of her sister's dependency on her, Anna is unable to live the life she wants; in and out of the hospital constantly, she cannot take part in extracurricular activities such as cheerleading or soccer. When Kate turns 13 she goes into renal failure. Knowing that she will have to donate one of her kidneys to her sister, Anna sues her parents for medical emancipation and the rights to her own body. Attorney Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) agrees to work for Anna pro bono. The film is interlaced with flashbacks that detail the strong relationship between Kate and Anna, as well as how Kate's illness has affected her siblings' lives. Before the result of the case is known, it is revealed that Kate had asked Anna to file for medical emancipation. Believing that she would not survive the surgery, Kate wants to die. Anna wins the case, and due to her sister's wishes does not donate her kidney. Kate later dies at the hospital. The family moves on with their lives, being changed by Kate's death, but every year on Kate's birthday they go to Montana, which was her favorite place in the world. Chapter 3 POINT OF VIEW

The movie “My Sister’s Keeper” uses the first person point of view, the author tells the story from her point of view. It is a limited point of view as the viewer will only know what the author knows. The advantage of this kind of point of view the narration is that the author shares her personal experiences and secrets with the viewer so that the viewer feels part of the story. Each person has a distinctly different interpretation of the ethics surrounding this situation and, as a reader, you feel compelled by each person’s individual perceptions. It provides a strong argument for the idea that ethics and morals are not hard and fast rules; rather they can be incredibly adaptive depending on the circumstances, emotions and history of the person or people involved.

THEME

The story of “My Sister's Keeper” is a one of a kind story. This is about a life of a sister that has leukemia since 2 yrs old. The story's content has a sad drama which touches our hearts and lets us feel the value of life. It tells us to cherish the life of a person even if he/she is in bad condition. These people should be enlightened and feel the glory of life while they can. Because life has ho second chances, and should be treasure not destroy it. The sad drama of this story makes us feel the presence of being how life should be cherished. Taking care of a sister with a life threatening disease is not an easy task. You may not know when a person loses his/her life in this manner. So while there is still life, never lose hope.

Chapter 4 INDIVIDUAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

In the movie, I learned that the value of family is far greater than anything. The family will give us refuge when there are times that we are down and in despair. The family provides people whom we can share our achievements and our happiness. We should not take any one in our family for granted because in one glimpse, they could be gone. We must always show our friends, our loved ones that they are special to us in every little way that we can. We must show them that we appreciate them and they are a great mark in our lives. In a world where most of us are caught up in our own struggle to be successful we forget to keep in touch with the people who got us where we are, the people who gave us the confidence to conquer the world. But most of all we tend to forget the people who brought us into this world. As we get older we begin to see the value of biological family. All thoughts, freaks and nut jobs we used as hilarious conversation pieces in the games of I Bet You My Family is Stranger Than Yours - have suddenly become a rich source of information stories of people we never knew or heard of. That is before Stories that as children we knew existed but never realized their true meanings. Stories that somehow give explanations of the way we are as individuals. Information that we have never cared to acknowledge before because we were too self-centered to look outside of our own boxes. We never really know how much they mean to us until they and their stories are gone. But it is a gift that we are able to share their words with future generations.

Bryan Abitong BSN 1G

In every work we deed there is always a product of success through the oneness, teamwork, and cooperation of the group. Doing this kind of report is a complement, even though our schedule are very hectic and we don’t really mush have time to do so but because we wanted to finished it we really sacrifice in order to achieve this kind of report. I’m in a great honor to my groups because I learn to cooperate in such a way to do my best as possible. Each one of us has made our part and contributed their own knowledge on what they have saw and learn in the story. I experience how to exert more effort in doing this report. My group mate teaches me on how to cooperate well, what teamwork is and what the product of teamwork is. The experiences I have will give me more learning because they help me handle things in such a way that would never affect the time. I experience how to balance my time to do my part that I didn’t lack other statues to make. This will make my life easier for me to face because of what I’ve experience. Managing my time is really has given me more idea on what it is. That in every step I make there must have time to decide in order to have a better decision and will never have the reason to fail and

not to be criticizing by others and just ask for the opinions of others if it is good or bad to me.

Sheira Baguioro BSN 1G

In accomplishing our movie review I have learned many things. These are the things that I could use throughout my life. First is I learned how to be patient because in doing our activity we have to wait for other members to finish in order to bind our assigned task as one and some members are lazy and passes their task late. Second is I learned to be responsible because in high school I am so confident that I pass the requirements late and usually I got low grades because of that. Now I am not contented with passing or low grades so I try my best to do good in all the assigned task to mew so that my grades will also go up. Third is I learned that working with a team is fun because you are able to know each member a lot you bond with each other every time you meet and you also learn something from your group mates as your group mates learn from you. Fourth is I learned how interact with each of the members because In the past I am having a hard time in interacting with my groupmates because I am afraid of what others think of me so I am hesitating to talk with them but this time I am now confident because I know now how to interact with other people. In the movie “My Sister’s Keeper” I learned that in life you have to do decisions for the better of someone or for many people like what Katie did to Ana in the movie, She asked her younger sister not to donate her kidney to her because she doesn’t want to be a burden anymore to her family and I for me that is a really brave thing to do

Razel Cañonio BSN 1G

A lot of things happened in my group. My role as a leader is quiet hard for I am doing most of the work. Though I have divided everything, the responsibility of having everything printed and bound is quite hard especially that today is March 16 which as all davaoeños know is a holiday. I don’t know if I can find an open store that binds books today but I hope I can. If I am able to pass this project in the way that I should I guess I did then. I am also tasked to do the synthesis as well as the plot of the story. I was harder than I thought, but since I already took the responsibility for it, there is no turning back especially during the last minute or else everything will crumble. We didn’t do the project together in one of our group mate’s house but instead we did it individually. Each one doing what is assigned to them. I have learned that people do not need to be physically together to be able to finish our parts especially with the technology we have now, the use of internets and everything else that comes with technology. It is not your role that defines you but your efforts are the ones that tell who you are. You don’t need to be together to know a person you just have to have a keen eye for details and the love to know who they really are. I have learned that there really are different personalities, though you are the leader of the group and are expected to be the responsible on, there will always be those who are as responsible as you are and are able to help you if you need them. Sometimes, they are even more responsible than you are. Problems and headaches aren’t the only things that you can encounter during projects like this. There is also a laugh trip. For example, a group mate of mine actually submitted a just 2 sentences for each of the items assigned to him. It shocked me but at the same time made me laugh. It’s a funny experience and I love it. The movie taught me a lot about our family. It made me remember the struggles that are happening to us now, with my grandmother paralyzed and all. I know it is not as tough as what the Fitzgerald Family had undergone but still it reminds me of that. I now understand what my father is feeling through the eyes of Sara. It is because he loves my grandmother so much that is why he seems to want everything that is best for her and seems to forget us at times. But since I’ve watched the movie it somehow helped me comprehend all this. I remember before my aunt died of cancer too she was suffering already actually but still she didn’t let go until my grandmother (the now paralyzed one) whispered to her the kind words that she can finally go to rest and they’ll just meet in heaven in the future together with Lolo. And another one of my aunts died of cancer of the lungs. It seems that each person still needs the assuring words of the family before they can finally leave and finally rest. It was the same case as the one with Kate. It brings a lot of sad times but also good ones. This seems to be one of the best movies I’ve watched so far.

Katrina Castillo BSN 1G

After watching My Sister’s Keeper, I was so touched by the roles of each character in the movie. I imagined myself being in Kate and Anne’s position and it made me realize how blessed I am to have a normal life. Although my parents are divorced and I may have a broken family, I still appreciate everything that I have and ever had in my life because the hardest thing I’ve ever faced is most likely incomparable to the Fitzgerald Family’s tragic. I know for a fact that my life doesn’t lack anything major because my parents provide me the necessities, love, and more but I don’t always realize what I have. The film made an impact on me, it made me appreciate all the efforts from my parents also made me rethink about how much love they have for me. I used to not take my parents’ words seriously, for instance when they tell me how much they love me; I usually just ignore and not value those words. Now, I realize that my parents mean everything when they tell me that mean the world to them and how far they’d go to keep me safe. The relationship I have with my sister isn’t the best but try really hard to manage it with grace and I know it’s improving, the movie has also impacted that part of my life also. The relationship between Kate and Anna are so strong despite of the unimaginable obstructions they both had to face. I questioned why my relationship with my sister isn’t as strong as theirs when it should’ve been much stronger since we’re not facing anything half as difficult. After watching the movie, I started making more effort in getting along and loving my sister. In my opinion, the quotes in the movie seem like something you’d see in Hallmark Cards because they were mostly really depressing. I’m glad I didn’t watch the movie in the movie house because I’d be embarrassed for crying my heart out. I was attracted to the idea of genetically engineered child skillfully crafted to save a sibling’s life because it makes me realize how the world is evolving so quickly. Throughout the making of this project, I believe that I’ve developed in cooperating with others and also in English. I was able to apply lessons I have learned in class in my writings. I look forward to writing more efficiently in the future as a nursing student.

Faye Chantanop BSN 1G

In this stroy, i learned that life must always be cherished. The value of life is the most important that a person must understand. Because without it, you only destroy yourself and ignore the life of others. Cherishing our lives is simple. Just live to the fullest and enjoy life while you can. Also i learned in this story that we must never lose hope and never give up on life. Struggling in life is just a part of a journey of our life.

Ernest Jumalon BSN 1G

Problems in life are inevitable. We just have to live by them and take them as challenges to make us stronger and grow. Watching the movie “My Sister’s Keeper”, I really learned a lot. Watching how Kate, the cancer patient, lived her life to the fullest and fought through the hardships of her illness is inspiring. Sarah Fitzgerald, the mother of Kate, is able to give up everything just to fight the battles with her cancer daughter. Anna Fitzegerald who is the loving sister who is willing to help her sister in every way she could. The Father who loves their family, his daughters and shows that each and everyone of them is as important as the other. Kate shows how she is able to appreciate the smallest things even I do not care to look in to. Kate’s character simply taught me how to be appreciative of even the smallest things in life. Life is something we have to value and to appreciate. I saw and learned in Sarah how a mother loves her child no matter what and is willing to give up everything just to help her child. Anne was also inspiring for me, she taught me how a sibling should love and care for her sibling. She was willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of her sick sister. For the most inspiring character in the movie was the father. Unlike any character in the movie, he was able to see the bigger picture. He was able to see the agony of the younger sister too. He was able to understand each and everyone’s feelings. The movie taught me so much on how a family binds together specially in times of problems. How love transcends all. In the movie the title “My Sister’s Keeper” was the mother and it is like narrated by the younger sister Anna. Neil Patrick B. Perales BSN 1G

I learned many things while making project especially about the movie, the story brings in potentially interesting family relationships, the characters in this movie find meaning only in earthly life. It shows that we should be strong in every challenge in our life. I learned that we should treasure and make our everyday life meaningful. Life is too short for us we do not even know until when we will live in this world with our love ones. We should share our love and care for the people who want us. This movie makes me think that I am so blessed to have a healthy body and healthy family. The mother in the movie showed too much love for her daughter she gives up everything just to take care of her daughter. I appreciated her actions and I want to be like her someday. I will love my children or my family as I love my self. I realize that we should learn to enjoy every minute of your life and be happy everyday of your life. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at school, friends or with your family. I enjoyed this project with my group mates I learned to correspond and have a team work. Tina Quindoy BSN 1G

ENGLISH - 200 INFLUENCE

English 200 has improved the members’ grammar and writing in a way. It has taught them how to come up with paragraphs. Ones that are less scattered than the ones they use to have. Integrating the things they have learned in the subject somehow made their writings better. The members’ topics are more emphasized than they use to be. They know now where to place some of the words and even the comas in their writing. They use to be so confused about that. The members didn’t know really that there was still more to English writing than the simple making of a paragraph. They just found out that there are actually techniques that they can use to improve their paragraph writing. And they thank their teacher for the job well done of teaching them.

RECOMMENDATION

The movie is enthusiastically recommend this to all the families around the world for it has a lot of great lessons to get. It is really interesting, sensitive, and has a great lesson that can be applied in life. This will make us value more the essence of oneness and which will result in peace and harmony in life. That in every trial there’s always a way to salvation. It is more on the sacrifices of the family for each other. This makes them better because during the process of sacrificing they are able to finally know to what extent the other love everybody else. That there is sacrifice, loving, care, faith, oneness, and that each one has their own decisions to make. Each one is able to recognize and emphasize the other . That all the members of the family are responsible for a certain dilemma and not just one. The cooperation of each member is always needed and they must work as one.

Chapter 5
Picture Preview of the Movie

[pic]
A scene where in Kate is trying to find a Dress of the Dance she is going to with Taylor. (L-R) SOFIA VASSILIEVA as Kate, CAMERON DIAZ as Sara and ABIGAIL BRESLIN as Anna
[pic]
Jesse (EVAN ELLINGSON) and Anna (ABIGAIL BRESLIN) enjoy a day at the beach.
[pic]
Director NICK CASSAVETES discusses a scene with CAMERON DIAZ on the set

[pic]
(L-R) Director NICK CASSAVETES discusses a scene with CAMERON DIAZ on the set
[pic]
On the boardwalk while waiting to start the shoot for the carnival scenes.

[pic]
Just came out of the Photo booth.

[pic] Interview with cast[pic]
A formal interview of the cast.

[pic]
At the boardwalk waiting for the Carnival scenes to start.
[pic]
(L-R) Kate (SOFIA VASSILIEVA) and her sister Anna (ABIGAIL BRESLIN) discuss the hardships of Kate's condition.
[pic]
(L-R) THOMAS DEKKER as Taylor and SOFIA VASSILIEVA as Kate.
The Date scene.
[pic]
The scene before CAMERON DIAZ shaves her head so that Kate will stop feeling ugly.
(L-R) ABIGAIL BRESLIN as Anna, SOFIA VASSILIEVA as Kate and JASON PATRIC as Brian

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...My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult Where is the line with choices? How is a decision determined to be right or wrong? These are some of the questions that summarize the concept of the book My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Anna, the protagonist, files a law suit against her parents, Brian and Sara, because they forced her to make medical decisions that were not her own. Anna is sympathetic with her sister’s condition and has given all she can to ensure Kate’s recovery from leukemia. Yet the discovery of the purpose of her being conceived through vitro fertilization was for the intention to possible spare Kate’s life. Anna claims that her parents’ (Sara and Brian Fitzgerald) push for her to donate her kidney unwillingly is an infringement of her “right to life”. She also claims that she is being denied the right to make decisions as regards her own body. While Anna believes that such an action would be very wrong, her parents emphasize that it is the right decision if saving Kate’s life is the ultimate goal. This book covers this life of this family during the trial period. It focuses on the tension that the family undergoes in a bid to keep one of them Kate, alive. The emotional tenacity of this book brings a different notion of health communication. An analysis of the events in this novel reveals that indeed right and wrong is subjective. This paper examines the different characters and events in My Sister’s Keeper and tries to analyze the theme of what choices are right...

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My Sister's Keeper Summary

...The title of my book is My Sister’s Keeper, and it was written by Jodi Picoult. It’s about a girl named Anna and her family. They live in Upper Darby, Rhode Island. Anna is 13 years old. She has a sister and a brother. Their names are Kate and Jesse. Her mom’s name is Sara and her dad’s name is Brian. Kate was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia in 1990. Anna was created as a perfect genetic match for Kate. One day, Anna goes to a pawnshop to sell a locket. This locket was given to her by her dad after she donated bone marrow to Kate. After this, she went to see a lawyer, whose name is Campbell Alexander. She tells Campbell that she wants to sue her parents for the rights to her body. Julia Romano is hired as Anna’s guardian ad litem, which is a person who represents minor children’s best interests and advises the court. As the story goes on, you see how her decision to not donate a kidney to her sister starts to affect her whole family. Her parents start having marriage problems because they have different opinions about Anna and the case. Jesse starts acting up more than ever, because he’s being noticed even less. Anna ends up winning the case, and she becomes medically emancipated from her parents. Campbell is given medical power of attorney for her until the age of 18. On the way to the hospital after the trial, Campbell and Anna get into a serious car accident. Anna suffers irreversible brain damage and dies. They give her kidney to Kate, and...

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My Sister's Keeper Essay

...In My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult tells the story of a family who is faced with a tragedy and in turn creates an ethical dilemma without even realizing it. Brian and Sarah Fitzgerald don’t think they will have any more children after Jesse and Kate, but when Kate is diagnosed with leukemia ideas of having another child spark in the minds of the Fitzgeralds. Although one might think the Fitzgeralds would have another child to replace the one they may lose, their plan is to use the child to keep Kate alive. The Fitzgeralds have a doctor genetically select an embryo as a perfect match for Kate and a short nine months later Anna is born so she can be used as “spare parts” every time Kate’s organs fail. The most important issue presented in this book is the fact that Anna was created for the sole purpose of keeping her sister alive. Not only was Anna born for an unethical reason, but she is forced by her parents to undergo the many and sometimes painful medical procedures required to keep Kate alive. The dispute between Anna and her mother, Sarah, portrays this issue best in the book. When Anna becomes old enough to stand up to her parents, she tells them she doesn’t want to donate anymore and fights them in a legal battle for “medical emancipation”. If Anna is granted medical emancipation from her parents so she wouldn’t have to donate anymore, but Kate would die. Sarah makes her decisions with the best intentions, but sometimes the decisions she makes favor Kate more than they...

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Family Assessment My Sister's Keeper

...Family Running head: Family Assessment My Sister’s Keeper Assessment of the Fitzgerald Family SBSN 360P Professor D. Hoitt, MSN, RN 21 March 2013 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to provide a selective assessment of the functional status of the Fitzgerald family. This premise of this assessment is to define areas of strength and or weakness is the family system. Due to the limited amount of contact with its members, this evaluation is not to be viewed as a comprehensive and exhaustive list of findings for this social unit. This is merely a limited overview of the family’s ability to cope and grow in spite of the chronic condition of promyelocytic leukemia in the eldest daughter. Identifying Data “My Sister’s Keeper” film adaptation revolves around the Fitzgerald family. Sickness causes the Fitzgerald family to stray from the traditional nuclear family model and become and extended family. The extended family includes at least one parent, at least one child, and at least one other non- parent/sibling member. (Hockenberry & Wilson, 2009)The story chronicles the events surrounding the life of Kate Fitzgerald, who is suffering from promyelocytic lymphoma. The story is told mainly from the perspective of Kate’s eleven year old sister, Anna Fitzgerald, who was genetically engineered for spare parts. We also get brief glimpses at the perspectives of her parents, Brian and Sara Fitzgerald. Very little time is spent portraying her brother, Jesse...

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My Sister's Keeper Research Paper

...My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, is an amazing story of love and sacrifice. In the book, Anna Fitzgerald was born to help her sister, Kate, battle leukemia. All of Anna’s life, from the time she was born to her teenage years, has had to sacrifice her time and her body for her sister. Over the course of time Anna has been donating her blood and plasma to her sister. Anna was tired of giving everything to her sister, so she hired an attorney to sue her parents. Getting closer and closer to the trial Anna did not know if she wanted to actually go through with the trial. She did not want her sister to die, all she wanted was to make her own decisions. The trial was ripping her family apart, Anna's dad, Brian, agreed with Anna; but her mother...

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Poems

...The narrative of My Sister’s Keeper alternates between first-person accounts by the novel’s different characters. The bulk of the story takes place in the present, in a one-and-a-half week stretch of time. Sara Fitzgerald, a former attorney and current stay-at-home mom, narrates the remainder of the story from different points in the past but moving gradually toward the present. One final chapter, the epilogue, occurs in the future. In 1990, doctors diagnose Sara’s two-year-old daughter, Kate, with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. The news that their child might die shocks Sara and her firefighter husband, Brian, but Sara immediately resolves to begin Kate on treatment. Kate starts chemotherapy, and her oncologist, Dr. Chance, suggests she might eventually need a bone marrow transplant, preferably from a related donor. The Fitzgeralds test their four-year-old son, Jesse, but he is not a match. Dr. Chance mentions that another unborn sibling could be a match, and Sara suggests to Brian that they have another child. Sara’s passages, told at different points over the next fourteen years, focus largely on Kate’s struggles. She describes how scientists help them conceive another daughter, Anna, who is a perfect genetic match for Kate. Over the course of the next few years, Anna undergoes several procedures, including frequent blood withdrawals and a painful bone marrow extraction, to help keep Kate alive. Sara describes in great detail the pain and suffering Kate endures. Chemotherapy...

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Film

...Director Nick Cassavett has created yet another tearjerker with his drama, My Sisters keeper. This movie is based on the novel, “My sisters keeper” by Jodi Picoult. The film stars, Cameron Diaz (Sara) and Jason Patric (Brian), they are the parents of Kate who is suffering from leukemia. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was four years old and since then her mom has devoted her life to saving Kate. The parents receive a recommendation from a doctor to have another child, solely on the purpose that the child will be Kate’s genetic match. There are many ethical questions that rise with this decision. This 11-year-old child is Anna, who undergoes many procedures such as, donating blood, bone marrow, and stem cells, to aid in the survival of her sister. When she is asked to donate her kidney to Kate, she refuses and claims she wants a life of her own and to control her own body. Anna seeks for a lawyer and decides to sue her parents, on the right to receive a medical emancipation. The mother is aghast by this lawsuit, however, the father concurs with Anna’s decision. Cassavett uses a sequence of flashbacks to reveal the legitimate reason why Anna is suing her parents, before the results of the case are identified. He uses a variety of cinematographic techniques to increase the audience’s emotional response. He focuses on the detail of the characters, shooting close-ups and maintaining the camera at eye-level. When he is shooting the family from a distance he still uses a...

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My Sisters Keeper

...My Sister’s Keeper Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper follows the life of the Fitzgerald family. that covers issues concerning genetic engineering, PGD and savior siblings. Older sister Kate is chronically ill, suffering from leukemia-related illnesses since she was a young child. Her parents, Sara and Brian, conceived younger sister Anna as a genetically-engineered baby to be the perfect match for Kate as a blood and bone-marrow donor. For thirteen years. Anna has gone along with it, but when her parents ask for a kidney, she gets herself a lawyer and sues for medical emancipation; the right over her own body. My Sister’s Keeper covers issues concerning genetic engineering, PGD and savior siblings The story revolves around 13-year-old Anna, a child created in order to serve as a matched tissue donor for her older sister Kate, who suffers from leukemia. At the very beginning of the movie, Anna says, “I’m an allogenic donor—a perfect sibling match. When Kate needs leukocytes or stem cells or bone marrow to fool her body into thinking it’s healthy, I’m the one who provides them. Nearly every time Kate’s hospitalized, I wind up there, too. None of which means anything, except that you shouldn’t believe what you hear about me, least of all that which I tell you myself.” Anna is a savior sibling is a child who was born to provide an organ or cell transplant to Kate, who is affected with a fatal disease in leukemia.Technicians, can screen the multiple embryos that are typically...

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My Sisters Keeper

...Bethany Gavins A&P Mr. Schroeder My Sister’s Keeper When an individual is affected by an illness and death, the people that know the individual, usually the family, are affected, too. In My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Kate Fitzgerald is diagnosed with Leukemia, which affects every member of her family. The Kubler-Ross’ cycle of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance explains how each family member deals with Kate’s death and grief. Each member has a different way of dealing with Kate’s death. A chronic illness doesn’t affect just the person who has it, but also the people around the person. The Fitzgerald’s are all devastated and are full of grief throughout Kate’s struggle and death from Leukemia. The main character, Anna Fitzgerald, shows her acceptance of the Kubler-Ross cycle. Anna hates to admit that her sister will die regardless of what the family tries to do. Therefore, she tries to save herself and Kate from any more suffering by gaining legal rights to do what she wants to do with her body despite what her parents tell her. Anna knows that her parents, especially her mother, Sara, will go to any extremes to make Kate win the battle against cancer or at least live longer. Anna feels like winning the case will make her parents realize that Anna, too, has a right to live a normal life with a normal childhood. She’s accepted that Kate will soon die and doesn’t want to see Kate suffer any longer. Anna also feels that she’s doing Kate a favor...

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Personal

...SUMMER READING I. Title and Author: My Sister’s Keeper By: Jodi Picoult II. Fiction (not a true story) or non-fiction (a true story): Fiction III. Settings: Rhode Island IV. Important characters or people: Anna Fitzgerald – is youngest Fitzgerald child. The protagonist of the novel. Anna is thirteen years old. Anna is smart, funny, and observant. Sara Fitzgerald - is mother of the Fitzgerald family. Sara is strong, stubborn, and intelligent. Campbell Alexander - is Anna’s lawyer. In the beginning overconfident and harsh. Brian Fitzgerald - is the father of the Fitzgerald children and a works as firefighter. Jesse Fitzgerald – is the oldest of the Fitzgerald children. Jesse cannot save Kate, and he has never been able to forgive himself for that. Also, he has often felt ignored by his parents. Kate Fitzgerald - is the middle Fitzgerald child. She has struggled with cancer nearly her entire life Dr. Chance - Kate’s oncologist. Is a kind but serious man. Dr. Chance represents the science and medicine keeping Kate alive. V. Other characters: Zanne - is Sara’s older sister. Zanne is a woman without children. She watches Anna and Jesse when Sara goes with Kate to the hospital. Judge DeSalvo - is fair and kind. Judge DeSalvo honestly cares for Anna’s well-being. Taylor Ambrose - is Kate’s crush and cancer patient. Kate and Taylor’s short relationship emphasizes that, at heart, Kate is a normal teenage girl. Izzy Romano - is Julia’s twin sister and roommate...

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My Sister's Keeper

...Melissa Stapleton Ms. Perryman SBI4U May 21st, 2013 My Sisters Keeper Every day people face challenges that are affected by what we feel is morally right or not. One topic in particular however, is an ongoing battle of ethical morality and this topic has to do with the problem surrounding the reasons for designer babies. A designer baby is defined as “a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics". (Web Source) Some people say that this process is unnatural and should never have even been created. Others say that this process is the way of the future, and that everyone should undergo this operation. Whichever side people lie on, there are valid points for both sides of the argument. Personally, I believe that children should not be produced for medical reasons under any circumstances because it would create an in equality amongst society, it could cause harmful long term effects and it takes away the child’s rights. Firstly, if this process gained popularity it would create an inequality amongst society and create children with added benefits. The process that creates designer babies is called Vitro Fertilization and it involves “monitoring and stimulating the development of healthy egg(s) in the ovaries. Then collecting the eggs and securing the sperm. Then combining the eggs and sperm together in the laboratory and provide...

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Research Paper On My Sister's Keeper

...Some parents plan when to have a baby and give life, others a child coming into their life can be quite the surprise. The book My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult uses the issue of genetically engineered babies to illustrate the importance but also the disfunction that can happen to a family under this amount of stress and ethical dilemma. An article called Autonomy of Children and Adolescents in Consent to Treatment I used to compare contemplates whether someone underage should be in charge of their health care decisions which does appear a great amount in health care. The books illustrates the role that Picoult’s character Anna faces when deciding whether she wants to be medically emancipated or continue to be the donor her parent’s created...

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Family Assessment My Sister's Keeper

...research in Bioethics today. Many Supreme Court cases, such as Gonzales v. Oregon and Baxter vs. Montana, also surround this issue. Voluntary euthanasia is typically performed when a person is suffering from a terminal illness and is in great pain. When the patient performs this procedure with the help of a doctor, the term assisted suicide is often used. It is also legal in the state of Oregon, Washington and Montana. Passive euthanasia is carried out by terminating a medication that is keeping a patient alive or not performing a life-saving procedure. Active euthanasia involves the administration of a lethal drug or otherwise actively ending the life. These two types of procedures carry different moral and social issues. Euthanasia Controversy My opinion or point of view about euthanasia,There is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue and whether or not it should be legal. From a legal standpoint, the Encyclopedia of American Law categorizes mercy killing as a class of criminal homicide. Judicially, not all homicide is illegal. Killing is seen as excusable when used as a criminal punishment, but inexcusable when carried out for any other reason. In most nations, euthanasia is considered criminal homicide: however, in the jurisdictions mentioned above, it is placed on the other side of the table with criminal punishment. Arguments regarding the...

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