One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire
for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a
drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to
gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author
uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.
In Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, the protagonist Anna faces the decision of saving her sister's life and saving herself. Her parents originally only had two children, Anna's sister Kate and her brother Jesse. After Kate was diagnosed with leukemia, her parents need to find someone who was a genetic match to her so they could donate bone marrow and keep Kate alive. After finding that no one in the family could provide the blood for Kate, her parents decided to have another baby, only this time they selected genes for the child that would ensure a genetic match for Kate. Almost instantly after Anna is born, transfusions begin. Years of painful treatment pass and Anna continues to supply Kate, often having to miss school, losing friends along the way. Seemingly, Anna has had enough of the treatments, and the book begins with Anna asking a lawyer for the rights to her own body over her parents.
The story continues with the fight over the custody of Anna's body between Anna and her parents. Anna is trying to free herself from the control of her parents, and argues that she doesn't need to put up with the transplants and longer. She is losing everything else and is left with a family that seems to only care about Kate's survival rather than hers. While Anna's mom is fighting against Anna in the court case, is causes a divide in the family.
As the story goes on, we eventually see that Anna was not selfishly trying to save herself from the pain and her sacrifices, but instead her sister's. Kate had already tried to commit suicide because she was tired of living in such a helpless way, and when a vital kidney transplant was required, Kate made Anna promise to just let her be, which is why Anna began fighting in the first place.
In this novel, we see boundaries of ethics stretch. Anna is the result of a genetic enhancement. Is it right to choose what traits your child will have? Essentially, Anna's existence is because of Kate. Is it right for Anna to have to endure these treatments, even if it is to save Kate? When is saving a child's life wrong? This novel transcends the plot by evoking these types of ethical dilemmas in the reader's mind. The struggle for power illustrated here may have readers reconsider what is right and what is wrong.
Just by reading the summary you put in this blog post it makes me want to read the book. I saw the movie a long time ago but the book seems to be much more interesting! I think it is wrong for Anna's parents to genetically enhance her just to try and keep their other daughter alive. I understand that it would be awful to lose a child, and that they want to keep her alive, but it is unfair for Anna to endure painful treatments and have no choice in the matter. Also, if Kate doesn't want to do the treatments anymore either, they shouldn't be forcing Anna to do them. I think it is very brave that Anna would have the courage to fight against her own family, and this is definitely a good example of the struggle for power.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the book, so I'll try to give some feedback on the essay structure. Your choice of book is definitely an interesting take on the prompt. It seems to me that the AP people might have been looking for some type of more clear cut story about someone being corrupted by power or something similar, but your take on it is rather unique and thats what makes the essay interesting. I think your first paragraph might be a little too summary-like. It may be better to meld the needed plot material into the argument, rather than give it separately. It will make the plot seem like less of a focus in the essay. I think it could also benefit from specific example from the book about scenes where the idea of power of one's own body is evident. Is there a climatic scene in which Anna gains her freedom and finally escapes the power of her parents? Specific details like that would make your argument stronger. The conclusion is very good; you did an excellent job of relating the power struggle to the theme and larger message of the book.
ReplyDeleteRight when I started reading your essay, I just looked at the title of the book you chose and was like, yes! Perfect example. Before I even thought about Anna wanting control of her own body, I thought about Kate wanting control of HERS. Especially since in the end we see that Kate is the reason Anna began the legal fight for her rights to her own medical decisions in the first place. Kate wanted control of her body - she wanted the power to choose not to have surgery and not to keep fighting a painful battle she knew she would lose. She wanted the power to choose death. Great choice!
ReplyDeleteWoah. I meant "great choice" as in great book choice for this essay..not that death is a great choice...just to clear that up.
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