i
CHILDREN IN
JODI PICOULT’S MY SISTER’S KEEPER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
GERISCA SCARA BELLI Student Number: 064214037
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
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The hope is we have so much to feel
good about
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First, I would like to thank the one and only, my Savior, my Lord, Jesus Christ, for all His mercies and blessings for me in finishing my thesis.
My second gratitude goes to my advisor Maria Ananta, S.S., M. Ed., for her guidance and suggestions and for being patient to me. I would like to thank to my co-advisor Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S for her suggestions and advices. I would like to thank Anna Fitriati, S.Pd., M. Hum. also for her guidance and her kind heart since I started my study.
I would also like to say my biggest thanks to my beloved parents, Eduward Harry and Ariyani Wijiastuti, and also my brother, De Stevano Arsela. Thank you for the love, support, and attention that you have given to me all this time. I also thank Erick, for showing me how to enjoy life.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my dearest friends Ambar, Nana, Shanti, Itok, Asela, Putri, Eling, Media, Rika, Siska, Elis, and Mbak Yovie, thank you for your patience and always cheering my life up. And for my entire classmates in 2006, whom I cannot mention one by one, thank you for being with me at Sanata Dharma University.
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI………. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS……….. vii
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW………. 8
A. Review of Related Studies……….. 8
B. Review of Related Theory………... 12
1. Theory of Conflict………. …… 12
2. Theory of Self Defense Mechanism……….. 13
3. Theory of Identity………. 17
B. The Interconnection of Anna’s Self Defense and Anna’s Conflicts……….……… 34
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Anna’s Identity Search Process as Designer Children in Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2011.
Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper tells about Anna, a thirteen-year-old girl, who becomes her sister’s keeper for almost her life. Since the beginning, her parents ‘design’ Anna to save her sister, Kate, who gets leukemia acute. One day, her mother asks her to give one of her kidney to save Kate’s life. At this point, she realizes that she must stop all savior actions for Kate. She wants to have her own life and her identity. But, on the other hand, it is the only way to save Kate. It makes her has internal conflict. She decides to sue her parents to get what she wants. And it creates external conflict with her family, especially her mother.
The writer focuses on three problems. First is the description of the conflicts that Anna faces. Second is how the conflicts influence Anna to have self defense mechanism. And the last is how Anna’s self defense also influences her identity search.
In analyzing the topic, the writer uses three theories; theory of conflict, theory of self defense mechanism, and theory of identity. The writer also uses Psychological Approach for analyzing the topic. The writer uses library research method. The sources are taken from several books and internet that helps the writer to analyze the topic.
x ABSTRAK
GERISCA SCARA BELLI. The Interconnection of Self Defense and Conflict in Anna’s Identity Search Process as Designer Children in Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2011.
Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper bercerita tentang Anna, seorang gadis berumur 13 tahun yang hampir selama hidupnya menjadi penjaga kakak perempuannya. Sejak awal, orang tuanya ‘merancang’ Anna untuk menyelamatkan kakak perempuannya, Kate, yang menderita leukemia akut. Suatu hari, ibunya memintanya untuk memberikan salah satu ginjalnya untuk Kate. Pada titik ini Anna menyadari bahwa dia harus menghentikan semua tindakan penyelamatan untuk Kayte. Dia ingin mendapatkan hidupnya dan jati dirinya. Tetapi, di sisi lain, itu adalah satu-satunya cara untuk menyelamatkan Kate. Hal ini menyebabkan Anna mengalami konflik internal. Dia memutuskan menuntut orang tuanya untuk mendapatkan apa yang diinginkannya. Hal ini menyebabkan konflik eksternal dengan keluarganya, terutama ibunya.
Penulis berfokus pada tiga masalah. Yang pertama adalah penjelasan tentang konflik yang dihadapi oleh Anna. Yang kedua adalah bagaimana pengaruh konflik yang dihadapi Anna membuat dia memiliki sistem pertahanan diri. Dan yang terakhir adalah bagaimana sistem pertahanan diri Anna juga mempengaruhi proses pencarian identitasnya.
Dalam menganalisa topik, penulis menggunakan tiga teori; teori konflik, teori sistem pertahanan diri, dan teori identitas. Penulis juga menggunakan pendekatan psikologi untuk menganalisa topik. Penulis menggunakan metode studi pustaka. Sumber-sumber diambil dari beberapa buku dan internet yang membantu penulis menganalisa topik.
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
For a new family, having children is part of their plan. They usually let their fate decide it. Decide what and how their children will be and they hope their children are the perfect ones. But, some of parents out there are not as lucky as other parents whose children are perfect.
Nowadays, parents can create their own children depend on their criteria. They can have children with certain IQ and personality, what body type they will have, what kinds of illness they will be naturally resistant to, etc. Now, parents can have their children without thinking that their children will be disabling or will have serious illness. This term called “designer children”. (Lemonick 1999: 44).
But, as long as the technology advances, it is also used for nonmedical reason. Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Cornel Medical Center, New York said in Lemonick’s article, “Our view at the moment is that these techniques should be used for medical indication, not family balancing.” (1999: 44).
This term still becomes a controversy until now. For some people it is okay to create your own children depend on your demand because everybody wants to have perfect children. But, for others it is wrong. It is just like you fight against God’s will. But sometimes parents, who decide to have a designer baby, do not consider what will happen in the future with their designer children because they are basically different from other children in their family or even in the society. Are they treated the same as other children? Will they get same attention as others? One day they need explanation for it if they know the truth. Based on the novel, the differences treatment between designer children and other children are the purpose (having children for saving other children) and the way they are treated because of the purpose (attention).
For children in this period of age, conflict maybe difficult to face. It becomes worst when they can not handle it. The difficulty appears when the conflict is worst. In this novel, the conflict appears when Anna, the designer children, who starts to speak her mind as designer children, wants to stop being a donor for her sister who gets Acute Leukemia. This action creates conflict in the family. Then she has to face two options, and both of them are important and she has to choose one of them. It is usually called dilemma. Usually people have difficulty to choose which one is the best option because each option that is chosen has consequence and sometimes that is not a good consequence. And for Anna it is more difficult because it relates with her closest environment. She can not consider it as an easy decision. She has to think it many times before she decides it.
The conflict that appears can create the feeling of anxiety for the designer children. They feel anxious because they feel uncomfortable with the situation but in the other hand they are starting to ask about their existence in the family. They feel as one of the family members but they are treated differently.
unbearable inner conflicts and anxieties.”(1977: 54). Self defense mechanism is a mechanism that a person has to control the feeling of anxiety.
Feelings of anxiety occurred because adolescents want to defend themselves from the impact of conflict. According Conger’s book Adolescence and Youth Psychological Development in a Changing World (Second Edition,) “anxiety represents a painful state of heightened-tension that markedly disturbs psychological equilibrium.”(Conger 1977:79). Anxiety is a feeling that occurs as a result of heightened-tension that can disturb psychological condition of adolescents. So, this mechanism is needed for adolescents to balance their psychological condition. Not only important in psychological aspect, Anna’s self defense mechanism influences her identity searching process. In her age, identity is the essential thing. The defense mechanism also takes part in shaping Anna’s identity.
My Sister’s Keeper was written based on the recent issue where stem cell research and designer children became headline that become upcoming controversial issues. Jodi Picoult writes several novels about controversial topics.
treatments for Kate. Anna never complains about it because she thinks it is her obligation to save Kate. But for this time, Anna refuses it. She starts to speak her mind up that she does not want to become Kate’s donor anymore. It makes conflict in the family, especially with her mother. Her dispute with her mom makes Anna anxious. Anna starts asks her existence in her family. She is considered as one of The Fitzgeralds but she feels she is not treated as she should be. Anna realized she wants to get her own medical right. At the same time, Kate supports her action to stop being a donor for her because she feels she will die sooner or later. Because of her willingness to get her medical right, Anna experiences inner conflict between saving Kate’s life and get her right for her body. Those two options have their own risk that is not easy for Anna. By following her conscience, she pursues her parents in court to get her right. She thinks it is the best way to end all medical treatments that has chained her for the whole life. It influences Anna’s identity searching process at the end.
B. Problem Formulation
Because of those several reasons that are stated before, the writer has formulated three problem formulations to help the writer doing the analysis. The problem formulations are:
a. What kind of conflict that Anna faces?
b. How is Anna’s self defense interconnected with Anna’s conflict?
C. Objectives of the Study
To help the writer analyze this study, especially to answer problems formulation, the writer needs to have objectives of study. In this analysis, the writer has three objectives of study relates with the three problem formulations. First, the purpose is to find out what kind of conflict that appears in the story. It will help the writer to discover what kind of conflict that Anna faces. Second purpose is to see how the self defense interconnected with the conflict. The writer wants to know how the self defence of Anna interconnected with her conflict. The last purpose is to find out how the interconnection of self defense and conflicts influences identity searching process. The writer wants to know how the interconnection of Anna self defense and conflicts influences her identity searching process.
D. Definition of Terms a. Designer Children
Designer children is children whose parents have accessed to genetic testing techniques so could predetermine their children sex with great accuracy, what body type they will have, their hair and eye color, what sorts of illness they will be naturally resistant to, and even, conceivably, their IQ and personality type. (Lemonick 1999: 44)
Conflict is a clash between characters, between a character and his environment, within himself. Or conflict is a clash of universe, even a struggle for meaning on the part of the reader. (Beaty 1973: 604)
c. Self Defense Mechanism
Self Defense Mechanism or Ego Defense Mechanisms is the ego’s unconscious mechanisms distorting feelings or perceptions when a real or imagined threat is perceived, in order to stave off unbearable inner conflicts and anxieties. (Cirese 1977: 54)
d. Identity
8 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
In this study, writer also needs related of studies. There are several related studies that discuss about My Sister’s Keeper that relates with the story.
1. Julie Ackendorf’ Article “Review of Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper: Does a Child Have the Right to Make Their Own Medical Decisions?”
This article discusses about designer children that also becomes subject of Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. Anna, as the designer baby, does not have option to do anything except being Kate savior.
When her older sister Kate fell ill at the age of two with a rare form of Leukemia, Anna's parents decided to create embryos in a lab and have them tested to see which would be a perfect match for organ donation for the toddler. Initially the only donation anticipated was blood from the baby's umbilical cord, but as years went on Anna had to donate platelets, bone marrow, and finally was asked to donate a kidney
Anna started to give her organs for donor since she was born. Then, the demand increased because Kate’s condition became worst. At the beginning, she did all the procedures to help Kate.
But, one day, when Kate needed kidney to prolong her life, Anna thought it was enough. She wanted her medical right. She realized she was a designer baby. But, she thought that she was also human being that had same right with others, included her medical right.
2. Theresa Phillips’ Article”My Sister's Keeper and Designer Babies”
Anna’s right as a designer baby seems not an important thing for her parents. They think that Anna is too young to decide anything so they have right to decide what Anna should do. Theresa Philips, in her article wrote about the right of Anna to decide her own medical treatment. Her parent seems to take over her rights. “The ethical controversy at the start of the book seems to arise in the reasons for her conception: to donate tissue that would save her sister's life, but later focuses on the question of who has the right to choose whether or not she is a donor, her or her parents? is under her parents control. She is not allowed to do anything that may have certain impact to Kate.
too young to make her own decision. “She believes that Anna is too young to have control over her body and cannot possibly grasp the enormity and significance of saving Kate’s life.”
At the end, all the medical process that Anna has done is unfair for her. She can not use her right to control her own life because her parents think she is too young to decide anything. But Anna feels many of her parent’s decisions are not in her side.
3. Caroline Davies’ “My Jamie is Not A 'Designer Baby': He Has Given His Brother A New Life”
This article told about The Whitakers, whose son, Charlie, got Diamond Blackfan Anemia so he has lack number of red blood cells. One way to save Charlie was donor from his siblings. First, his parents had a daughter named Emily that was considered could cure Charlie. But, they were not a perfect match. So, Charlie’s parents decided to take the risk by having another child. Then, Jamie was born and he saved Charlie’s life.
4. Michael D. Lemonick’s ”Designer Babies”
This article discussed about the phenomenon of designer baby that become a ‘common’ thing in United State. This is one of advancements in medical world. But many experts, doctors, ethicists, religion leader, even politician debate it. Lemonick said, “Though the techniques making the designer babies are perfected within in the next decade, they should be applied in the service of disease prevention, not improving on nature” (Lemonick 1999: 44). Many experts ask decision to have designer babies should be taken for medical reason, to cure or prevent from some disease not for other reason. They consider the effects that will be occurred after the babies born. Will they feel pressure from others? Or will they who are allowed to be born with these characteristics be made to feel same as others?
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Theory of Conflict
As we know, nobody can be free from conflict. The causes of conflict can occur both from inside and outside. In fiction, conflict also appears between the characters. According to Danziger and Johnson in An Introduction to Literary Criticism, characters in the story have good contribution for delivering conflict.
In literature, especially in novel, the character has big contribution in producing good story, especially on revealing the conflict. Within the lives of the character, conflicts, whether a conflict between two people or the conflict within one person’s mind is expressed throughout the story. (1961:28)
Sometimes conflict that appears in literature makes the story more interesting and it interests the reader to take a part of the story. Generally, conflict is defined as the opposition of two people. According Jerome Beaty in The Norton Introduction to Literature, “conflict is a clash between characters, between a character and his environment, within himself. Or conflict is a clash of universe, even a struggle for meaning on the part of the reader.” (1973: 604). Conflict is contradiction between the characters with other characters, environment, even within themselves. Or conflict is different understanding or view of the reader.
According to Redman’s A Second Book of Plays, “conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces, ideas, or beliefs, which is the basis of the plot.” (1964: 363). Redman divided conflict into two: internal conflict and external conflict.
Internal conflict refers to struggle within the heart and the mind of the protagonist. The internal conflict is conflict between two desires or values in a character’s own mind. The characters deal with their own mixed feelings or emotion. External conflict refers to a struggle between the protagonist and the outside forces. (1964: 363)
Relates with Psychological approach that I use to analyze the thesis, there are three kinds of conflict in Psychological science according to Dollard and Miller in Sarah Cirese’s book Quest: A Search for Self. (Cirese 1977: 188).
a. Approach - Approach Conflict
Approach - Approach Conflict is the inner struggle arising from desiring two equally valued but incompatible goals.
b. Approach - Avoidance Conflict
Approach - Avoidance Conflict is the inner struggle arising from wanting s goal that is at once both positive and negative.
c. Avoidance - Avoidance Conflict
Relate with those theories, this thesis include to the second type of conflict, Approach - Avoidance Conflict. Anna faces a dilemma. Both of the options have positive and negative effect for Anna’s life.
Actually not all conflicts are easy to solve. There is conflict that is not easy to solve. It is called dilemma. Dilemma is a situation, in which there are two courses of action both of which are equally bad or equally impossible. (Beaty 1973: 604). This situation puts difficult choice in individual’s mind. They have to face options that hard to choose.
2. Theory of Self Defense Mechanism
“…most of these mechanisms also play a role in the development and functioning of ‘normal’ individuals. The kinds of defense mechanisms a particular person is most likely to employ vary, depending on personality structure, specific learning experiences, age, and level cognitive development.” (Conger 1977: 80)
Defense mechanism has an important role in a finding process of someone’s character. But each person has their own defense mechanisms that always changes depending on several terms such as personality structure (how does the personality of someone is shaped), learning experience (what someone’s get during the process of life), age, and cognitive development (the development of someone’s learning or understanding process)
According to Sarah Cirese in her book Quest: A Search for Self, there are 7 types of self defense mechanisms.
a. Denial : the attempt to deny external reality by refusing to admit to one self what is happening.
b. Displacement : unconsciously, but purposefully, shifting a feeling toward one object to another, less threatening object in order to avoid conflict.
c. Projection : attributing one’s own feelings, desires, attitudes, or motivations to others.
e. Reaction Formation : masking an undesirable thought or feeling by turning its opposite; overreacting in one direction to deny feelings in the opposite direction.
f. Regression : reverting to behavior of an earlier stage of development in order to avoid the stresses, challenges, and conflicts of the present.
g. Repression : pushing painful, anxiety-provoking disturbing, unacceptable thoughts or feelings out of consciousness. (1977: 477)
3. Theory of Identity
Adolescence refers to the period of human’s transition from childhood to adulthood. The range of the age is 12 to the late teen, as children grow up physically (e.q. sexual development) and also grow up psychologically (search for identity).
The search for personal identity involves deciding what is important or worth doing and formulating standards of conduct for evaluating one’s own behavior as well as the behavior of others. (Atkinson 1981: 94-95)
The process of searching the identity involves the process of adolescents to know and decide which one is important and worthy by seeing other people behavior so they can learn. It can be her family, friends, and society.
According to Sarah Cirese’s Quest: A Search for Self, identity is a sense of self, the sense a person has of who he or she is (1977:176). Identity describes the concept of self as a person, that we are unique and different from others. The process for finding identity is the life-long process. We must know and have a feeling for who we are and we need to be who we believe we are.
become ‘someone’ that are different from other people surround them. Or it can be said, they want to show their own identity.
In adolescence period the problem of identity is likely the most essential. So, it is not surprising that problem of identity search is the important thing in adolescence. In this period, adolescents start to find out who they are, what their role are, etc as the result of rapid changes that happen in their life and puberty. They want finding the answer to a question, “Who Am I?” (1977: 176).
Karen Huffman, according to Erikson’s theory, stated that this condition is included in Erikson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages of Development (2000 : 338). They are: a. Period of Trust versus Mistrust (Infancy : 0-1 year old)
Infants learn to trust that their needs will be met by the world, especially by the mother, if not, mistrust develops.
b. Period of Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (Early Childhood : 1-3 years old)
Children learn to exercise will, to make choices, to control themselves; if not, they become uncertain and doubt that they can do things by themselves.
c. Period of Initiative versus Guilt (Play Age : 3-6 years old)
d. Period of Industry versus Inferiority (School Age : 6-12 years old)
Children develop a sense of industry and curiosity and are eager to learn, if not, they feel inferior and lose interest in the tasks before them.
e. Period of Identity versus Role Confession (Adolescence : 12-20 years old)
Adolescents come to see themselves as unique and integrated persons with an ideology; if not, they become confused about what they want out of life.
f. Period of Intimacy versus Isolation (Young Adulthood : 20-30 years old)
Young people become able to commit themselves to another person, if not, they develop a sense of isolation and feel they have no one on the world but themselves.
h. Period of Ego Integrity versus Despair (Mature : 65+ years old)
Older people enter a period of reflection, becoming assured that their lives have been meaningful, and they grow ready to face death with acceptance and dignity.
This case is in the fifth stage called Period of Ego Identity versus Role Confusion (age 12-20 years old). According to Larry A. Hjele, this period is regarded as highly significant in the individual’s psychosocial development. And in this period adolescents experience identity crisis. (Hjelle 1981: 124)
According to Erik Erikson, “Identity crisis is the failure of the young person to develop a personal identity because of unfortunate childhood experiences or present social circumstances” (Hjelle 1981: 126)
Karen Huffman in her book Psychological in Action, also said that in this period each person experiences developing identity. During this period, adolescents will experience Identity Crisis. They confuse with their want in their life.
C. Theoretical Framework
22 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
This study discusses a novel of Jodi Picoult My Sister’s Keeper. This novel was published by Atria Books in 2004. This novel contains of 500 pages.
Picoult’s novel, My Sister’s Keeper received several awards and honors between the years of 2005 until the year of 2009. In 2005 My Sister’s Keeper received Best Book of The Year by Bookbrowse.com and Winner of the Margaret Alexander Edwards Award (the Alex Award) given by the American Library Association. In the 2006, My Sister’s Keeper received Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award in the high school division. In 2007 My Sister’s Keeper received The Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award, Vermont Green Mountain Book Award Master List, and Winner of the Virginia Readers’ Choice Award. And in 2009 My Sister’s Keeper received 2009 Latino Book Awards as Best Novel, Spanish or Bilingual.
B. Approach of the Study
Approach is needed to analyze a literary work. We can find many factors as the causes for the author to make a literary work. The approach also helps the readers to understand the story over all. But, all approaches have their own limitation in analyzing a literary work.
In this study, the writer uses Psychological Approach. Psychological approach can give strong evident for solving a thematic work and symbolic mystery. Psychological approach is approach that deals with a work of literature primarily as an expression, in fictional form, of the state of mind and the structure of personality of the individual author. (Abrams 1985 : 263). This approach deals with human behavior and feeling. As in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, by using Psychological Approach, we can discover something inside the characterization of the character. “…the psychological approach is an excellent tool for reading beneath the lines…” (Guerin 2005: 153).
The writer used this approach because this approach is suitable with the topic of the study and in this study; the writer analyzed the characteristics of the main character based on her psychological condition.
C. Method of the Study
taken from several books in the library for data of the theories. Another source was taken from website in the internet as secondary source also.
The writer read the novel as the first step. The second step was determining the topic that wanted to be analyzed. Finding the topic, the writer found data from the novel that were suitable with the topic, in this study was the conflict that the main character faced. Later, the writer arranged the problem formulation and tried to find some theories that related with the study. The next step was the writer tried to find secondary data to support the study.
25 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part discusses about the conflict that Anna faces and how she deals with the conflict. The second part discusses about the influences of the conflict toward Anna’s self defense. And the last part discusses about Anna’s self defense influence her process of finding identity as an adolescent. This part used all the theories in Chapter II.
A. The Conflict that Anna Faces
Conflict becomes the main part in this study. As stated in chapter II, there are two kinds of conflict people faced in their life. There are internal conflict and external conflict. This part discusses the conflicts that Anna faces.
The story tells about The Fitzgeralds, whose one of their daughters, Kate, has been diagnosed by APL, Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia since she is two. It is a rare disease. Since Kate’s condition getting worse, the doctor suggests doing some transplantation to prolong Kate’s life and for that reasons, they need a donor. The problem is, no one in the family is the perfect match for Kate. The other option is Kate has to wait for an unrelated donor. But, the doctor says sometimes it is dangerous. So, to solve the problem the doctor suggests them to have a baby as Kate’s perfect match. And they do it.
“Our three-year-old daughter has a very aggressive leukemia. Her oncologist suggested we find a bone marrow donor-but our oldest son wasn’t a genetic match…So we thought it might be a good idea to see if another sibling of Kate’s matched up.” (p. 122).
“I thought it might be Jesse who could save her. I wanted it to be Jesse.” “We all did,” Dr. Chance answers.
“Listen. Twenty years ago, the survival rate was even smaller. And I’ve known lots of families where one sibling isn’t a match, but another sibling turn out to be just right. (p. 78)
Then they have Anna. She is a perfect match for Kate. And just after Anna was born, she had to be a donor for her sister. They take her umbilical cord for Kate. (p.124) and this situation happen for several years.
“They had me so that I could save Kate,”
“They went to special doctors and everything, and picked the embryo that would be a perfect genetic match.” (p. 25)
But, then there is a conflict when Anna grows up. The conflict starts when her mother asks Anna to give her kidney to save Kate. This is the best way at the moment to prolong Kate’s life and only her that can save Kate because she is her best match. But Anna does not want to do it.
“My sister is dying, and my mother wants me to donate one of my kidneys to her,” (p.23).
“I’ve been doing some reading on the internet,” my mother said. “Transplants of typical organs aren’t nearly as difficult to recover from as bone marrow transplants.”
“You can’t exactly pick up a kidney at Kmart”
“I know. It turns out that you only need to match a couple of HLA proteins to be a kidney donor-not all six. I called Dr. Chance to ask if I might be a match for you, and he said in normal cases, I probably would.”
Kate hears the right word. “Normal cases?”
“Which you’re not. Dr. Chance thinks you’d reject an organ from the general donor pool, just because your body has already been through so much.” My mother looked down at the carpet. “He won’t recommend the procedure unless the kidney comes from Anna.” (p, 447)
Since Kate’s condition getting worse, the disease has damaged some of her organs. Kate’s leukemia damages her kidneys. She needs supporting machine to replace her kidneys.
Dr. Chance told us a long time ago that this was how it usually worked-a patient’s body just gets worn down, from all the fighting. Little by little, pieces of them start to give up. In Kate’s case, it is her kidneys. (p. 51)
Her mother thinks only Anna can help to prolong Kate’s life by giving one of her kidneys because no one in her family matches with her.
“Does Kate have any siblings?”
“A brother,” I say. A thought dawns, a horrible one. “Could he have this, too?”
unrelated donor. However, getting a transplant from a stranger who’s a match is much more dangerous than getting one from a relative-the risk of mortality greatly increases.” (p. 74)
But, Anna feels that all medical treatment that she has done for Kate is enough. She had done several medical treatments since she was born.
“The first time I gave something to my sister, it was cord blood, and I was a newborn. She has leukemia-APL-an my cells put her into remission. The next time she relapsed, I was five and I had lymphocytes drawn from me, three times over, because the doctors never seemed to get enough of them the first time around. When that stopped working, they took bone marrow for a transplant. When Kate got infections, I had to donate granulocytes. When she relapsed again, I had to donate peripheral blood stem cells.” (p.24)
All the treatments that she get makes her tired and want to stop. The decision makes Anna faces conflict with her family, especially her mother.
Another reason is Anna knows that the kidney transplant has horrible effects after it is done. And she does not want take that risks. The effects of it are horrible.
You’re given anesthesia, the risks of which can include stroke, heart attack, and lung problems…And that doesn’t even include the long-term effects: an increased chance of high blood pressure, a risk of complications with pregnancy, a recommendation to refrain from activities where your lone remaining kidney might be damaged. (p.59)
Anna knows that the kidney transplant maybe unsuccessful. The possibility is small. Even Kate knows it and she does not believe either that it will work. Kate supports Anna to stop being her donor. But Sara, their mother, thinks the opposite. She seems to consider Anna as ‘Kate’s keeper instead of a daughter’.
In her mind, Anna is not more than a donor for Kate. Since they ‘planned’ Anna, Sara considered Anna as Kate’s saver, not her daughter.
The all medical treatments make Anna asks her existence in the family because her mother puts all her attention to Kate.
Brian sticks his head into Kate’s room. “Sara,” he says, exhausted, “Anna’s asking for you.”
“I’m a little busy right now,” I say.
“Anna’s asking for you,” Brian repeats, that’s all.
Anna is on pediatric floor, one that doesn’t have the hermetically sealed rooms necessary for protective isolation. I hear her crying before I even enter the room.
“Mommy,” she sobs. “It hurts.” “I know, sweetie.”
“Can you stay here?”
I shake my head. “Kate’s sick. I’m going to have to go back.”
Anna pulls away. “But I’m in the hospital,” she says. “I’m in the hospital!” (p.281)
It makes the conflict between Anna and her mother going deeply. Their conflict is getting worse when Anna’s parents get the lawsuit document.
“What’s going on?”
I clear my throat. “I got a lawyer”
“Evidently.” My mother grabs the portable phone and hands it to me. “Now get rid of him.”
I duck my head. “I don’t want to do it anymore.”
That ignites my mother. “Well, you know Anna, neither do I. In fact, neither does Kate. But it’s not something we have a choice about”.
The thing is, I do have a choice. Which is exactly why I have to be the one who to do this. (p. 63)
The lawsuit shocks them. Anna’s mother gets really upset of it.
Anna’s mother is disappointed with Anna’s decision. She is angry with Anna because she refuses to cancel the court’s process. Actually at the same time, Anna also experiences internal conflict when she sends the sue document. As a daughter of her parents, she should not sue her parents. But in the other hand, she wants to get her right for her own body and her life. Finally she decides to call Anna’s lawyer, Campbell Alexander, to cancel the case. But, Anna keeps going. It is shows that Anna has strong willing to end this problem.
“I will ask you one more time: have you changed your mind about this lawsuit?”
But to my surprise, she looks right at me, cool, and collected. “Are you still willing to represent me?” she asks.
Against my better judgment, I say yes.
“Then no,” she says, I haven’t changed my mind. (p. 94) No matter what happen, Anna keeps continues the case.
values in a character’s own mind. The characters deal with their own mixed feelings or emotion” (1964: 63)
This situation makes Anna tired and wants to stop. But, she will be in the dilemma situation. She has to choose between saving her sister’s life or getting her rights for her own body. Anna realized that her act to stop all medical treatments will put her sister’s life in danger. Her decision to stop the medical treatment is not simply selfish action. While, deep down Anna feels tired of doing all medical treatments that never ends. In this part, the mixed feeling is happened when people has internal conflict.
“What happens if you don’t give your sister a kidney?” asks her attorney, Campbell.
“She’ll die.”
“And you’re okay with that?” “I’m here. Aren’t I?”
“Yes you are. I’m just trying to figure out what made you want to put your foot down, after all this time.”
“Because,” she says simply, ”it never stops.” (p.25)
Anna understands and realizes what will happen to Kate if she stops being her donor. But, she thinks she deserves to get what she wants and what she should get, her medical rights
“You seem pretty worried about your sister right now,” Julia, Anna’s guardian ad litem, points out.
“Are you sure you’re ready to face what’s going to happen if you stop being a donor?”
“I know what’s going to happen.” Anna’s voice is low. “I never said I liked it.” (p.134)
“I don’t wanna her to die, but I know she doesn’t want to live like this, and I’m the one who can give her what she wants…I’ve always been the one who can give her what she wants.” (p.461)
The fact that Anna sues her parents creating an uncomfortable situation between her parents and Anna but in the other hand, she still honor and afraid of her parents.
“Will you walk me in?” “Why?”, Julia asks.
“Because my mother’s going to kill me”
This Anna-genuinely skittish-bears little resemblance to the one I’ve spent the past hour with. I wonder how a girl might be both brave enough to instigate a lawsuit, and afraid to face her own mother. “How come?”
“I sort of left today without telling her where I was going.” “You do a lot?”
Anna shakes her head. “Usually I do whatever I’m told.” (p. 137)
When Anna deals with her dilemma, at the same time, Kate feels tired with her condition. She does not to make Anna suffers from the kidney transplant. Kate realizes that she will die, sooner or later. She asks Anna to stop being her donor. And only Anna knows it.
“Don’t do it,” Kate said, when they were gone.
I glanced at her. “What are you talking about? Of course I’m going to do it.” (p.461)
she decides to stop the transplant and convinces Anna for it though it is still a little secret between them.
“Think about it, Anna. You could go to your hockey camps. You could choose a college in a whole different country. You could do anything you want and never have to worry about me.” (p. 463).
In this part, even Kate convinces Anna to stop. She persuades Anna that she can do anything that she likes and she wants to do without thinking about her.
The support from Kate does not contribute much to Anna’s condition. Although Kate has given her the ‘permission’ to stop the transplant, Anna still faces dilemma. She thinks if she keeps doing her act, all of people, include her family will consider her as a cruel person who lets her sister die to get her rights.
There, they understand: I’m a monster. I started the lawsuit for some reasons I’m proud of and many I’m not…That I want Kate alive, but also want to be myself, not part of her. That I want the chance to grow up, even if Kate can’t. That Kate’s death would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me…and also the best. (p.463)
She wants the best for Kate, but she also wants the best for herself after what she has done. Although it means she has to face the public opinion about her that she ‘lets’ her sister dies.
But, finally Anna still do her belief, she wants to get medical rights. She wants to have her body as she always said and wanted. She has a strong willing to continue the lawsuit. She convinces the judge that she wants to stop being a donor for Kate. Kate also has given her permission for Anna to do it.
“Anna?” Judge De Salvo prompts.
“The kidney, that’s just today. Tomorrow it’ll be something else. It’s always something else.” (p.105)
Anna thinks it is just the beginning, same as other treatment and as always. There will be other treatments that she has to do to save Kate’s life as usual. That is why she said it never stops.
B. The Interconnection of Anna’s Self Defense and Anna’s Conflicts
The conflict that happened in someone’s life, more or less gives some influences. And it could be good or even bad. It also happens with Anna. The conflict that Anna faces has influenced her life. It has changed Anna’s way of thinking. She decides to do something as her defense mechanism to protect her self. The conflict that appears makes Anna does some reaction. She does a defense mechanism to protect her from the conflict.
For almost all of her life Anna becomes a donor for Kate. She has donated her organs to prolong Kate’s life. She has done many things for the family especially for Kate. She becomes Kate’s keeper for thirteen years. Anna also realizes that her life and Kate’s from the beginning depends on each other. During that time, Anna does a certain reaction as defense mechanism.
In the novel, her parents ask Anna to do certain medical treatment for Kate. Anna as an obedient girl, she ‘lets’ her parents do it because she feels she has to do it. It is an obligation as a sibling. Her parents, especially her mother, Sara, also convinces her to do it since she was a child. Actually Anna feels uncomfortable with it. But she thinks it is her obligation. Here Anna has self defense mechanism to defend or protect herself from the conflict that she has. Anna does Rationalization mechanism. She justifies her parents’ ask to do certain medical treatments for Kate is the best way she can do to reduce the conflict. She makes excuses by accepting it as her obligation as Kate’s sister. And, as the result of all conflicts, she uses logic by send lawsuit document for her parents. This is Anna’s reaction on the external conflict that she has with her mother.
Since the beginning, Anna is ‘designed’ to save Kate. Since the beginning of her mother’s pregnancy, Anna is purposed for that reason. And her mother seems to have less preparation than the previous pregnancy.
thinks-the first female placekicker for thinks-the Patriots. Then again, my dreams for her are no less exalted; I plan for her to save her sister’s life. (p. 119)
Sara seems does not really care about her pregnancy for this time. The only thing in her mind is the baby born then she can help to prolong Kate’s life. So Anna is only considered as Kate’s savior.
Her parents put much attention on Kate. Since she was a kid, there are different treatments for her. When she was five years old, her mother, Sara, picked Anna up from her friend’s birthday party because Kate needed her lymphocytes.
Anna scowls. “Why did I have to leave the party?”
Because your sister is more important than cake and ice cream; because I cannot do this for her; because I said so. (p. 208)
Her mother considered Kate’s life is more important than Anna’s because Anna is only a designer children that is designed to safe Kate. Anna did not give her complaint at that time because she had no idea. The only thing that she knew at that time was she helped her sister as her mother said to her.
During her life, Anna ‘devotes’ her life as a sister’s keeper for Kate. But her parents do not care enough about her feeling by doing several ‘sacrifice’ for Kate and she realizes it well
“In fact, when Jesse told me how babies get made and I, the great disbeliever, decide to ask my parents the truth, I got more than I bargained for. They sat me down and told me all the usual stuff, of course-but they also explained that they chose little embryonic me, specifically because I could save my sister, Kate. “We loved you ever more,” my mother made sure to say, “Because we knew what exactly we were getting.” It made me wonder, though, what would have happened if Kate had been healthy. (p.8)
Her mother, since the beginning, convinced Anna that she has done a great job, saving her sister. When she was a child, her parents said that what Anna did for Kate was to help her sister.
“She was five when she gave donor lymphocytes.” “What does involve?” Campbell asks.
“Drawing blood from the crooks of her arms.”
“Did Anna agree to let you put the needle in her arms?” “She was five years old,” Sara answers.
“Did you ask her if you could put the needle I her arm?” “I asked her to help her sister.” (p. 354).
She is told by her mother. Her mother tells her that she has to help her sister by doing all medical treatments. And as usual Anna never complains about the medical treatments that she has done for Kate.
The same thing happens when Anna wants to join a hockey camp. She was accepted in Goal Summer Hockey Camp. But her mother forbids her.
“Honey,” I say carefully, “you can’t do this.”
She shakes her head, as if she’s trying to make my words fit. “But it’s not now, or anything. It’s not till next summer.”And Kate might be dead by then. (p. 322)
does, we will need Anna – her blood, her stem cells, her tissue – right here. (p. 323)
Her mother forbids Anna to join hockey camp because Sara is terrified if some ‘bad things’ happen to Kate while Anna is away.
C. The Influence of The Interconnection of Anna’s Self Defense and Anna’s Conflicts toward Anna’s Identity Search Process
Adolescence is the most important period in someone’s life. In this period, people experience many things in process to find their identity. But, as we know, the experience is not always good. Sometimes they have to have the bad one. And in this period, identity problem is likely the most essential. According to Sarah Cirese’s Quest: A Search for Self, there are two factors that influence someone’s identity. And one of them is the fact they begin to define themselves more and more as “different from” their parents and other family members. (1977: 147). Adolescents will do anything to prove their existences and to be accepted by environment.
identity searching process of Anna. During the conflict that she has, she feels like she does not have her identity.
As other adolescents, the process of finding identity also happened to Anna. But, she is an exception. She is designer child that was designed to cure her sister who is suffering from leukemia. When she grows up, she starts to think about her existence in her family. For almost all of her life, she becomes a living donor for her sister, Kate. She realizes that her life is different from other kids.
During her life, Anna ‘devotes’ her life as a sister’s keeper for Kate. And she does not have her identity. But, one day she thinks that it must be stopped. She rebels to her parents. She feels that she has done many things for the family especially for Kate. She also feels that her parents, especially her mother, Sara, never understands her because she has never been asked for all the things that she has done for Kate. She does not want to continue it again. She feels that she has done her job as Kate’s keeper for thirteen years. Anna also realizes that her life and Kate’s from the beginning depends on each other. Anna wants to do something for her life.
She wants to decide something once in her life because she never does it. But, her mother thinks that Anna is not adult enough to decide anything. This situation makes Anna does a certain reaction. She decides to pursue her parenst for her health emancipation. This is Anna’s reaction on the external conflict that she has with her mother.
There’s a way too much to explain, and so I do the best I can.
The way to get a chance for her life is by sending the lawsuit for her medical rights to her parents. Her will to stop all treatments then pursue her parents is started when her mother asks her to give one of her kidneys to save Kate’s life. For people with APL, they have different organ that is attacked. And in Kate’s case the disease attacks her kidney. On the other side, kidney donor is the last option that they have to prolong Kate’s life.
“Well,” my mother announces out of the blue, “this is interesting”. She waves a pamphlet she’s taken from the bulletin board outside Kate’s room: You and Your New Kidney.
“Did you know they don’t take out the old kidney? They just transplant the new one into you and hook it up.”
“That creeps me out,” Kate says. “Imagine the coroner who cuts you open and sees you’ve got three instead of two.”
“I think the point of a transplant is so that the coroner won’t be cutting you open anytime soon,” my mother replies. This fictional kidney she’s discussing resides right now in my own body. (p. 58).
Her parents never think that Anna will stop being Kate’s donor and sue them because she wants to get her own life. Her parents always think that Anna will do anything for Kate because Kate is her sister. But the fact is she does not want to be a donor for Kate anymore.
When Anna decides to sue her parents, she goes to see a lawyer. She chooses Campbell Alexander. When she meets Campbell Alexander for the first time, he underestimated Anna.
“I don’t want any Girls Scout cookies,” Campbell Alexander says.
“Although you do get Brownie points for tenacity. Ha.” He smiles at his own joke.
He glances at me curiously, then pushes a button on his phone.
“Kerri,” he says when the secretary answers. “What is this doing in my office?”
“I’m here to retain you,” I say
The lawyer releases the intercom button. “I don’t think so.” “You don’t even know if I have a case.”
“Mr. Alexander,” I say, “my sister has leukemia.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But even if I were willing to litigate against God again, which I’m not, you can’t bring a lawsuit on someone else’s behalf. “It’s not God. Just my parents,” I say, “I want to sue them for the rights to my own body.” (p. 21)
Campbell is shocked when he hears it at the first time. Never in his life he gets a client that wants to sue her own parents. But after Anna explains him about all, he agrees to represent Anna on court.
Anna thinks this is the best way to have a normal life and get her life back. She feels she does not have a normal life as other children have. She feels her family never understand it at all. They are always busy and put much attention for Kate.
“They don’t listen to me.”
“They might, if you mentioned this,” Campbell says.
“They don’t really pay attention to me, except when they need my blood or something. I wouldn’t even be alive, if it wasn’t for Kate being sick.” (p.24) Anna feels her parents do not give her enough attention while she suffers as much as Kate. They put more attention to Kate. When she was five years old, her mother, Sara, picked Anna up from her friend’s birthday party because Kate needed her lymphocytes.
Anna scowls. “Why did I have to leave the party?”
Anna’s business seems not really important than Kate’s condition. Her mother does the same thing when Anna does bone marrow transplant for Kate.
Brian sticks his head into Kate’s room. “Sara,” he says, exhausted, “Anna’s asking for you.”
“I’m a little busy right now,” I say.
“Anna’s asking for you,” Brian repeats, that’s all.
Anna is on pediatric floor, one that doesn’t have the hermetically sealed rooms necessary for protective isolation. I hear her crying before I even enter the room.
“Mommy,” she sobs. “It hurts.” “I know, sweetie.”
“Can you stay here?”
I shake my head. “Kate’s sick. I’m going to have to go back.”
Anna pulls away. “But I’m in the hospital,” she says. “I’m in the hospital!” (p. 281)
Her mother more worries about Kate’s condition than Anna’s.
When the case is running, the judge asks Julia, a guardian ad litem to accompany Anna for two weeks and it means the process of the case must be postponed for two weeks until next session, her mother shows her objection also.
“Two weeks…” my mother says. I know what she’s thinking.
“Your Honor, with all due respect, two weeks is a very long time, given the severity of my other daughter’s illness.” (p. 106)
Her mother more worries about Kate’s condition than Anna’s condition whereas their condition is the same. Anna suffers as much as Kate. It is shown that Anna’s parents, especially her mother, pay more attention to Kate than Anna.
Anna thinks she has to do something to stop it. She thinks nobody understands her. She feels she does not have a normal life. Then, she thinks the only way to stop this is by suing her parents. She feels tired because nobody hears her. Her parents are more concerned with Kate than with her. This is a hard situation in their family. But there are no other ways for Anna. Anna has to do it.
Different from other teenagers, Anna does not have any friends as others. However having friends is an important thing for adolescence in process to find their identity. But, the situation does not allow her to have close friends. Anna tells it to Julia Romano, her guardian at litem when she visits her.
“Tell me what you like to do,” I say. “For fun” “Play hockey,” Anna says. I used to be a goaltender.” “Used to be?”
“The older you get, the less the coach forgives you if you miss a game.” She shrugs. “I don’t like letting a whole team down.”
“Do your friends still play hockey?”
“Friends? You can’t really have anyone over to your house when your sister needs to be resting. You don’t get invited back for sleepovers when your mom comes to pick you up at two in the morning to go to hospital. (p.133-134) Because the lack of attention also, even her parents do not know Anna plays hockey and her parents a little bit surprise with it.
“Anna, you don’t play hockey,” her mother point out, and when she blushes, I realize this may not be the case at all.
“A couple of months ago, the chain fell of my bike right in front of their hockey rink. A bunch of guys were practicing, but their goalie had mono, and the coach said he’d pay me five bucks to stand in the net and blocks shots. I borrowed the sick kid’s equipment, and the thing is…I wasn’t that bad at it. I liked it. So I kept coming back.” Anna smile shyly. “The coach asked me to join the team for real, before the tournament. I’m the first girl on it, ever. But I have to have my own equipment.”
“And ninety-six cents. That’s just the leg pads, though. I still need a chest protector and catcher and a glove and a mask.” Anna mutters something that sounds like Figures, and walks out of the room.
“Did you know she was playing hockey?” her father asks her mother, and she shakes her head. (p. 313)
It shows that her parents do not give Anna enough attention while she needs it. Her parents pay much attention to Kate since she was diagnosed. Even Jesse becomes ‘wild’ because he does not get enough attention.
The combination of the conflicts that she has and self defense mechanism that she builds influences Anna’s search of identity process. The conflicts that happened influence her self defense mechanism and of course it influences her identity.
When Anna has to face the conflict with her family, she is dealing with her internal conflict while she continuous the case. She thinks it is a good decision to get her life back but in the other hand she will let her sister die.
Anna has to deal with two important things in her life which is her own family and her rights. She only wants to find justice, at least for her own life. And she knows there will be sacrifice for it and she has made her choice. She wants to get her own rights. When the judge meets her, she convinces him about her action toward her family but beneath that, she cares about her family.
“Anna?” Judge De Salvo prompts.
“I can’t give a kidney to my sister. I just can’t”
“Your mother told me you want to drop the lawsuit,” he said. “Did she lie to me?”
“No.” I swallowed hard
“Then…why did you lie to her?”
Anna keeps refusing to give her kidney for Kate but this action does not mean she hates Kate or her family. Even she loves them very much. It is also happens when her parents talk to her again about the lawsuit and asks her to think about it again. But Anna does not change her mind.
“You mean it’s okay to stop?”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” my mother says.
“If you want, I’ll tell Kate,” I offer. “So you don’t have to.”
“That’s all right. Once Judge DeSalvo knows, we can pretend it never happened”
“But…won’t Kate ask why I’m not her donor anymore?”
My mother goes very still. “When I said stop, I meant the lawsuit.”
I shake my head hard, as much to give her an answer as to dislodge the knot of words tangled in my gut. (p.217)
All the things that happened in her life have convinced Anna more to do this action. She wants to fight for herself, for her rights. And Anna tells her lawyer, Campbell Alexander about it also.
“I came to your office because just for once, I wanted it to be about me instead of Kate.”
This lawsuit has never been about Anna wanting her sister to die, but simply that she wants a chance to live. (p. 349)
Anna seems tired with everything. Anna wants to repair this condition. But it does not mean she does not love Kate. She loves Kate very much. She just wants to have her own life instead of be Kate’s keeper.
If the cancer comes back, if this kidney transplant doesn’t work, if things don’t wind up the way we all wish they would for Kate…well, I will never ask you to help your sister again…but Anna, will you do this one last thing?” I hug her twice as tight as I would normally…I put my lips right up to her ear, and even as I speak I wish I wasn’t. “I can’t.” (p.330)
Anna refuses her mother’s order although she promises Anna that this donor is the last.
For her parents, Anna’s action is wrong. Children pursue their own parents is an unforgiveable thing. It means you fight against your own family who take care of you. But for Anna, this is the best thing she can do to get her life. She wants to get normal life as other teenagers.
She has dedicated almost her whole life as Kate’s keeper and ‘sacrifices’ her own life for it. Anna knows the consequence she will have. But because she has strong willingness to get her life and her rights back, she takes the risks by continuing the case no matter what happen next.
As the conflicts are running in her life, Anna’s purposes are getting clear. All the things that Anna has done, it does not mean she does not love her family, even Kate, her sister. What she has done is just the way to find justice for her life because she has been treated unfair.
“I’ve done the best I could, given what Anna admitted on the stand. And hope like hell that I’ve made her feel a little better about what she’s done, too. She doesn’t look selfish. She just looks like the rest of us—trying to figure out exactly who she is, and what to make of it.” (p. 472)
prodded. She didn’t make this decision because she was afraid of the pain.” (p. 481)
If you have a sister and she dies, do you stop saying you have one? Or are you always a sister, even when the other half of equation is gone?
I crawl onto the bed, which is narrow, but still big enough for both of us. I rest my head on her chest, so close to her central line that I can see the liquid dripping into her. Jesse is wrong – I didn’t come to see Kate because it would make me feel better. I came because without her, it’s hard to remember who I am. (p.168)
Although Anna has conflict with her family, she can not stay away from them. As mentioned before, she loves her family very much. Without them, she does not exist now.
Finally, the court keeps running. But, in the middle of the process, Anna hesitates about the case. When she watches her mother gives her testimonies, Anna feels hesitates about the continuance of the case.
“So, what do you think so far?”
“Comments?” he says “ Questions? Unadulterated praise for my skillful ligitation?”
I shrug. “It’s not like I expected.” “What do you mean?”
“I guess I figured when it started, I’d know for sure that I was doing the right thing. But when my mom was up there, and you were asking her all those questions…” I glance up at him. “That part about it not being simple. She’s right.”
What if I was the one who was sick? What if Kate had been asked to do what I’ve done? What if one of these days, some marrow or blood or whatever actually woked, and that was the end? What if I could look back on all this one day and feel good about what I did, instead of feeling guilty? What if the judge doesn’t think I,m right? What if he does?
I can’t answer a single one of these, which is how I know that whether I’m ready or not, I’m growing up. (p. 358-359)
of the court process. She finds her father is not on her side as she thinks before. Her father wants Anna to keep doing the kidney transplant.
“After having moved out with Anna, after having spoken to her at great about why she’s initiated this lawsuit --- do you agree with your wife’s request to have Anna continue to be a donor for Kate?”
Brian leans forward to reply. “Yes, I do,” he says.
“Mr. Fitzgerald, in your opinion…” I begin, and then I realize what he’s just done. “Excuse me?”
“I still wish Anna would donate a kidney,” Brian admits. (p. 413)
It makes Anna hesitate and she does not want to testify in the court. It shows she is a teenager that still questioning what she wants actually. But, Campbell convinces her.
“Anna, you’re going to have to do it yourself.” She looks up at me, wary. “Do what?”
“Testify.”
Anna blinks at me. “Are you kidding? You told me yesterday I wouldn’t have to testify,” Anna says, getting agitated.
“I was wrong.”
“I hired you so that you could tell everyone what I want.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” I say. “You started this lawsuit. You wanted to be someone other than the person your family’s made you for the past thirteen years. And that means you have to pull back the curtain and show us who she is.”
“Half the grown-ups on this planet have no idea who they are, but they get to make decisions for themselves every day,” Anna argues.
“They aren’t thirteen. Listen,” I say, getting to what I imagine is the crux of the matter. “I know, in the past, standing up and speaking your mind hasn’t gotten you anywhere. But, I promise you, this time, when you talk, everyone will listen.” (p. 415)
But, after hearing all testimonies from several witnesses, Anna finally decides to give her testimony in the court. She tells her feeling to everyone in the court. She tells her reasons to sue her parents.
caught between my teeth. But, what I mean to say isn’t quite what slip out. “I was kind of convinced by someone.”
“Anna,” Campbell says, “who convinced you?”
I am small in this seat, in this state, on this lonely planet. I fold my hands together, holding between them the only emotion. I’ve managed to keep from slipping away: regret. “Kate.” (p. 449).
Finally Anna can tell everybody what she feels. She can speak up her mind though she has to face a hard consequence later. In this part, Anna wants to show their identity. In this part, Anna shows her self.
During the court process, Anna’s character is influenced. Although she is still a teenager, she becomes more mature. She can stand for herself now. She is not a hesitant person anymore.
“I don’t want to face Judge De Salvo’s decision today, and for once it has nothing to do with fear of losing this case. I’ve done the best I could, given what Anna admitted on the stand. And I hope like hell that I’ve made her feel a little better about what she’s done, too. She doesn’t look like an indecisive kid anymore, that much is true. She doesn’t look selfish. She just looks like the rest of us – trying to figure out exactly who she is, and what to make of it,” Campbell said. (p.472)
“Like Mrs. Fitzgerald just said, this case isn’t about Anna donating a kidney. It isn’t about her donating a skin cell, a single blood cell, a rope of DNA. It’s about a girl who is on the cusp of becoming someone. A girl who is thirteen -which is hard, and painful and beautiful, and difficult, and exhilarating. A girl who may not know who she is right now, but who deserves the chance to find out. And ten years from now, in my opinion, I think she’s going to be pretty amazing.” (p. 480)
Anna starts to show her identity as a member of her family not only a donor for Kate. She can show to her parents, that she is their daughter.
“Anna,” he asks, “will you please stand up?”
bed and what TV shows you can’t watch and whether you have to finish your broccoli, with regards to any medical treatment, you have the last word.” He turns to Anna’s mother.
“Mrs. Fitzgerald, Mr. Fitzgerald---I’m going to order you to meet with Anna and her pediatrician and discuss the terms of this verdict so that the doctor understands he needs to deal with Anna. And just so that she has additional guidance, should she need it, I’m going to ask Mr. Alexander to assume medical power of attorney for her until age eighteen, so that he may assist her in making some of the more difficult decisions. “(p. 483)
51 CHAPTER V CONCLUSION
After discussing some questions related to the story, in this chapter the writer will try to conclude the finding of the research. This research discusses Anna, as the main character, and the conflicts that she has as a designer children. The conflicts that have happened in Anna’s life influence her life. She has to face difficult problems in her life as (teenager) which is the important age of someone to shape her identity. In that age, she has to go to the court and fight against her own family, in this case her own mother, to get her rights of her life. Anna becomes mature for a girl as her age. She is a strong willed person. She can get what she wants in her life although she has to do an extreme act, sue her parents and she has to face many conflicts but she keeps doing what she believes.
makes Anna feel hesitant in the middle of the court process. But at the end, because of her strong willing, she keeps continuing the lawsuit.
The conflicts influence Anna’s life. It triggers Anna to have a self defense mechanism to protect her from the conflicts that she has. The defense mechanism helps Anna overcomes the conflicts. The defense mechanism that appears is Rationalization, defending against otherwise unacceptable behavior by justifying, making excuses, or using logic to obscure the facts (Cirese 1977:477). It makes Anna helps herself to deal with the problems. Anna justifies that what her parents do to her by asking her to be a donor for Kate is her obligation as Kate’s sister.
During several years she always does what her parents and the doctors ask. She always gives what Kate needs from her blood, bone marrow, lymphocytes, and anything that she needs. But one day, when her mother asks her to give one of her kidney, she realizes that what she has done for Kate is enough. Kate’s life is her life. Anna does not have her own life.
Her problems are not an easy problem for a teenager as her age. She has to fight against her family, in this case her mother, in the court. She also has to face the fact that her father, Brian, who always on her side when she debates with her mother, wants her to give her kidney for Kate. It makes her hesitate to continue the case. But, she finally keeps continuing the case. She can face it well. Even Anna is able to refuse her mother’s request that she never had the courage to do before.
