Answer the following discussion questions, citing specific details from the passage.
Chapter 29: What does Deborah mean when she says (p.235), "I do want to go see them cells, but I'm not ready yet"?
Chapter 30: Why does Zakariyya have so much difficulty with anger and aggression?
Chapter 31: Why did Rebecca send Deborah fictional accounts of HeLa as well as factual reports?
Chapter 32: Do you agree with the idea that it should be like oil royalties?
Chapter 33: What was your reaction to the description of the conditions and studies being done at Crownsville back in the 1950s?
Chapter 34: How do you think you would have handled that evening in the hotel with Deborah, if you had been Rebecca?
Chapter 35: How did you react to the description of Gary's prayer that God relieve Deborah of her burden? How did Rebecca react?
Chapter 36: Do you think that Rebecca's own attitudes toward religion were changed by her experiences in working on this book?
Chapter 37: Why is this chapter titled "Nothing to be scared about"?
Chapter 38: Why did Deborah come to such a different position regarding getting money for her mother's cells?
Chapter 29: What does Deborah mean when she says (p.235), "I do want to go see them cells, but I'm not ready yet"?
ReplyDeleteIn the summer of 2000, Rebecca finally met Deborah in person to talk about Henrietta’s cells. Rebecca and Deborah spent most of their visits together talking about what they knew about Henrietta’s cells and what they did for science. Deborah even shared discoveries that she had found in the past about what her mother’s cell did for science. During one of their visits, Rebecca gave Deborah a package from a young Hopkins researcher, Christoph Lengauer. In the package was a framed display of Henrietta chromosomes that Lengauer had “painted” using multicolored florescent dyes. Rebecca also told Deborah that Lengauer wanted to meet her and show Deborah her mother’s cells in person. When Deborah said she wanted to see the cells, but she wasn’t "ready yet" revealed to the reader that because Deborah suffered a lot of heartache reading and finding new graphic discoveries about her mother was extremely mid-bottling for her. Deborah wasn’t “ready” because she still had trust issues with people that she asked for answers and they would let her down by not explaining anything to her (Victor McKusick from chapter 23). Towards the end of the chapter, Deborah snapped at Rebecca because she thought Rebecca was trying to “do something” with Henrietta’s medical records. Deborah even said to Rebecca that she doesn’t know who to trust.
Good observation!
DeleteChapter 30:
ReplyDeleteZakariyya is the baby of the family. As a child, he was mentally and physically abused by a woman named Ethel. Not knowing why he repeatedly was treated the way he was could have made him believe that it was suppose to be that way. Years later, Zakariyya continued to stay in and out of trouble which caused him to go to jail. According to psychology, how a child is raised has a major affect on the outcome of their behavior in the future. He had so much anger and aggression built up inside since he was a child. Due to this, his way of dealing with it was getting involved in trouble and lashing out at people.
I agree!
Delete34. I think that I would have handled the situation very similarly to Rebecca. I would have become frustrated, but not angry with Deborah. I would have probably told her to calm down in a less than calm voice. After that, I would explain myself to her again and tell her I am not her enemy. I think that Rebecca handled the situation very well. For starters, Deborah’s bizarre behavior would be a little terrifying to most people. Anyone would be startled to be slammed against the wall, Rebecca was no exception. In that situation, anyone would become defensive and irritated. For more than a year, Rebecca had been trying to convince Deborah that the only thing she wants is to tell Henrietta’s story; nothing more. That being said, Rebecca’s actions are more than understandable. Sometimes people need to hear a good yelling. I have to admit though, I would feel terrible yelling at Deborah especially knowing all she has been through. This makes me think about how Rebecca must have felt when Deborah left her room.
ReplyDelete38. From the beginning Deborah never wanted money for her mother’s cells. While her brothers were concerned with getting compensated, the only thing Deborah was thinking was learning more and more about her mother. She wanted retribution for her mom and sister by having their stories told.
Chapter 37: I believe this chapter is called "Nothing to be scared about" because so many things were going on with Deborah. Her mother's story was tearing her apart through her own health. She got hives, high blood pressure, high glucose levels, and eventually a stroke. Even though she had all of those things, she still wanted to educate herself in science as if nothing happened. Deborah kept saying she was fine and everything was going to be okay when it really wasn't. She trusted in God that he would free her from her burden of her mother's cells in the previous chapter, and because she knew he would, throughout all her troubles, she knew everything would be okay.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I believe that this chapter showed that Deborah was just as strong as her mother.
DeleteChapter 29:
ReplyDeleteIt is conveyed that what Deborah meant by " I do want to see the cells, but I'm not ready" that she has the desire but also uncertainty. She has been through so much with her mom's cells; dealing with reporters and uncovering new information about her mom and her cells. She just was not physically or mentally ready to face the cells. She also faced trust issues which contributed to her not being ready to see the cells. She even admitted to Rebecca that she did not know who to trust. All of these factors added to the reason why she was not ready. I know if I were in this situation just learning about my mom, feeling used and abused by reporters, and getting negative feedback from my family about looking into finding out more I would be hesitant and nervous to finally face the cells. I received the impression that Deborah didn't know much about her mom aside from what she had been told and what she had seen. So in a way this would be her most memorable moment with and of her mom.
Chapter 30: Why does Zakariyya have so much difficulty with anger and aggression?
ReplyDeleteZakariyya has difficulty with anger an aggression because he can't grasp the thought of everyone benefitting from his mother's pain and suffering except her own children. Zakariyya realizes that his mother's cells have led to many medical advances, but his family can't even afford to see a doctor. He also feels that his mother's cells were taken from her and were not donated. In the end, Zakkariyya is angry because of the injustice his mother and his family faced because of those stolen cells.
Chapter 33:
ReplyDeleteThe description of the conditions at Crownsville filled me with revulsion, a deep visceral ache, a sorrow for the souls that were tortured there. I felt ashamed for the human race, that we allowed such atrocities to be implemented in the name of science. I pray that commensurate suffering has been visited upon the monster perpetrators in this life and the next.
Chapter 37:
All of her life, Deborah has been burdened with the real or imagined duty of taking care of her mother, of making sure that Henrietta mattered as a human being. She knew she was bound to fail, as she did not know enough or understand enough about her mother or her cells. Her mother's cells had both literally and figuratively become a huge thing; Deborah had no one to help with this Sisyphean task. By becoming a filter for all of the information that Deborah had collected, and by explaining things on Deborah's level, Rebecca was able to shrink that boulder to a size that Deborah could wrap her head around. By helping her find out what really happened to Henrietta, Rebecca took away the fear of all the horrible things she imagined being done to her. By being patient with Deborah and building a relationship of mutual trust, Deborah was able to believe that Rebecca was going to take care of Henrietta and make sure her LIFE had meaning, not just the cells that killed her.
Chapter 38: Why did Deborah come to such a different position regarding getting money for her mother's cells?
ReplyDeleteI don't think for Deborah that it was ever about the money. She believed that her mothers cell where an important factor in medical history and all she wanted was for people to know the person behind it, Henrietta Lacks. However, I believe the the most important thing for Deborah was getting to know her mother. In the book Deborah mentions that it seemed as if her mother had never been born because no one really talked about her. She used the whole cell situation as a way of learning about and getting closer to her mother.
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ReplyDeleteChapter 29: What does Deborah mean when she says (p.235), "I do want to go see them cells, but I'm not ready yet"?
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book, the readers can see Deborah’s suffering and longing to know anything particular about her mother, Henrietta Lacks and how she died but we also see how many people [scientists, doctors, reporters, and etc.] have disappointed her and took advantage of her. Deborah has been through a lot in discovering new facts about her mother and the pain she felt was unbearable. She has lost all trust in people and she is also paranoid about what more she will find out about her mother’s cells. She feels if she gets her hopes again, she will be disenthralled again. She was petrified when she thought Rebecca Skloot wanted to take Henrietta’s medical records. She said “I don’t know who to trust.” Her statement confirms that she is paranoid and she has trust issues so she is “not ready yet” until her feels comfortable again.
Chapter 31: Why did Rebecca send Deborah fictional accounts of HeLa as well as factual reports?
Rebecca sends fictional and factual reports about Hela to Deborah because she believes all information is important and she knows Deborah wants to know everything about her mother. And another reason is she wanted Deborah to trust her and put her mind at ease. She wanted Deborah to know the difference between factual information about her mother and fictional information, which is also the reason Rebecca clearly labeled what was fiction and what was not in her reports.
Anupria Davenport
ReplyDelete29. She did want to go but then again it would just be too painful for her. She thought that no one would ever tell her the right information or anything about her mother. Other people were getting rich off of her mother's cells and she had never seen them. She still thought her mother was alive through those cells, that would be like seeing her mother for the first time.
29. As Deborah said, she was used to hiding. She said " I swore I was never talkin to nobody about my mother again" to Rebecca. Although she was making progress by finally agreeing to talk to Rebecca, she still didn't feel ready to face her mother's cells in person. To me, I think Deborah said she wasn't ready because she saw the cells as her mother. Deborah said how she thought the scientists were cloning her mother and didn't know it was just the cells being cloned. Because Deborah thought that, I assumed that Deborah wasn't ready to see the cells because she saw the cells as much more than cells. She saw them as her mother being alive.
ReplyDelete30. Zakariyya was abused by Ethel during his childhood. The way he was treated seems to be a major source of his anger and aggression. Zakariyya in Ch. 30 expressed his anger toward how his mother was treated and he said "if she hadn't been sacrificed, I mighta growed up to be a lot better person than I am now". So another source of his anger is from not having his mother. Along with that, the family isn't benefiting from their mother's cells while everyone else is. So, his frustration and anger is from multiple sources.
Why does Zakariyya have so much difficulty with anger and aggression?
ReplyDeleteZakariyya’s consistent anger and aggressions stems from his mother’s cells being taken without permission. He expresses how unfair this situation is in this chapter, and this being the primary reason he is extremely frustrated and angry. Additionally, Zakariyya is infuriated because his mother’s cells were used to help other people, but never used to help the Lacks family with their financial issues. Zakariyya desired and fought for reimbursement