Conflict

CONFLICTS

Man versus Man- Anna versus Sara

One of the main disagreements that rose in the book was the conflict between Anna and her mother Sara.

Anna’s older sister Kate was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia very early in her life before Anna was born. There is no cure for this type of cancer; therefore the only way Kate’s life could be prolonged is if she had a perfect donor to provide her with the necessary needs for her body. Sara and Brian, Kate’s parents were heartbroken when they heard this news, it didn’t take long to figure out what they would have to do in order to keep Kate alive. They scientifically designed their next child (Anna) who they had three years later to be a perfect donor for Kate.

From then on Anna gave blood, cells and other different things from her body to Kate’s to insure that she would be kept alive. Once Anna turned thirteen she then realized that she didn’t want to do this anymore. She didn't want to give Kate one of her kidneys, which is what she would have to do next.  Anna decided that she should be in charge of her own body and make her own decisions; she tried to explain her point of view to her parents however they never listened. Therefore she filled a lawsuit against her parents for the rights of her own body and thus where the conflict began. Anna seeks help from Campbell Alexander her attorney, which she grows closer with throughout the book. This conflict gets more intense throughout the book because Anna feels neglected from her mother as Kate her sick sister is getting all the attention.

Man versus Society- Anna versus Society

The conflict first starts when Anna is designed to be the perfect donor for Kate, she was created as a designer baby. To do this Anna’s parents went to a special doctor to specifically pick out the genomes to make Anna the excellent match for Kate. This is going against society and is a huge controversy because most people do not believe in creating a designer baby. Trying to save a child who is sick by using the parts of another child is a huge disbelief in society and this shows the conflict of Anna versus society.  

Man versus Self- Anna versus Self

Anna is fighting a battle against herself; she causes herself a lot of stress and sadness. She is faced with the conflict of keeping herself happy and healthy or saving her sister from dying. This is a huge amount of stress for a thirteen year old to handle and is the main reason why she struggles throughout the book. Also the stress caused from suing her own family and having her mother angry at her just piles the emotional damage that she has. Her sister’s life is in her hands and that is never easy to work with.

Man versus Nature- Kate versus Nature

The conflict is between Kate and her cancer, not being normal and not being able to go through life like a normal teenager can be really hard on her. But its reality, some people are born normally and get diagnosed with cancer and some don’t. This is where Kate struggles, and starts wondering why she is different, and why God made her like this. She is fighting against her body, which is what causes this conflict.  

QUESTIONS FOR CONFLICTS

1) Sara’s angry reaction to Anna’s lawsuit represents how single-minded she is, as the other family members such as Brian reacted in more complicated ways. Do you think this characteristic can be seen in a more positive way during the other events in the book? Yes or No? Explain your thoughts

2) Do you think Anna could have solved her conflict against her parents in a different less intense way? Explain a different way

3) Do you think Anna made the right decision about filing a lawsuit to her mom? Do you think you would ever do that to your mom if you were in such situation?

4) Do you think “designer babies” are okay in today’s society? Do you think they are okay in Kate’s case? Does your opinion change from the first question to the second? Explain.

5) Judging by the case in this book, when someone is sick, does it only affect the person who is ill or everyone around him or her? Explain

6) If you were Kate, and needed a kidney transplant from your sister (when she doesn’t want to give you one) how would you explain to your parents that you accept her decision if you did?

7) Obviously cancer is a horrible thing. However do you think a person getting cancer can be seen in a positive way at all? Yes or No? Explain.

8) From the horrible experiences and conflicts Kate when thought while having cancer, what does this teach you about life? Should we appreciate it more and be more thankful? Explain

9) Do you think Brian and Sara are equally good parents to all three of their kids? How does this relate to the man versus man conflict?

10) For Anna to deal with all this stress as a child is not okay. Do you think this could lead to serious consequences in the future? Yes or No?

 Answers

1) Sara’s single-mindedness actually can be seen in a good way through this event. For a good section of the book Kate does not know about the kidney transplant, and this because Sara is so single-minded, she keeps the fact that Anna filled a lawsuit very discrete. This avoids any conflicts/arguments and the beginning of the book between Anna and Kate, which is a positive side to her single-mindedness.

2) Definitely, she could have talked to her parents and tried to have an actual discussion instead of them turning her down every time she tried to explain her thoughts on the topic. However I would predict that it would most probably end in the same way if she didn’t have the discussion. Therefore this was a good way to get her point heard and tell her parents that she was not comfortable with giving parts of her body to Kate.

3) If I were in that situation, I would take the chance and give my sister a kidney. Of course I wouldn't want to, but I would know that it is the right thing to do because I rather have her live then die. Also you can survive with one kidney and there is a possibility that you can live your life normally with one. Therefore if there was a chance I could live with one kidney and my sister could live, I would take that chance. Hence I would not have filed the lawsuit.

4) No, I do not think designer babies are okay. Creating another human that has feelings and his/her own life that is destined to give up parts of their body to help someone that is sick is not right. If you were born sick and get diagnosed with something that means God made you like that and that’s the reality of it.  You should not endanger someone else’s life to fix yours.

5) It definitely doesn't only affect the person who is sick. When a person is ill everyone around them also becomes mentally ill. If someone is important in your life and all of a sudden they stop being there because of their problem it has a huge impact on you. It would feel as if a part of your normal routine is not there, and that can cause emotional damage.

6) I would say that it is her decision and I don't want jeopardize her life for mine. I would accept her decision because she is my

sister.

7) It is a horrible thing and the negative effects do weight down the positive effects by a lot however one positive thing that could come out of cancer is how we appreciate life more. I think without cancer and other types of sicknesses we would not care that much about the value of life, and if we know or see people with cancer we would appreciate our life more. Which can be selfish but it can also turn it into working together to help those people who do have cancer and therefore create stronger bonds with each other.

8) Yes definitely appreciate life more and be thankful also do anything and everything to help people that are not as fortunate that have cancer.

9) Brian and Sara are not equal to all three of their kids. They pay more attention to Sara then they do to any other of their kids. The reason is because she is sick, however I still think they should give more attention to their other kids because if they don't it could have some serious consequences.

10) Definitely these conflicts that she has to go through so young can cause serious anxiety in the future for Anna.