Essay On The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot develop the characters through the actions of each person instead of directly stating them. This style of her writing allow the readers to fully experience the book and pull them into the story. She develops Henrietta in this form. “After her visit to Hopkins, Henrietta went about life as usual, cleaning, and cooking for Day, their children, and their many cousins who stopped by."(Skloot p.27). The text does not specifically state that Henrietta was a strong woman, but the readers can easily understand that she was mentally and physically capable of doing the housework even after her visit to the hospital. Another example of one of many characters that exemplifies “show don’t tell” is Deborah the daughter of Henrietta. “I can’t get mad at science, because it help people live, and I’d be a mess without it. I’m a walking drugstore” (Skloot p.256). Deborah has all the rights to be mad at her situation but because her mother’s cells saved many lives, she chooses to forgive. This kind of Deborah’s attitude towards this issues shows how beautiful she is as a person. Skloots professional ways of using show don’t tell pulls readers into the book and shows the story alongside the characters.

Henrietta Lacks is not a common household name, yet in the scientific and medical world it has become one of the most important and talked names of the century. Up until the time that this book was written, very few people knew of Henrietta Lacks and how her cells contributed to modern science, but Rebecca Skloot aimed to change this. Eventually Skloot was able to reach Henrietta’s remaining family and through them she was able to tell the story of not only the importance of the HeLa cells but also Henrietta’s life.

This colorful and vibrant woman impacts the world through the contribution of her cells to science as well as by the kindness beheld within her heart for her family, a kindness that permits the emergence of a story untold before, of the woman responsible for the way of the world. Henrietta, although a woman of many treasures, withholds vital information of her daughter Elsie, so as to protect her and the rest of her family. This, the news of her cancer, and other such secrets define Henrietta, yet have no waiver on the view of her family of her. Famous to her family, and cherished by all who know her, Henrietta made an impact greater than her cells, though secrets kept from the sharing of this impact with the family. “...she raised the vial and touched it to her lips. “You’re famous,” she whispered, “Just nobody knows it” (263). As Deborah holds onto the cells, she holds onto the long dreamt memory of her mother, and onto the secret of her identity, the identity that the family knows; this identity connects to the unique human side of her mother, the one for which includes secrets, treasures, anguish, and

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks The author’s overall theme in the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” is about poverty, medical research, and racism. In some parts of the book it talks about how the Lacks family was living in poverty and their family’s slavery history. Medical research was also a theme in this book. Talks about how scientists were trying to find cures for diseases.

The Henrietta Lacks Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, who is donating a portion of her book’s proceeds to the Foundation. Henrietta was a poor black farmer whose cancer cells had damaging consequences for her family who today can’t afford access to the health care advances their mother’s cells helped make possible. The Foundation strives to provide financial assistance to needy individuals who have made important contributions to scientific research without personally benefiting from those contributions, particularly those used in research without their knowledge or consent. The Foundation gives those who

In the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. She has composed this biography of Henrietta Lacks to inform her readers about the hard reality that the Lacks family went through. In order to grasp a better understanding about this novel we will first uncover some details about Henrietta and her cells. Next, we will discuss how she came from a large family and that they were originally from Virginia. Finally, we will examine what she did after she moved to Baltimore and what happened after the move throughout the first two chapters.

Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks should be included as a work of summer reading for its model of literary merit and valuable entertainment.

The prologue of the book shows us the real name of the main character to clear off any doubts in the reader’s mind, “beneath the photo, a caption says her name is “Henrietta Lacks, Helen Lane or Helen Larson.” … Her real name is Henrietta lacks.” (Skloot, 1). The Author introduces Henrietta and tells us the reason why she is writing about her, then she goes on to explain what a cell looks like and she compared it to the buzz on a New-York city street, (Skloot, 3), she also mentioned meeting Deborah which gives a clue that she would be of great importance in the writing of this book.

After her death in 1951, for six decades, Henrietta Lacks did not exist in the eyes of the society, but her cells did. How? Well, the answer is quite simple. HeLa Cells are the first immortal human cells. These cells never die and multiply every twenty-four hours. After spending 10 years to perfect her first book, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot essentially captured the life, the death, and aftermath of Henrietta Lacks’ life. With controversial issues regarding science, ethics, race, and class Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey. From the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover,

Ethics, in our society, are the moral principles that govern our behavior, dictating what is right from wrong. The specifics of ethics changes as values in our society change and evolve. This occurs in Rebecca Skloots book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. One major reoccurring theme in the book is the lack of informed consent and autonomy. Fortunately, now there are safeguards which protect human rights in regard to health care and research. The Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, now part of the Department of Health and Human Services, created The Belmont Report, which is one such safeguard establishing principles for all human research (USDHHS, 1979). This paper will discuss the ethical issue of informed consent within The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the disregard to parts of the Belmont Report, as well as compare the role of the nurse in charge of Henrietta’s care versus the standards of care set for modern nurses.

Sympathy develops from the image of those suffering. The heart cannot bear to see others in pain, and ultimately wants to help. In Rebecca Skloot’s contemporary biography, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Skloot uses pathos to connect the reader emotionally to Deborah Lacks. The emotional connection helps the reader to understand Deborah’s stress and pain.

When I first heard about the book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", I thought it was just a reading assignment when I was in high school that I had to complete for a grade. As I began reading I became particularly interested in Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells. In "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", Rebecca Skloot talks about Henrietta Lacks and how her cells were taken without her permission, and how her family suffered afterwards. Skloot shows how medicine and science were seen back in the 1950's compared to now.

While in biology class, sixteen year old Rebecca L. Skloot, found interest in knowing who Henrietta Lacks was and what she was like. Rebecca Skloot eventually became a freelance journalist and scientist who wrote the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. While writing the book, Rebecca was surprised that almost no one knew who Henrietta was. She tried to interview her family members, whom had little to no memories of Henrietta. Rebecca also conducted research at other places such as Johns Hopkins, which was the only hospital that treated African-Americans at that

This research paper is based on the findings from the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. What you will read and come to know is nonfiction. I wish I could put the pictures of what I have seen and read together here for you to perhaps get a better understanding. A story based on not Henrietta’s life being that of immortality, but rather cancer cells removed from her body without her knowledge. These were the first cancer cells to reproduce outside of her body. You will come to know about Henrietta, her cancer, her cells, and her immortal life. Perhaps we can all learn to appreciate life in greater means of appreciation after reading and knowing the life and immortal afterlife of Henrietta Lacks. You will learn about a woman, who like us, had a family, and ended up not being able to truly live life to its fullest. Making us all realize just how cancer is and the amazing research that came from being able to reproduce her cells. Not just for cancer but for various other illnesses that plague so many of us. My hope is that you take away from this a better understanding of a time we do not know, for the ups and downs of science and the possibility of immortal life.

“The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks” written by Rebecca Skloot exposes the truth about a colored woman, Henrietta Lacks, who died from cancer leaving five children and a husband behind. Before her death doctors took her cells,without her or her family consent, to do there own research and experiments. They discovered that her cells were immortal, they became the first immortal cells known as the HeLa cells..After the discoverment the Lacks family were never told that Henrietta Lacks cells were used, bought and sold. Through the HeLa cells the scientist had made money while Henrietta kids were mistreated and were in poor situations.It wasnt till 25 years later that the Lacks family found out about the HeLa cells doing miracles. Rebecca Skloot though “The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” was able to explain the unethical situations that the Lacks family faced after Henrietta’s death.