The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

The story “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” that’s written by Rebecca Skloot. The author talks about a story happened in the 1950’s, and it’s effects still happening. The aspect that controls the story is power of privilege. In all places, in all times, power of privilege is specified for people who called elite. They get this power to control situations, but it does not mean they all deserve handling this power. This power created to control everything and improve or develop it. It is just considered under the actions that seem like what Skloot mentions in the story, but this power is related to all things in our life. Now, let’s go back to the story, and see the effects of that power under the wrong usage. At that period of time, the power of privilege was controlled by whites. The separation that was between blacks and whites, and the arrogance that some white people had encouraged them to insult black people. Dr. George Gey is the one of the doctors who used their power to do something no one at that time knew it’s consequences, which is taking the cells. On the other hand, Henrietta whose cells were stolen with out her permission. Finally, the results mostly affected Deborah which is Henrietta’s daughter.

The definition of power is a person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence. Power is gained by people over time, but it comes much easier to those born into a privilege, which is a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most. It is apparent that power and privilege go hand in hand. In the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot focuses on two stories: the development of the HeLa cells and the lives of Henrietta’s family members. While in the scientific world of HeLa cells, the power is held by the doctors such as George Gey and others because of their rank in society above common people. Being born into privilege was not a luxury the Lacks family enjoyed; the path to power for the Lacks was much more difficult.

This book kept me drawing conclusions and I could think of the good and bad too most of it. “But Henrietta’s cells weren’t early surveying, they were growing with mythological intensity…Soon, George told a few of his closest colleagues that he thought his ab might have grown the first immortal human cells. To which they replied, Can I have some? And George said yes” (40.5). Skloot gives an insight to the secret ‘deal’ between the doctors to emphasize her point, once again, that taking cells were okay at the time without consent from the patient. The audience sees and irony here as they read about Gey’s answer to his colleagues question, can I have some, as a yes. Even though Gey doesn’t own the cells, he is giving other people Henrietta’s cells as if it is his. Henrietta, herself, is not asked the question, before Gey took away her cells without asking her. “Not lont after Henrietta’s death, planning began for a HeLa factory- a massive operation that would grow to produce trillions of HeLa cells each week. It was built for one reason: to help stop polio”(93.1). This setting shows the inhumanity that had went on in the 1900’s. Henrietta’s death was considered to be nothing at all. Henrietta’s cells were the only ones that were welcomed and meaningful, who and where that they came from didn’t matter, HeLa cells were widely spread and praised for its immortality, but Henrietta was not. She probably lived through

Did you know the Nazis have been doing research on diseases? In the book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” Skloot explains how the Nazis are associated with using prisoners to do research on diseases.

The non-fiction book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, details the happenings and life of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman and tobacco farmer who became a medical miracle in the 1950’s. The book is written in an attempt to chronicle both the experiences and tribulations of Henrietta Lacks and her family, as well as the events that led to, and resulted from, research done on Henrietta Lacks’ cells. Henrietta was a very average African American woman in this period; she had only a seventh-grade level education, and followed traditional racial and gender roles by spending her time has a mother and caretaker, as well as working on farms throughout her life until the involvement of the US in World War II brought her and her husband, “Day” Lacks, comparatively better work opportunities in industrial steel mills. However, after her death in 1951 Henrietta became much more than average to doctors at John Hopkins when the discovered that cells extracted from her cancerous tissue continued to live and grow much longer than any other tissue samples. Further investigation and isolation of these thriving cells led to the creation of the first ever immortal human cell line in medical history. The incredible progress in medicine made possible by Henrietta Lack’s tissue cells were not without downfalls, though. The treatments and experiences received by Henrietta and the effects it had on her and her family demonstrate both racial and gender

During Henrietta treatments George Gey, the doctor that was helping her ended up taking cells from her body. He did so due to the fact he discovered that her cells were immortal. He named them HeLa cells using her first and last name in abbreviation. George told the discovery to his colleagues spreading HeLa cells throughout the world. In response the doctors used a variety of ways to go about the cells. For example, “Southampton began injecting prisoners in June 1956 using HeLa cells that his colleague, Alice Moore, carried from New York to Ohio in a hand bag” (Skloot 129). The cells were used for testing on innocent subjects. The discovery may have changed the world, but it will never change the fact they used and abused the cells. Skloot clearly shows the use of the cell provider and her cells. The reader will have a sense of imagery reading along the book because of Skloot’s

Can you imagine going to the doctor and doing whatever that doctor told you was the best for you without asking questions? Well that is what patients did in the 1950s, especially African Americans, who were still being victims of racial prejudice and segregation. In this book, the author, Rebecca Skloot tells us about Henrietta Lacks, a 31 year old African American woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and trusted her doctors, who took a sample of her cells without her knowledge. These cells would help in scientific discoveries that helped millions of people. Henrietta died of cancer and her family is devastated when they find out that the cells had been taken without permission, and that they were being sold for profit.

In her book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot discusses how the unfortunate diagnosis of cancer for one woman resulted in one of the most influential discoveries in the biomedical sciences. The use of HeLa cells has played a role in some of the largest scientific breakthroughs since George Gey discovered how well they can grow in culture. On the other hand, Skloot’s work also provides a look at the lives of Henrietta Lacks’ descendants. One characteristic that everyone in this family shares is a dedication to religion and spirituality. This juxtaposition between science and religion presents the body and its constituent cells in a unique way. It provides multiple dimensions to how people view bodies. Specifically,

In her book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot discusses how one woman’s unfortunate diagnosis of cancer resulted in the discovery of the first immortal human cell line, HeLa. The establishment of the HeLa cell line has proven to be one of the most influential breakthroughs in the biomedical sciences because these cells have played a major role in some of the largest breakthroughs in since they were first cultured in the 1950s. In addition to an examination of the science behind HeLa cells, Skloot also provides a look at the lives of Henrietta Lacks’s descendants. One characteristic that all members of the family share is a dedication to religion and spirituality. This juxtaposition between science and religion presents the body and its constituent cells in a unique way. It provides multiple dimensions to how people can view bodies. Specifically, Skloot’s depiction of HeLa cells presents the body and its individual cellular components as entities that exist as both scientific and spiritual beings simultaneously.

“He told them he was testing their immune systems; he said nothing about injecting them with someone else’s malignant cells” (Skloot 128). This is one of the many incidences in Skloot’s book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, where Skloot argued that medical research and advancements were held at a higher importance than fair treatment and rights of the patients and their families. Henrietta and the Lacks family are just one example. Skloot developed her argument by including information about uninformed consent and the Lacks family, providing examples of instances where doctors took advantage of their patients for their own benefit, and gave information about the Lacks family and their current medical situations. In order to adequately

Henrietta Lacks discovered a knot in her womb one day and went to the Hopkins Hospital, in the gynecology clinic for "colored" people. Henrietta had been telling her friends for more than a year that something was hurting and it

As documented in the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” written by Rebecca Skloot, Henrietta lived her childhood in the segregated rural south. There was no real inspiration for her to attend school, much less develop a strong interest in getting a formal education. Segregation contributed to a cycle of oppression and poverty that affected Henrietta’s knowledge, and quality of life. The unfair early education laws, impaired all black children’s potential to learn, and negatively affected their confidence. America has laws that intend on producing, equal education for all children regardless of economic circumstances, race, religion, or academic ability level. On the other hand, a studied by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, find that “public school, especially in the south, is becoming re-segregated at a surprising level.”(Hancock Jones) Today there is evidence that suggest public education still needs equal protection reform in order to give all children a high quality education.

First, Skloot’s claim is supported by the patients from jail because they were not told the injection contained cancer cells. The author states in paragraph four page one hundred thirty, “The deception was for his best – he was withholding information because patients might have refused to participate in his study if they’d known what he was injected.” Also, in paragraph 3 page 130 she states, “Because of that “phobia and ignorance,” Southam wrote, he didn’t tell patients the cells were cancerous because he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary fear.” These quotes reveal how the jail patients were not aware of what was being injected. The doctor didn’t want to inform the patients they were being injected with cancer cells because he knew they would think about backing away, proving Skloot’s claim.

After evaluating Skloot's claim in paragraph four on page one hundred thirty, I as well do believe that Southam probably would have continued to inject patients without their permission if it wasn't for the arrangement he made with Emanuel Mandel. Mandel, Southam, and the staff at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital(all but three) were going to inject the patients without telling them they contained cancer cells. This is the start of proving that Southam would've still injected patients without their permission because when he had the opportunity he was going to make the staff at the hospital do his research by injecting the patients for him so he wouldn't get in trouble because they weren't necessarily his patients.

The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, was a nonfiction story about the life of Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Henrietta did not know that her doctor took a sample of her cancer cells a few months before she died. “Henrietta cells that called HeLa were the first immortal human cells ever grown in a laboratory” (Skloot 22). In fact, the cells from her cervix are the most important advances in medical research. Rebecca was interested to write this story because she was anxious with the story of HeLa cells. When she was in biology class, her professor named Donald Defler gave a lecture about cells. Defler tells the story about Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells. However, the professor ended his