Analyze the last paragraphs of this chapter. What does Hsu’s request reveal about her
attitude towards the Lackses? What does Skloot reveal by ending the chapter with Hsu’s
request?
The last few paragraphs highlighted the controversial misunderstandings shared between researchers Victor McKusick and Susan Hsu and patients Day and Deborah Lacks. While reading McKusick’s book in his clinic, Deborah raised her suspicions toward the picture they had of her mother, Henrietta Lacks: “All she could think was that she’d never seen that photograph of her mother before. What happened to her to make her end up in there? ... And how did he get that picture? Day swore he’d never given it to McKusick or any of Henrietta’s doctors; Deborah’s brother swore they hadn’t either … maybe Howard Jones had asked Henrietta for a picture then stuck it in her medical record. But as far as Day knew, no one had ever asked permission to publish it.” (Skloot, 137). The Lackses felt their privacy was invaded but they were unsure how they managed to do so in the first place. As a response, McKusick claims he doesn’t remember meeting Deborah in his clinic, let alone lending her his book. In another paragraph, Susan Hsu showed gratitude towards the Lackses because working on HeLa cells became a “highlight of her career” (Skloot, 137), ultimately leading her to become the director of medical genetics at the American Red Cross. When asked about the Lackses and how they misunderstood the purpose of the blood drawings, she replied, “I feel very bad … People should have told them. You know, we never thought that at the time they did not understand” (Skloot, 137). Although she seemed genuinely grateful towards Henrietta’s existence, her apology seemed rather insincere. She should have explained the purpose of the blood drawings in the first place and she didn’t explain because she knew the Lackses were not fully aware of HeLa yet at the time, and if they were they would refuse the blood drawings. She also felt that she has a ring of superiority on her – at least, she felt superior to the Lackses. Her brief expression of gratitude trailed off into “I think that if they are angry probably didn’t realize how famous the cells are in the world. It’s an unfortunate thing what happened, they still should be very proud, their mother will never die as long as the medical science is around, she will always be such a famous thing” (Skloot, 137). Assuming why their angry shows that Hsu felt she knew the nature of the Lackses as people, but that backfired because she made the wrong assumption. The Lackses showed disgust towards their taking advantage of HeLa cells because they dehumanized Henrietta in the process and made profit out of her, without giving the family knowledge or asking for their consent prior to the development. In addition to that, the researches turned HeLa into a profitable product and the family gained none of the income or credit; not even reparations for the moral damage it caused Deborah. By ending the chapter with Hsu’s request, Skloot exposes how medical experts can still be so greedy and inconsiderate of the feelings of patients because they can gain something from them. Skloot conveys a pitiful and pathetic tone towards Hsu.
References: Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown.
As Hanna mentioned, Skloot reveals Hsu’s request at the end of the paragraph to show Hsu’s greed and inconsideration. Hsu and Skloot conversed about sensitive and regretful topics, yet the only thing Hsu cared about in the end was “get[ting] some more blood” (Skloot, 2010, pg. 190). Since the request is the last sentence of the chapter, the reader has time to think about the rude and disrespectful nature of Hsu’s last request. Skloot may have also included this request at the very end of the chapter to create ambiguity. Does Skloot ever give Hsu’s message to the Lacks family? The answer to this question is unclear, since Skloot continues the next chapters with different topics. Maybe Skloot never fulfilled Hsu’s request. The paragraph break and ambiguity clearly reveal Skloot’s disappointment in Hsu.
Skloot, R. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown.
The last few paragraphs highlighted the controversial misunderstandings shared between researchers Victor McKusick and Susan Hsu and patients Day and Deborah Lacks. While reading McKusick’s book in his clinic, Deborah raised her suspicions toward the picture they had of her mother, Henrietta Lacks: “All she could think was that she’d never seen that photograph of her mother before. What happened to her to make her end up in there? ... And how did he get that picture? Day swore he’d never given it to McKusick or any of Henrietta’s doctors; Deborah’s brother swore they hadn’t either … maybe Howard Jones had asked Henrietta for a picture then stuck it in her medical record. But as far as Day knew, no one had ever asked permission to publish it.” (Skloot, 137). The Lackses felt their privacy was invaded but they were unsure how they managed to do so in the first place. As a response, McKusick claims he doesn’t remember meeting Deborah in his clinic, let alone lending her his book. In another paragraph, Susan Hsu showed gratitude towards the Lackses because working on HeLa cells became a “highlight of her career” (Skloot, 137), ultimately leading her to become the director of medical genetics at the American Red Cross. When asked about the Lackses and how they misunderstood the purpose of the blood drawings, she replied, “I feel very bad … People should have told them. You know, we never thought that at the time they did not understand” (Skloot, 137). Although she seemed genuinely grateful towards Henrietta’s existence, her apology seemed rather insincere. She should have explained the purpose of the blood drawings in the first place and she didn’t explain because she knew the Lackses were not fully aware of HeLa yet at the time, and if they were they would refuse the blood drawings. She also felt that she has a ring of superiority on her – at least, she felt superior to the Lackses. Her brief expression of gratitude trailed off into “I think that if they are angry probably didn’t realize how famous the cells are in the world. It’s an unfortunate thing what happened, they still should be very proud, their mother will never die as long as the medical science is around, she will always be such a famous thing” (Skloot, 137). Assuming why their angry shows that Hsu felt she knew the nature of the Lackses as people, but that backfired because she made the wrong assumption. The Lackses showed disgust towards their taking advantage of HeLa cells because they dehumanized Henrietta in the process and made profit out of her, without giving the family knowledge or asking for their consent prior to the development. In addition to that, the researches turned HeLa into a profitable product and the family gained none of the income or credit; not even reparations for the moral damage it caused Deborah. By ending the chapter with Hsu’s request, Skloot exposes how medical experts can still be so greedy and inconsiderate of the feelings of patients because they can gain something from them. Skloot conveys a pitiful and pathetic tone towards Hsu.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown.
As Hanna mentioned, Skloot reveals Hsu’s request at the end of the paragraph to show Hsu’s greed and inconsideration. Hsu and Skloot conversed about sensitive and regretful topics, yet the only thing Hsu cared about in the end was “get[ting] some more blood” (Skloot, 2010, pg. 190). Since the request is the last sentence of the chapter, the reader has time to think about the rude and disrespectful nature of Hsu’s last request. Skloot may have also included this request at the very end of the chapter to create ambiguity. Does Skloot ever give Hsu’s message to the Lacks family? The answer to this question is unclear, since Skloot continues the next chapters with different topics. Maybe Skloot never fulfilled Hsu’s request. The paragraph break and ambiguity clearly reveal Skloot’s disappointment in Hsu.
DeleteSkloot, R. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete