Characters in My Sister's Keeper

In the novel My Sister's Keeper has multiple narrators as I said in my first post. This gives us a real sense of who each character is and how they feel about the central conflict, Kate's sickness. First we have Anna who is the main character. She is very strong willed and independent she is going against her parents will for her to be a donor and is suing them for the rights to her own body. At first she is determined to get rights to her body but after her parents find out and she sees their reactions, she isn't sure if she should continue with the lawsuit. She realizes that the lawsuit is what she truly wants and states, "I can't give a kidney to my sister. I just can't" (87).

Secondly, there is Sara who is Anna's mom. She has had a very tough life. She has gone through so much starting with the diagnosis of her daughter Kate to the lawsuit filed against her by Anna. I would consider her to be a very stong woman considering all she has been through. She tries to love all her children but she loves Anna in a different way than Kate. Sara loves Kate as she would any child but she loves Anna because she is helping save Kate's life. She is more grateful to have Anna instead of actually loving her. While in the middle of labor giving birth to Anna she states, "The umbilical cord, "I remind him. 'Be careful (104).

Another main character in this book is, of course, Kate. She was the first daughter born to Sara and Brian and was born just because they wanted a child to love and nurture. Kate and Anna seem to have opposite personalities. Kate is very dependent upon her mother and other family memebers partially because of her illness. She's dealt with this illness her whole life and has gotten used to having people do things for her and take care of her. She never looks forward to things or has future goals in life because she's not sure she'll be around long enough to experience things.

Brian and Sara have two daughters as well as an older son named Jesse. Jesse seems to have a very rebellious and depressed personality due to the situation his family has been going through. Because of all the attention Kate required, little attention could be given to Jesse. Jesse's facination with fire grew as he matured and he began to start many large fires in abandoned buildings. This shows his rebellious nature. As I said above, Jesse has low self esteem and seems to be depressed. While driving down the road he thinks, "It would solve a thousand problems if I rolled the jeep over an embankment" (94).

Lastly, the character Cambell is Anna's lawyer. He is helping her sue her parents for rights to her own body but he seems to be doing it for the wrong reasons. He seems to be selfish and wants to help Anna just for the money. As Anna leaves his office after their first meeting Campbell converses with his secretary, "You can't expect a child to fend for herself.' I head back into my office. Judge follows, pausing just inside the threshold. 'It's not my problem,' I say" (25.)