Week 4: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot by Daniel Clare https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj Week 4 discussion en-us 2018-02-01 19:41:45 UTC 2018-02-03 00:37:19 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lightdecrease.png Grace Mayer, B1 https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227329139 "I smiled. Not because I thought it was funny, but because I thought it was sweet that she was protective of her sister. She'd never told me something was off limits for the book, and this was a word I would never have included-to me, it didn't seem relevant." (283)

"No one spoke. we all just stood there, staring at those big white hands wrapped around Elsie's neck. They  were well manicured and feminine, pinky slightly raised- hands you'd see in a commercial for nail polish, not wrapped around the throat of a crying child." (273)

"The presence of telomerase meant cells could keep regenerating their telomeres indefinitely. This explained the mechanics of HeLa's immortality: telomerase constantly rewound the ticking clock at the end of Henrietta's chromosomes so they never grew old and never died." (217)

Due to the prevalent topics of science, race and ethics in Rebecca Skloot's book, the author relies on the rhetorical triangle to help cover all the material gathered in an intertwined web of facts and opinions. The first excerpt, featuring ethos, describes Skloot's encounter with Deborah during her information gathering phase, which helps give her credibility as being a trustworthy and honest source. The second excerpt deals mostly with appeal to pathos using an emotional and vivid description of a photograph of henrietta's forgotten child, Elsie. The last excerpt relies on logos to help explain some of the difficult to understand medical terms (discovered with HeLa cells) in a simplistic manner. Together, Skloot's appeals to the rhetorical triangle combine to effectively analyze and explain in-depth the effect of HeLa cells on the Lacks' family, the scientific community, and the whole world.

]]> 2018-02-02 00:36:42 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227329139 Drew B3 https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227452796 "They say Im paranoia, im schizophrenia, im nervous." (pg 256)
"A few minutes later Deborah pounded on my door..." (279)

""Its the Lord saying he heard us",..."praise the Lord!"" (293)

As with other parts of the book spiritualism and scientific fact are Juxtaposed to leave us and Skloot in a grey area regarding what is fact and fiction. In chapter 34 the cycle of Deborah trusting then being wary of Skloot finally comes to a close as Skloot finally wins Deborah's full trust. As with the rest of the book skloot uses Vernacular to portray the personalities and bacckground of the Lackses]]> 2018-02-02 12:46:19 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227452796 Audrey - Questions https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227478354 2018-02-02 13:54:23 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227478354 daniel_clare https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227496041 2018-02-02 14:28:25 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227496041 Autumn B3 ajones2235 https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227501118 In the beginning of this section Deborah and Rebecca bond and begin to form a good relationship. Deborah almost backs out on helping Rebecca with her research multiple times when concerns and doubts come up, but then changes her mind. Rebecca promises to tell Deborah everything surrounding her mother’s research and asks her to come on road trips with her. Deborah, Skloot, and Zakriyya go to Hopkins to meet with Lengauer to see and learn about the HeLa cells. They get a tour of the lab and a thorough explanation of the science behind the HeLa cells. Deborah and Skloot head to Crownsville to find out the real truth about Elsie’s life and death there. They find a horrifying picture of Elsie and figure out that she most likely died of internal bleeding, from self- induced vomiting. Deborah is distraught by their findings. She finally gives Skloot Henrietta’s medical files to look at. Because of the prior upset caused by Elsie’s picture Deborah accuses Rebecca of lying and pushes her aggressively into a wall. Skloot finally loses her chill and becomes angry with Deborah, suddenly Deborah snaps out of her rage and is back to normal.We find out that instead of just having hives Deborah is suffering from high blood pressure and nearly had a stroke after finding out the truth about her older sister. A few days later Deborah has a stroke in church. Rebecca finally finishes the book in 2009 and is attempting to contact Deborah to find a time to go to Baltimore and read it to her. She finds out that Deborah had a heart attack and passed away shortly after Mother's Day. Rebecca reflects on her time with Deborah and realizes that she is happy and reunited with Henrietta now.   


]]> 2018-02-02 14:37:55 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227501118 Delaney B3 https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227508339 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bXSeBlt0npGMz_11za5DUjlO01Wjbl2kfvWPaD3i-60/edit]]> 2018-02-02 14:50:17 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227508339 Joanna Barham B3 https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227511203
Ethos - 
Christoph, doctor of Hopkins, shows Deborah and Zakariyya HeLa cells. He has credibility because he works first hand with the growing of the cells and in the place that the cells were originally taken. 
Skloot writes about her research with the family in the present tense which makes the reader feel like they are also following the chain of events.
Records found at the insane asylum that prove Elsie’s existence and the atrocities of life in the center.

Pathos - 
Zakariyya has a change of heart “a miracle” after seeing his mother’s cells...the reader can understand the importance of seeing what little he can of his mother without actually knowing her. 
Elsie’s picture in the insane asylum and the brutal truth about the treatment cause the reader to feel disgust and also pain.
Deborah’s obvious pain and mental breakdowns due to the information she learns about her past and also present family members.
The scene in the church where the congregation is moved by the pastor causes an excitement and feeling of justice.
Deborah’s final words “maybe...we can do good together out there in the world...I think I’d like that.” Even though she had suffered from the existence of her mother’s cells and many other events, she still had hope for good in her last dying breath. 
Logos - 
People did not care about the mentally challenged during that time period and also did not have a good treatment plan to help. 
Deborah’s mistrust of most white people but close friendship with Skloots is developed through the story. Past people left the family in the dark and never explained what the meaning was of the cells which explains of the ignorance Skloot experiences when she talks to the family.
In Deborah’s life the only thing constant was her belief in God and his power. She had nothing to hold on to but her faith...her father, brothers, husbands, and sons were not always helpful or reliable. It didn’t help that reporters and other outside people ruined her trust in anyone.
Deborah’s medical condition due to stress.
The need to travel to find information and keep the family informed was important for Skloots to do. She also had to maintain patience and understanding through the lengthy process of finding information.

]]> 2018-02-02 14:54:51 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227511203 Mitchell Cross https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227511506 Look at Attachment ]]> 2018-02-02 14:55:25 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227511506 B2- Emma WIlson https://padlet.com/daniel_clare/dhuw0vcqbmtj/wish/227535771  
The final section of this book relies heavily on conversation. Most of the stylistic components indicate the extreme emotion that the Lackses are feeling. 

On page 242, when Rebecca asks Deborah’s grandsons about their great-uncle, Zakariyya, they impersonate him by “puff[ing] up his chest, suck[ing] in his nose so his nostrils vanished, then yell[ing] “GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!”” 
Rebecca’s use of capital letters show how intimidating Zakariyya was to her and some of his family, but also how Zakariyya’s usual form of conversation is yelling and how he has been so angered throughout the years. 

When Deborah first “meets” her mother’s cells on page 265, Rebecca includes a series of questions answered with exclamatory sentences. “Christoph leaned over the microscope… those cells will have your mother’s DNA in them.” 
The use of questions and exclamatory sentences show the excitement and curiosity that Deborah is feeling. She is finally getting all of her questions answered and is excited to learn more. 


Rebecca’s use of capital letters and sentence structure helps the reader to understand the intense and varied emotion that the family is going through. The emotional connection the readers feel is helping them to understand the impact that the cells had on the family’s mental and physical health and that they deserve repercussion and reward for the impact the family made for science. 

 
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