My Sister's Keeper: Blog 1 

What would you do if your sister's life meant risking your own?

    Personally I would do almost anything for my sister, but the things that Anna has to do for Kate are pretty extreme. She was born to be a donor to Kate and I can see how that makes her feel inferior to Kate and Jesse. Starting from when she was born to her now at 13 she has been going through constant surgeries and get shots all the time and that seems ridiculous to me. And now, Anna is going to be forced to give up a kidney to Kate which will effect her for the rest of her life. I can't say for sure that I would have stood up for myself when it meant my sister could die because you never really know what you would do until you are put into a situation like this. 

Anna and Kate 

(http://www.miami.com/sites/migration.miami.com/files/images/sisters%20keeper2%20wkend26.JPG)

If I were a parent I don't know if I could do that to my child. It is one thing to have one child with cancer going through dialysis and surgeries and everything else but to willingly put another daughter through surgeries like that is not something I could see myself doing. If I were to have my child do all of these surgeries I would feel obligated to ask her if she would be okay with it and to make her feel comfortable saying no. I couldn't have my child going through life thinking that all she is is a donor for her sister. 

I understand completely why Anna is starting to speak up for herself and is looking to be medically emancipated from her parents. But I can also understand the reaction that her parents, especially her mother has, when they figure it out. Her mother practically lives for Kate and would do anything to keep her alive, including making Anna give up so much for her. Not once has she ever asked Anna if it was okay to do any of the things that have been done to her and I don't find that fair at all. 

Blog 3 for The Help: Lack of Parenting Skills 

(Spoilers: Finished the book)

There are many parental qualities that the character, Elizabeth Leefolt, lacks in The Help. A mother should be nurturing and give her baby a lot of attention. These are traits that are practically non-existent when it comes to Mrs. Leefolt and her husband as well. Mrs. Leefolt's help, Aibileen, describes to us the way that Elizabeth treats Mae Mobley and it is very disturbing to me. Rather than pick her baby up when she is crying, Mrs. Leefolt will leave her screaming in her crib for sometimes hours at a time if Aibileen is not there to take care of her. 

A quote from Aibileen that I think perfectly describes Mrs. Leefolt's feelings toward her daughter is "Ever so often, I come to work and find her bawling in her crib, Miss Leefolt busy on the sewing machine rolling her eyes like its a stray cat stuck in the screen door." (page 4) The way Mrs. Leefolt treats her child is horrible and no child at that age or any age should ever have to go through that. Aibileen tries her hardest to make Mae Mobley feel important.

A quote from Aibileen Clark towards Mae Mobley

(whatwillmatter.com)

I think that this a very important quote in this book. Aibileen knows that Mae Mobley does not ever receive kind remarks from her mother and it is very important to Aibileen that Mae feels special. She tells Mae Mobley every day that she is kind, smart and important. When Aibileen gets fired at the end of the book, she makes sure to say this one last time to Mae Mobley and hopes that it will stick with her throughout the rest of her life, because she knows she will rarely here it from her mother. 

I read an article about parenting and things that can cause stress among children. (http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/stress.html#) One of these stressors is separation from their parents. Mrs. Leefolt is usually always with Mae Mobley but that doesn't mean that she treats her how she should be treated. I wouldn't say that Mrs. Leefolt is ever truly present in Mae's life considering the amount of times she leaves her screaming in her crib wondering what she is doing wrong and why her mother refuses to even look at her. This stress can develop into much greater problems later on in her life and could cause her to rebel against her mother completely because of the lack of attention she has received from her all throughout her childhood. 

Heroism 

(Spoilers!! Read the whole book)

My definition of a hero would be someone that consistently stands up for what they believe in despite what the consequences of their actions could be. A hero could also be someone who helps others no matter what could come of it.

In The Help, I would say that Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter are all very heroic characters.

Skeeter, Minny, and Aibileen
(http://www.lightsremoteaction.com/2011/08/help-theatrical-review.html)

They are all risking their lives in order to show the world the relationship of colored maids in the south. Skeeter loses all of her friends because they figure out about her carrying Jim Crow Laws in her bag and at the end of the book they end up finding out that Skeeter was the one to write The Help. Despite knowing how her friends would react if they ever found out about her writing the book, she continued to do it anyway because she did not agree with the way that they were treating their maids and felt she needed to do something about it.

Aibileen and Minny are risking their lives to get their stories out there. They know what could happen to them if they get caught. It is not like where Skeeter would just be shunned for what she did, Aibileen and Minny would most likely be killed for helping Minny with the book, along with all of the other maids who chose to tell their stories. When Skeeter’s old best friend Hilly Holbrook finds out that Aibileen’s story was in the book, she made her friend Elizabeth Leefolt fire Aibileen and she was forced to leave. She knew she would never be able to find another job because Hilly was the town gossip and the whole town of Jackson would soon find out about it. Minny’s husband abuses her and she knew that if he ever found out he would hurt her very bad, but she decided to tell her story anyway.

All of these characters have heroic qualities and show bravery countless times in this book because they feel they need to get the word out about the way the help is treated in Jackson, MS.