Literary Analysis Essay on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Introduction

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a book written by a journalist named Rebecca Skloot. Rebecca holds a bachelor's degree in Biological science and the story of Henrietta Lacks fascinated her while she was still in high school. In the book, she narrates the story of Henrietta Lacks an African American woman who was suffering from cervical cancer and later died in 1951. It roughly took the author ten years to finish the book and it was published in 2010. Henrietta daughter gave a lot of input in writing of the book.

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Henrietta was born in Virginia in 1920 and her mother passed on as she was delivering her fourth child. This forced her to move to her native home and stay with her grandparents. She got married to Mr. Lack in 1941. Henrietta had gone to the John Hopkins hospital and after the initial screening, the doctor's result was negative. She was screened again and found out that she had cervical cancer. John Hopkins hospital was among the best hospitals at the time but African Americans were treated differently. Henrietta's life was a sad one as she lost her baby who was mentally impaired. Cancer treatment in the 1950s wasn't that developed and cell culturing was still being researched on. The doctors used Henrietta's cells without authorization and consent to carry out research thus creating an immortal cell line. Despite the fact that it was a major scientific breakthrough Henrietta health deteriorated as her cells were multiplying. Skloot with the help of her professor then embarks on the journey to get to know Lacks family. Lacks family were initially skeptically and thought she wanted to exploit their family.

As the doctors treating him were busy researching her cell, she got worse and the tumor could not be operated on. After months of anguish, Henrietta dies. Rather than letting the family mourn, the doctors put pressure on His husband so that more tests can be done on his body. The Lacks later buried her in an unmarked grave. Nevertheless, her cell proved vital to scientific research and has been used in making of vaccinations for an ailment like Polio. The fact that their mother died, Henrietta children were constantly mistreated by their cousin. Unethical practice more so on research was striving and doctors such as Chester Southam were injecting the Hela cells into patients without their consent.

Rebecca Skloot was describing a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Lacks. She wondered what Mrs. Lack would have done if she found out that her cervix cells are being sold all over the world for scientific purposes. She feels bad because people just know her as Hela and not the struggle and pain she underwent. She learned about Hela when she was sixteen years of age in a biology class. She also incorporates the surviving daughter's words. The daughter Deborah is unhappy that they are languishing in poverty while the scientist is minting profits from her mother cells. Whereas she is sad she is also happy that her mother cells are treating millions of people. Henrietta initially thought she had a sexually transmitted infection but the results were negative. It is then that she went to John Hopkins hospital to see a gynecologist. Due to racism, it was the only nearby hospitals that treated African Americans. She is then ushered by a nurse to a "colored" only examination room. The doctor had advised for further test to be carried but she didn't follow up with them.

The doctors then found out that she had carcinoma. Doctors believed that invasive cancer was dangerous than noninvasive cancer. Henrietta had invasive cancer and it was treated aggressively. Doctor TeLinde carried out research on cancer patient at to John Hopkins hospital without their consent. She keeps the news about her health secret. After a couple of days running test, she is prepared for radiation treatment. Her tissues are collected without her knowledge and taken to Dr. George Gay who analyzes them. After the first radiotherapy, she was monitored by the doctors and was given a leeway to go home. The doctors had also hit a brick wall many times before when they tried immortal cell line. They had issues of contamination which hampered their tests. With Henrietta cell sample there was strict adherence to sterilization. After a couple of days, the cells started to grow thus the first immortal cell line.

Cancer had taken a toll on Henrietta and she had to undergo blood transfusion because her kidneys had failed. Emmet organizes for his cousins to come to donate blood. They head to the colored section of the hospital and donate. The situation becomes dire and the doctors give him a dosage of morphine and all the treatment stops. Henrietta, then urge her sister Gladys to take good care of her children as she is going to die. Her body is taken to the colored section of the morgue. MDay is then persuaded to give consent for an autopsy to be carried out. Her body is then transported back to Clover from Baltimore where she is buried. Massive efforts are put in the production of HeLa cells which researcher used to study virology. After a while, HeLa cells were available for sale and it made millions of dollars and it is used all over the world. Deborah is also suffering from high blood pressure and a few days later she has a stroke. Rebecca also visited clover at the end and many of Lacks family members had died. It was no longer a vibrant farm as it used to be.

Conclusion

In conclusion, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a beneficial book to read. It highlights how social stratification is chewing up our society. The fact that Henrietta did not come from a well of family and she was an African American the doctors carried out .test on her without her consent. They assumed they know much better disregarding the pain and suffering the family was undergoing. Rebecca Skloot acts as the voice for the Lacks family and he flawlessly explains the trauma the family was undergoing. It also shows us how ethics is paramount in every profession. Though in the book it led to a discovery if guidelines are not put in place some induvial might abuse them causing harm. The author is well versed on knowledge about cancer treatment and research and paints out a clear picture of the disease. She gives detailed information about the types of cancer with ease. Lastly, she articulately states the treatment procedure. The level of difficulty of the book is moderate.

Work Cited

Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks. Crown, 2010.