During this fragmented unit, we completed a discussion, several TIEAs, annotations, as well as a verbal analysis.

Discussion

TIEA

In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot uses juxtaposition to demonstrate the economic and educational gap between the majority group and the Lacks family, which was worsened when the Lacks family was taken advantage of by the medical community. Across America, two families fight the same battle against the same community, yet one would be much more prepared than the other. “Sonny and Lawrence were still busy trying to figure out how to get money from Hopkins. They didn’t know that on the other side of the country, a white man named John Moore was about to begin fighting the same battle. Unlike the Lacks family, he knew who’d done what with his cells, and how much money they’d made. He also had the means to hire a lawyer” (198). Skloot juxtaposes the Lacks lawful illiteracy and Moore’s knowledge of the situation to demonstrate how the Lacks were unable to fight against injustice not only because of their economic inability but also because of their lack of knowledge. “Sonny and Lawrence were still busy trying to figure out how to get money from Hopkins.” By using their ignorance and distressed tone on the situation to contrast with Moore, who understood what was being done and how much the scientific community had profited off of his unconsented contribution, Skloot accentuates that John Moore, a white man, “knew who’d done what with his cells and how much money they’d made.” This establishes a background where not only where whites and blacks treated unequally, whites had unproportionate access to resources that could give them support against injustice. This phenomenon was the impetus that pushed the medical society to continue exploiting the Lacks family. 

Blogs

Just Business.

Mistakes were made

Verbal Analysis

File too big to show ya’ll, but it’s boring anyway.

Unit Reflection