Important Characters from My Sister's Keeper
Thirteen year old Anna Fitzgerald is the youngest of the family. Anna was medically created so she could donate her organs to her sister, Kate, who is dying of leukemia. Anna revolting against donating her kidney creates the plot of My Sister's Keeper. In the novel, Anna petitions medical emancipation against her parents with the help of a lawyer, Campbell Alexander, so she will be able to make her own decisions regarding her body.
Sara is the mother of the Fitzgerald family. She is strong and intelligent but her life is centered around keeping Kate alive. Her determination and her life of trying to keep Kate alive comes with the expense of her unintentionally excluding her husband, Brian, and her two other children, Jesse and Anna.
Brian is the father of the Fitzgerald family. He works and provides for his family by being a very involved fire-fighter. Throughout the novel you soon realize that he serves as a foil, or contrast, to Sara because he sees and sometimes views things like the children. He being a fire-fighter, escapes into work to help himself forget about all the hardships that are around him.
Jesse is the oldest sibling of the Fitzgerald family. Jesse puts up a persona that he is a "tough guy" but in reality, he is a very sensitive and sweet person. He has never been able to forgive himself for the fact that he cannot save his sister Kate. He also tends to feel excluded or left out by his parents and because of this, he acts out in negative ways to gain their attention.
Kate Fitzgerald is the middle child. Kate is the main focal point of the novel because she is dying of leukemia. Her whole entire life Kate has been battling cancer, and she has come to terms with the fact that she will die.
Campbell Alexander is Anna Fitzgerald's lawyer. In the beginning of the novel he comes off as arrogant and blunt, but as the novel progresses and his character develops, you realize that he is a character of many layers. In many ways, Anna and Campbell mirror each other. They both have the same struggle of not being able to be what their parents want them to be. Fundamentally, he experiences the most character growth and by the end of the novel, he has created strong connections with the people around him.
Sara is the mother of the Fitzgerald family. She is strong and intelligent but her life is centered around keeping Kate alive. Her determination and her life of trying to keep Kate alive comes with the expense of her unintentionally excluding her husband, Brian, and her two other children, Jesse and Anna.
Brian is the father of the Fitzgerald family. He works and provides for his family by being a very involved fire-fighter. Throughout the novel you soon realize that he serves as a foil, or contrast, to Sara because he sees and sometimes views things like the children. He being a fire-fighter, escapes into work to help himself forget about all the hardships that are around him.
Jesse is the oldest sibling of the Fitzgerald family. Jesse puts up a persona that he is a "tough guy" but in reality, he is a very sensitive and sweet person. He has never been able to forgive himself for the fact that he cannot save his sister Kate. He also tends to feel excluded or left out by his parents and because of this, he acts out in negative ways to gain their attention.
Kate Fitzgerald is the middle child. Kate is the main focal point of the novel because she is dying of leukemia. Her whole entire life Kate has been battling cancer, and she has come to terms with the fact that she will die.
Campbell Alexander is Anna Fitzgerald's lawyer. In the beginning of the novel he comes off as arrogant and blunt, but as the novel progresses and his character develops, you realize that he is a character of many layers. In many ways, Anna and Campbell mirror each other. They both have the same struggle of not being able to be what their parents want them to be. Fundamentally, he experiences the most character growth and by the end of the novel, he has created strong connections with the people around him.
The Movie vs The Novel
The novel and the movie of My Sister's Keeper have many similarities but also many differences. In the movie and the novel, Kate is at a dialysis appointment when she meets Taylor Ambrose who also has cancer. In the novel Taylor is only mentioned through a couple of pages but in the movie, Taylor becomes Kate's boyfriend. Throughout the movie Kate and Taylor go on many dates that don't include them staying in the hospital or being hooked up to IV's. When Kate and Taylor first kiss, Kate is not wearing her mask which is a big breakthrough and step for her. Also, when they go to prom together, Sara, Kate's mother, is not being her over protective self and watching Kate's every move, but instead letting her have a good time. In the end, Kate is upset that Taylor hasn't called her in a couple of days and they soon find out that Taylor has died.
A big character change from the novel to the movie is Jesse Fitzgerald, Anna and Kate's older brother. In the novel Jesse is perceived as an angry teenager who has been ignored and excluded his whole life. While the family is trying to keep Kate alive, Jesse is setting fires to get his parents attention (his father, Brian, being a fire-fighter). In the movie he has a more sympathetic character. He is also shown helping both of his sisters deal with their personal struggles.
The most drastic change between the novel and the movie is the ending. In the novel, it is revealed that Kate asked Anna to sue their parents because he didn't want Anna to have to transplant. The judge rules to Anna's side and then court is dismissed. As Campbell is driving Anna home, their car is hit by another oncoming car. Brian, Anna's dad and also a fire-fighter, is rushed to the gruesome scene. Anna and Campbell are both immediately rushed to the hospital and later Anna is pronounced brain-dead. The doctors suggest to switch off life support and ask her parents about organ donation. Before they let Anna pass on, they donate her kidney to Kate. Kate's surgery was successful and she is in remission for six years. In the movie, the ending is completely different. While in court, Sara comes to learn that it was Kate's idea for Anna to sue her. Kate said she tried to tell her mother that she didn't want to live any longer but due to her mothers determined personality, she didn't listen. Before the case was completed, Kate dies in her sleep at the hospital with her mother by her side. Later, the court ruled to Anna's side concluding that she won the case.
A big character change from the novel to the movie is Jesse Fitzgerald, Anna and Kate's older brother. In the novel Jesse is perceived as an angry teenager who has been ignored and excluded his whole life. While the family is trying to keep Kate alive, Jesse is setting fires to get his parents attention (his father, Brian, being a fire-fighter). In the movie he has a more sympathetic character. He is also shown helping both of his sisters deal with their personal struggles.
The most drastic change between the novel and the movie is the ending. In the novel, it is revealed that Kate asked Anna to sue their parents because he didn't want Anna to have to transplant. The judge rules to Anna's side and then court is dismissed. As Campbell is driving Anna home, their car is hit by another oncoming car. Brian, Anna's dad and also a fire-fighter, is rushed to the gruesome scene. Anna and Campbell are both immediately rushed to the hospital and later Anna is pronounced brain-dead. The doctors suggest to switch off life support and ask her parents about organ donation. Before they let Anna pass on, they donate her kidney to Kate. Kate's surgery was successful and she is in remission for six years. In the movie, the ending is completely different. While in court, Sara comes to learn that it was Kate's idea for Anna to sue her. Kate said she tried to tell her mother that she didn't want to live any longer but due to her mothers determined personality, she didn't listen. Before the case was completed, Kate dies in her sleep at the hospital with her mother by her side. Later, the court ruled to Anna's side concluding that she won the case.
About the Author
Jodi Picoult was born and raised on Nesconsent on Long Island. Later her family moved to New Hampshire when she was thirteen years old. She studied at Princeton University and published two short stories in Seventeen Magazine before graduating in 1987. Then she earned her master's degree from Harvard University. Her first book to debut on New York Times Number One Bestselling List was Nineteen Minuets which was about the after math of a mass school shooting. Her second book to be on New York Times Bestselling List was Change of Heart which was published on March 4th, of 2008. Jodi has been married to Timothy Warren Van Leer, whom she met in college, since 1989. Jodi, her husband Timothy, and their three children live in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Vladek Compared to Kate
Maus I and My Sister's Keeper are two completely different books but surprisingly have similar characters struggling with the same thing: survival. Vladek was a man who went through the horrible experience of the Holocaust. In this comic book, Vladek talks about his life hiding from the Nazi's, to his life in Auschwitz, and finally to his life once the war ended. Kate from My Sister's Keeper has been living with cancer her whole life and is trying to fight it. They both are trying to stay alive and survive. Unfortunately, in the novel of My Sister's Keeper Kate dies, but in Maus I Vladek survives and is able to pass his story onto his son.