Hey students!
I found this blurb about family roles in our novel. Check out the insights and post what you think. Penny for your thoughts?
The members of the Fitzgerald family each exemplify a role or “place” in their family structure. For example, it’s easy to see that Jesse is troubled, Anna is a martyr and Brian, the Dad, a peacekeeper. Roles exist in every family unit. Explore the reasons and depths of these roles in the following questions, as well the impact of these roles on others.
• What role does Kate play in the family? How do you think she handles her “place” in the family?
• Anna feels her only role is to be a donor for Kate. Do other members of the family feel Anna fulfills any other roles? If so, describe them.
• In the book, Jesse’s character is expanded upon in greater depth and detail than in the movie. He engages in destructive behavior towards himself and his environment, including smoking, drinking and setting fires. He also physically lives a separate life from the rest of the family in a room over the garage. Despite all of this, he demonstrates a clear love and loyalty for both of his sisters. Why do you think this is so?
• Why do you think Jesse is troubled, and what factors contribute to his behavior?
• Describe Sara. Other than being the mother, what role(s) does she play in the family and situation?
• Discuss the subjectivity of Sara as a mother in contrast to being the attorney in court defending one daughter against the other.
• Brian works to hold the family together and be understanding of the needs and desires of the children, more so than his own. Compare and contrast his profession as a firefighter with his peacekeeping role in the family.
• Do you think people have a choice in what their role or “place” is in a family? Why or why not? Do you play a role in your family? If so, what is it?
Kate is a interesting character in that she's the main cause of many events in the story, but she is rarely mentioned. Kate is the reason that Anna was born, yet we never hear her side of things. She causes mishaps and dissapointments without even trying. Jesse's and Anna's childhoods are put on hold everytime Kate relapses. In a way, she is similar to a scapegoat. Obviously, no one is coming right out and blaming her for the family's problems. It's truly not even Kate's fault. The cancer is more to blame than she is. Kate doesn't really fight being the source of her family's hardships. I don't blame her though. She just accepts the fact that her siblings aren't as happy and fulfilled as they could be. Either that, or she is oblivious and Sara has kept the truth hidden as to how much of a burden she has become.
ReplyDeleteBrian and Jesse are really the only two characters that see Anna as more than just "spare parts". In my opinion, Sara has never seen Anna as anything more than a body holding extra supplies for her sick daughter. Even Kate is guilty of this to some extent. Brian and Jesse see Anna as something more. In their eyes, her role is the glue to the family. She is the one never to get in trouble, and is the rock of those around her.
In one chapter, Jesse talks about how he was so desperate for attention that he would stand in the middle of the street. I believe that all of his destructive behavior was just a continuation of this desire. What he truly needed was positive attention from his parents. If he was ever mad at anyone, it was Brian and Sara. Jesse knew that neither Kate nor Anna were to blame for the situation. That is why he was so easily still able to love them.
I find Sara a very hard character to like. She tends to only think of Kate's well-being and safety. She is a very driven character in pursuing what she thinks is right and important. That is probably why she was a lawyer. She plays a role that is conflictual. She tries to keep everyone in order and keep the machine running smoothly, but if something goes wrong she panics. For the most part she keeps everyone on track for most of their lives. She's the leader.
The very fact that Sara went up against her own daughter as an attorney shows how easily she picks sides. She really has a difficult time being a good mother to Anna, and that is something I don't understand about her. She was a good mother to Kate, but not her other daughter. She would rather fight for Kate and go to court against her own daughter than respect Anna's wishes to stop being a donor. She is willing to fight for one daughter, but can barely say goodnight to the other.
As a firefighter, Brian is trained to rescue and protect the victims of the fire. I believe that his training made him the father and husband that he is. He always sees where the victim is, even when it isn't obvious. Some might look at the Fitzgeralds and think that Kate is the victim because of her cancer. Brian is able to see that the real victim here is Anna. She is forced to donate her body for her sister, and is never given another option. His training taught him that he must protect himself if the fire becomes too strong. Even if someone else is trapped in the fire, he must know when to get out. I believe that is how he views his family. Anna must be protected too even if it means Kate suffers in the end.
I don't think people have much of a choice when it comes to having a family role. It's based on character traits and personality types that blend together with the other members. I believe that I am the peacekeeper within my family because I always try and keep everyone calm and on good terms with each other.
I think that Kate's role in the family is the damsel in distress. She is the member of the family that always needs to be taken care of or "rescued". I think she feels like she gets all of the attention and she doesn't like the reason she gets all of it. I think she also gets really tired of needing everyone's help instead of being able to be independent.
ReplyDeleteI think that Anna's dad, Brian, wants to love her and make her not feel left out, but other than that, I don't think that Anna has another role in the family other than keeping her sister alive.
I think that Jesse shows love and loyalty equally to his sisters because he wishes that he had more of an important role in the family other than causing trouble.
I think that Jesse is troubled and causes even more problems for the family because he wants attention. Now Anna's way of getting attention is filing a lawsuit, Kate's is being sick, and jesse's is causing trouble. He does all of these bad things also because he thinks that knowong cares what he does since know one pays attention to him.
I think Sara's role in the family, other than being the mother, is being the "doctor" of the family. Whenever someone in the family gets hurt or sick, she does everything in her power to fix it. In Kate's case, it's beating the leukemia, and when Anna fell off her bike and cut her head, Sara took care of her. I think Sara only truly pays attention to her kids of they are sick or injured in some way.
It's hard to think about how a mother can go against one daughter to protect the other. Talk about favoritism. I can't believe that Sara would easily go up against Anna in court to try and save Kate, but if the situation were switched and she had to go up against Kate to protect Anna, I don't think she would do it.
Brian's job as a firefighter greatly compares to his peacekeeping at home. When he goes to work to put out fires, he is keeping the peace by spraying water on it to put it out. In a way, when he is at home dealing with a conflict, most likely involving Kate, he will "spray the water" on Sara to calm her down and help her not to worry. On the other hand, when he is dealing with a Kate emergency, he is always worrying himself because he doesn't know if this is it or if Kate will push through the next relapse.
I think that in some ways people have a choice in what role they play in the family, but in other situations they have no choice. Look in Kate situation, she didn't choose to be the damsel in distress, it just happened, but in jesse's case, he chose to be the troublemaker. I think that if I had to choose a role that I play in my family, I would say I am the blessing of the family because I am an only child.
Kate actually is a important character in the story that many events focus on her but the author just seldom talk about her. Through the story, we know Kate has cancer and she knows that she will finally die. Because of her disease, everyone in the family needs to pay attention on her. Her family members never blame on herself, it's not really Kate's fault, thought they still have a little bit of complaint. I think Kate is tired of fighting with the cancer and she doesn't really like everyone taking care of her.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the most important role of Anna is to keep her sister alive. On the other hand, Anna's dad will love her and try to make her feel that she is the part of the family, not just a "thing". And we know, Anna never puts herself in troubles, she is relieved compare to other people.
It's obviously that Jesse wants more attentions from her family. Not the negative attentions cause by smoking or drinking. He shows his love to his sister because he wants his family thinks he is good enough and is also relieved as Anna.
Jesse wants to become the focal point in the family. So he did many things to attract his family's sights.
Sara is a very self-centered. That's not selfish, it more likes that she wants to control things and makes the life goes on in her plan. She is going to fix everything that is out of her control or her plan.
I can't image a mother will against one of her daughter in order to save the other one. It's so cruel. Even she feels really sorry for Kate and wants to give her the best in the world, she won't be so cruel to the other daughter.
A firefighter is to save people from danger. He is a rescuer. As a father, Brain is also trying to save people, Anna. He knows Anna is suffering things that she doesn't want to do, so he is trying to rescue her.
We don't really have that much choices. But at least we can't choose to become a good child in our families and be important. I will choose to be the hope of the family, because my parent really pay so much attentions on me and I just think that I can not let they to be disappointed.
I remember a famous philosopher who once said, "there are three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. -Russel
ReplyDeleteSo I believe Sara has the same situation as the Philosopher. Her daughter Kate was just two years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. Reeling with the helpless and hopeless shock of the news, Sara decided to do anything- whatever it takes- to save Kate. That's the reason why she chose to "create" another baby, specifically designed to save Kate. Everything seems to run well, until the moment Anna hands her paper that rocks her whole world, because Anna decided she doesn't want to help Kate live anymore. She sued her parents for the rights to her body. The result like the "great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair." - Russell