A soul will always ask themselves the question, “What is life?”. This is a questioning of one’s morals and whether they are correct or not. Where is the line drawn between altruism that truly serves others and putting their own needs before anything else? Anna, the character of “My Sisters Keeper” by Jodi Pioult, has a conflict within her character between what is right and wrong in life. Anna’s character in “My Sisters Keeper” by Jodi Picoult has an inner conflict between life’s right and wrong. Picoult uses a God-view to help the reader understand each character’s role. She creates relatable characters for the reader. Each character is able to deal with the challenges that life throws at them.

The book is not just about Anna, it’s also about all the characters who are involved in the plot through Anna. The story is structured so the reader can easily understand why each character acts the way they do. Picoult uses each character as a way to explain the morals that lie behind the unexpected twists in life. Anna is first character to speak directly at an audience. She is not an ordinary teenager, but was created to save the life of her sister. While she is forced to acknowledge that she wouldn’t have existed if Kate wasn’t sick, her own life would be in danger. This must hurt, but she understands the purpose of her actions. Anna is conflicted because her parents didn’t stop to ask if Anna would be okay donating her kidney to Kate. She has the right to use her organs as she pleases, but her family’s pressure makes her feel like Kate’s future is at risk.

Anna is caught in a dilemma because she does not wish to live without Kate. Kate is the one she turns to when she’s feeling down or lonely. Readers can sense Anna’s love and devotion for Kate. “I didn’t see her to make myself feel better. It is hard to remember my identity without her. …” Anna’s sister would be her life generator if she didn’t come. A thirteen-year girl, who spent most of her childhood transferring blood from her sister to her whenever she was needed but did not have the basic right to approve or deny such transfusions because it was never her choice to do so, starts to wonder about her true life purpose. Yet, she believes she has done something wrong. She also feels horrible for suing her parent’s. Her mother was not happy to hear the news.

Anna Fitzgerald isn’t mistreated in the Fitzgerald household, she is actually needed. Kate is not the only one she helps. She’s a shining beacon. Anna is a symbol of happiness and hope for her family because she makes people more open. She also brings joy to anyone who meets her. The twist that occurs in the novel is shocking to the reader. Kate enables Anna to fight for rights, and Kate also has her own decisions about her death. Anna’s body is freed and she wins the case. The reader is reminded of the unexpected turns in life when Anna dies tragically and goes brain dead after a car crash. Kate is saved by her kidney, but Kate’s family grieves for the once extraordinary daughter who was taken for granted. Anna was able to fulfill her purpose even though it took a while for people to realize.

Alexander Campbell’s name is the lawyer Anna employed after she bargained that he would clean her doorknobs. Campbell is a very sarcastic character and one of the most talented attorneys. Anna was not taken seriously by Campbell until she said she would sue her parents to protect her right to own her body. Although it was not his usual way of doing things, he took Anna’s case in order to gain more publicity. Later, he became attached and fond of her. Anna can be compared to him because he shared similar parental problems with her as a young child. Anna then explains how the two are alike in that neither of them always has control over their bodies. Campbell’s conflict is a result of his parents leaving him with a low sense of self-worth and feeling like a burden because he can’t control his seizures. When people ask him why he has a service dog, he gives different answers, amusing himself.

Campbell is reunited with an old flame as Anna’s court-appointed guardian. Julia, the woman Campbell abandoned, finds out about his involvement in Anna’s case and is angry. She doesn’t want to talk to him anymore, only help Anna. Julia was abandoned because he didn’t like his seizures. He used his sarcastic tone to distance himself from people. As Anna and Campbell became closer, Campbell’s sarcasm towards her decreased. He becomes more selfless in his actions, as he wants to help Anna win and grant her a happy ending. He did. Julia, who finally understands why he left Julia and has forgiven him, becomes more close to him. When Anna received the good news about her case, it made the air feel lighter. Campbell is very happy with himself. All his problems have been solved and he has won back his beloved. The car accident that Anna dies in occurs when Campbell takes Anna for a drive one rainy morning. He was saddened by her passing and because he could donate Anna’s renal to Kate to save Anna sister’s life, he agreed. Campbell and Julia marry and keep in contact with Anna’s family, as revealed by another character.

Sara, the mother of Anna Kate and Jesse (her son), is determined to keep Kate alive by any means necessary. This includes genetically creating a baby. She is so obsessed with Kate that she ignores her two other children, Anna and Jesse. She ignores Jesse’s self-destructive behavior and his antics, which he uses to draw her attention. Kate is the only person she thinks about, not her. She tried to persuade Anna to drop the lawsuit, but it was to no avail. She then becomes her attorney and represents herself. She remembers how much fun she had in the past, when she was a lawyer. But now that her career is over, her sole job is to look after Kate.

Sara admitted that she only saw Anna as a tool to be used to fix Kate. She had called Anna an it when she was pregnant. She was a warm mother who loved her children. Anna’s growing up and becoming more human made her love Anna even more. Picoult uses Sara’s perspective to tell her audience the story of Kate’s past diagnosis. One day, while showering Kate, she noticed Kate’s odd bruises. The doctors informed her that she had a rare form of blood disease. Since then she’s been determined to save Kate. Sara is a resilient woman. However, her stubbornness in preventing life from taking Kate away makes her ignore her two other children.

Sarah is unaware that her unintentional negligence affects the entire family. Readers can infer that Sara is a major reason for the strains within the family. She begins to ruin her marriage by mistreating her relationship. Kate is the only topic of conversation. The reader can see how closed-minded Anna is by her frustration with her for refusing to donate a kidney. This is too much for any teenager to cope with. Later she dismissed the tantrum as Anna’s, saying that people would forget it over time. So again, Sarah went to Kate, trying to help. Sarah was hesitant to accept the news that Kate wished for death when Anna revealed it to her during court. Sarah didn’t allow Kate the chance to speak her mind and find out what Kate wanted. Sara quickly realizes her mistake and apologizes. Sara was only asking her husband about their return to the house after Brian and Anna left. She told Anna that she wasn’t bad, something Anna has always wanted her mother to tell her.

The morals of the story are often left unanswered in almost every good tale. The morality of creating a child to cure the sister who is currently sick has caused controversy among readers of “My Sister’s Keeper”. Anna’s morals are questioned because she wants the independence to decide for herself what to do to her body. She realizes as she gets older that she is also a person with needs and rights. She is still unable to accept that her sister’s fate depends on her. Anna passes away at the very end, causing the other characters to feel and think differently about her. When the story reaches its conclusion, it is about how we take people for granted.

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Amy Fox is a 28 year old school blogger, who has been writing for over 10 years. She has been a student at the University of Utah for three years and is now a graduate student.