Reader's Journal II

The first passage that I found is found on page 66 of chapter 8 it reads: "...There is no record that George Gey ever visited Henrietta in the hospital, or said anything to her about her cells.  And everyone I talked to who might know said that Gey and Henrietta never met.  Everyone except that is, except Laure Aurelian, a Microbiologist who was Gey's colleague at Hopkins.
"I'll never forget it" Aurelian said.  "George told me he leaned over Henrietta's bed and said, 'Your cells will make you immortal.'He told Henrietta her cells would help save the lives of countless people, and she smiled.  She told him she was glad her pain would come to some good for someone..."
I really like this passage because it comes from the point of view of the author.  It shows the reader how the author has done some research on this topic and has found some fairly interesting evidence of Henrietta's life and how it may not be all true.  It does raise the question if Dr. Gey and Henrietta did ever meet and how the conversation did happen if it did.

My second passage I found on page 80 of chapter 10 it reads: "...Though Cootie could barely move his arms, He'd built the house on his own, teaching himself contruction as he went along, hammering the plywood walls and plastering the inside.  But he'd forgotten to use insulation, so soon after he finished it, he tore down the walls and started over again.  A few years after that, the whole place burned down when he fell asleep under an electric blanket, but he built it back up again.  The walls were a bit crooked, he said, but he'd used so many nails, he didn't think it ould ever fall down..."
I really like this passage as well because it shows how the Lacks family doesn't give up even when things look rough and I believe that that is the same mentality that Henrietta shared as well with her situation.  I really like his story and not only believe that it shows how the Lacks family is but also how Clover is as a whole with all of the buildings falling over and surviving on that last nail.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Notes Part I

One passage that I found to be very interesting was found on page 19 of chapter 2.  It reads:

"...As children, Henrietta and Day awoke each morning at four o'clock to milk the cows and feed the chickens, hogs, and horses.  They tended a garden filled with corn, peanuts, and greens, then headed to the tobacco fields with their cousins Cliff, Fred, Sadie, Margaret, and a horde of others.  They spent much of their young lives stooped in those fields, planting tobacco behind mule-drawn plows.  Each spring they pulled the wide green leaves from their stalks and tied them into small bundles--their fingers raw and sticky with nicotine resin--then climbed the rafters of their grandfather's tobacco barn to hang bundle after bundle for curing.  Each summer day they prayed for a storm to cool their skin from the burning sun.  When they got one, they'd scream and run through fields, snatching armfuls of ripe fruit and walnuts that the winds blew from the trees."

I found this passage to be very descriptive in telling the reader about each of the activities that would go in to living on a tobacco farm.  I also really liked how the author said, "...a horde of others." Instead of saying a bunch or several others, she uses a word that is very descriptive and makes me think of a crowd of others.  Not only is this word descriptive but it also adds in a sence of comedy as well.  I think it will be very interesting to see how the character Day will play into the story later in the book.  

Another passage that I found pretty interesting is found on page 22 of chapter 2.  It reads:

"...Henrietta often yelled for Day, but sometimes she cheered for another cousin,  Crazy Joe Grinnan.  Crazy Joe was what their cousin Cliff called "an over average man"--tall, husky, and strong, with dark skin, a sharp nose, and so much thick black hair covering his head, arms, back, and neck that he had to shave his whole body in the summer to keep from burning up.  They called him Crazy Joe because he was so in love with Henrietta, he'd do anything to get her attention.  She was the prettiest girl in Lacks Town, with her beautiful smile and walnut eyes."

I really like this passage because it gives the reader a really good insight at what could be a very interesting love triangle between Henrietta, Day, and Crazy Joe.  Before this passage it tells us that Henrietta spends a lot of time with Day and has potential to be an interesting relationship later on.

Divorce and it's Effects on Children

Kylie Hess

Professor Maltman

English Composition 1101-09

6 November 2011

The Effects of Divorce on Children

Divorce.  Everyone in the United States is connected somehow to a family that has been through this devastating action.  Studies show that half of American children will not only suffer through one parental divorce in their lifetime, but two.  Divorce has long-term effects on the children produced in the marriage.  The main focus will be on the social, academic and psychological effects it has on these children.

In an article from the National Review, author Maggie Gallagher states, “Adults choose to divorce… not mostly to escape from violent hellholes, but because they are lonely, bored, depressed, dissatisfied.”   She goes on to point out that 40 percent of those divorcees remarry and suffer from the same problems as the last marriage, and 30 percent thought their lives,  “empty, pointless”, “clinically depressed”, “joyless” and “embittered”.  Why then, would they choose to do something so rash when there are so many other options to help marriages out there?  Many parents feel that it is the best for their children, but studies have shown that this is a major misconception. 

Children with divorced parents often have to endure custody battles, new partners, moving and overall instability.  What the parents think is working for them is actually causing the children involved more harm than they think.  In a commentary written by Joseph Adelson, he found that children of divorced parents are more likely to acquire social and behavioral problems, such as ADHD and aggression.  Many have higher dependency needs, and low self control.  He also found that there is a lack of good physical health.  Many children refused to take care of themselves, as they should, causing frequent illness and a poor overall wellbeing.   This should be cause for alarm to everyone, because no child should have to endure such issues when they have little or nothing to do with the problem in the first place. 

At school, many children show a decrease in interest and grades.  They are frequently associated with disruptive behavior, sometimes leading to suspension.  Because of these social and psychological problems, many lack the skills to achieve in school.  Studies show that children of divorced parents are behind in reading, spelling and mathematics.  The afore mentioned commentary also notes that they are twice as likely to drop out of high school.

Emotionally, children of divorce can suffer from many different problems, such as anxiety and depression, starting at an early age and continuing far into adulthood.  Judith Wallerstein conducted a study that concluded that years after children of divorce have grown problems persist.  Women and men alike have love and attachment issues, and girls especially become more sexually active, leading to childbirth out of wedlock and a continuation of the separation or divorcing cycle.  Adelson quotes, “They suffer much higher rates of both physical and sexual abuse, in the latter case most often carried out by the mother’s boyfriend.  Single mothers report being more violent toward their children than do mothers in intact families.”  Statistics have shown children of divorce often suffer more severe mental illnesses, including sociopathy.  Lack of education frequently leads to a life of crime, based on a study conveyed by Popenoe, “60 percent of rapists, 72 percent of adolescent murderers, and 70 percent of long-term inmates come from fatherless homes.”  These percentages are disturbing, considering that in most situations, unless the mother is proven unable to support her children, she is given the majority if not all custody.  

Bibliography

Adelson, Joseph. "Splitting up." Commentary 102.3 (1996): 63+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.

"Divorce Harms Children" by Maggie Gallagher. The Family. Auriana Ojeda, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2003. Maggie Gallagher, "Third Thoughts on Divorce," National Review, Vol. 54, March 25, 2002, p. 50. Copyright © 2002 by National Review.

Popenoe, David, Arlene Skolnick, and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead. "Family trouble."The American Prospect 34 (1997): 16+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 3 Nov. 2011