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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is object of the study. It describes the novel, My Sister’s Keeper, as the focus of the study. The second part
is approach of the study. It explains the approach applied in this study. The third part discusses the method of the study which tells the steps in doing this study.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is My Sister’s Keeper, a novel by Jodi Picoult, an American writer. She has written sixteen novels dealing with family tragedy and
the tangle of relationships. My Sister’s Keeper is her eleventh novel. The political and scientific discussions over cloning and DNA became the inspiration for My
Sister’s Keeper. The setting of time portrays the time when stem cell research and designer babies were the current issues in the medical and political community in
United States. This novel was published twice, firstly in 2004 by Atria Books. Secondly, it was published in 2005 by Washington Square Press. This study uses
the first novel published by Atria Books. My Sister’s Keeper contains 500 pages and was awarded as “The New York Times” best seller. In each chapter, the
characters narrate and share their own story. There is only Kate who narrates one chapter in the epilogue.
My Sister’s Keeper is a family tragedy novel which tells about love within the Fitzgerald family. There is a mother who becomes the strongest character
trying to save her dying daughter, Kate. She is diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia at age two. In order to save her dying daughter, Sara is
willing to do everything even if it means risking the happiness of her self and the rest of the family. As she knows that Jesse, her son, cannot be a donor because he
is not a perfect match with Kate, Sara decides to have a baby who is designed to be a perfect match donor. Thus, Sara and Brian, her husband, go to a geneticist to
conceive a baby, Anna, who can be a bodily organ donor for Kate. To prove how much Sara loves her dying daughter, Sara always takes care
of Kate’s health and concerns on her life. She tries to fulfill what her daughter’s need and be optimistic that there is a way for each problem. Sara does everything
to see Kate growing healthily and getting happiness like other children even though it endangers Anna’s life and causes inequality among her children. When
Kate needs blood, bone marrow, stem cells and other bodily organ, she has Anna donate them for Kate.
In order to save her dying daughter, Sara keeps struggling on even troublesome comes to her. She gets rebellion from other children because Sara
gives Kate attention too much and always lays her decision on Kate’s side. Moreover, Sara is sued by Anna in a trial. When Anna is 13 years old, Kate needs
a kidney transplantation. As a mother who loves and does not want to lose her beloved daughter, Sara asks Anna to donate. Anna refuses to give her kidney and
hires an attorney named Campbell Alexander to sue her parents especially Sara. Although Sara gets a petition from other daughter, she never stops doing the best
for Kate. She decides to be an attorney again and represents her party to fight
against Anna’s party. She tries to instills an understanding of the consequences will be if Anna does not give her kidney.
This novel has a surprised ending. The Judge declares that Anna has her own decision for her medical emancipation. Meanwhile, Alexander becomes the
one who helps her take a decision for bodily organ donation. In a trip to the hospital, Anna gets an accident that makes her brain die. Anna’s lawyer takes a
decision to have the doctor take her kidney. Finally, Anna dies and Kate sirvives.
B. Approach of the Study
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