Fitzgerald, who is an engineered baby, Is currently functioning at Erik Erosion's "Identity versus Identity confusion" stage. All her life she has been used by her parents as a donor for her dying sister, Kate, who is a suffering leukemia patient. Ana is finally at the point where she is evidentially trying to find her identity because she wants to claim the rights to her own body. She is now old enough to realize that being a donor can have a negative effect on herself.
Erikson states that people in the Identity versus identity confusion stage begin to evolve the ability to explore different alternatives to questions of concerns Noon). One of Ana's alternatives for her situation concerning the rights to her own body Is getting a Lawyer. In this scene she shows how important it is for her to have her own identity by wanting to sue her own mother (Captivates). When she tells the lawyer about her situation and presents him with her medical documents, it shows how she is morally developing and growing up to be an individual person? not an object (Excavates).
This is a big step for somebody her age. One would expect her to go erectly to her mother Instead of going through the hassle of bringing the Justice system into play. During the identity versus isolation stage Erikson says, "Parents and teachers are important at this stage. They can help to inform a positive identity by providing opportunities and encouragement as adolescences explore the various options of life" (John). In Ana's case, her mother, Sara, is not there to encourage her to be an Individual or explore the many paths which she can take in life. This isolates her from both of her parents.
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In the court scene near the end, Sara and the lawyer debate about Ana's mindset. Sara says that she needs to continue to use Ana In order to save Kate, and she has no choice but to do so because she is too young to make her own decisions (Captivates). In opposition to Sara, the lawyer stands up for Ana since she has nobody else to stand up for her against her mother (Captivates). Instead of providing Ana with opportunities to be free from sacrificing herself for Kate, Sara decides that Ana cannot make decisions of her own because of her progressively unhealthy attachment to Kate.
She Is hindering Ana's exploration by telling her what she wants and does not want (John). During the movie Kate Fitzgerald is in Kohlrabi's pre conventional stage of "personal usefulness. " Kate is getting increasingly sick and as each day goes by she is more and more accepting of the fact that she does not have much longer to live. Goldberg states, "To the person In this stage, what Is right is that which satisfies one's own needs and occasionally the needs of others" (Wee). Kate ultimately aims to please herself because she wants to be with her boyfriend who dies before her. This is the reason why she is not afraid to die anymore.
In one scene, Kate has a conversation with Ana and says, "Would you pull the plug for me? (Captivates). This question takes Ana off guard, and Kate tells her that she is not afraid of dying. Her reason which justifies this statement is because her boyfriend has already moved on, which then leads her into convincing Ana into stop being a donor (Asseverates). Kate does not take her family's feelings Into account while she makes the decision to tell through to keep her alive, how much they love her and how hard it would be for Ana to claim the rights to her own body, but she looks past all of this and still puts her feelings first.
The basic motivation "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" is what titivates Kate (Wee). Ana gets what she wants by manipulating Ana and telling her about the consequences of donating her kidneys (Captivates). Ana aims to please herself; however there are times when she recognizes how her cancer affects her family's bond. As she is in her hospital bed looking through a scrap book, she reflects on how the attention has always been on her rather than her older brother and Ana (Captivates).
Part of her motive to let her cancer kill her is based on her siblings' feelings which she takes into consideration? if she is out of the picture then they will get more attention from their parents. Ana is functioning at Kohlrabies personal usefulness because her motivations are based on her personal gain, and she partially takes others' feelings into consideration when making decisions (Wee). Moreover, her moral development is still progressing and has the potential to be at the conventional level where she puts others before herself.
This is seen because of the fact that she takes time to reflect on how her siblings feel when all the attention is on her. Sara Fitzgerald goes from Fowlers "personal faith" to "mystical faith. " A person who is in the personal faith stage may run into some gray areas and tension with there while searching for the truth (Wee). Sara's search for the truth about Skate's wants causes a lot of tension between her and her family because when the answers are in front of her, she does not see them or they seem to be unclear.
Her attachment to Kate is causing her to be oblivious to the wants and needs of her children, especially Kate who wants to die. In the court scene, the brother says to Sara, "Skate's dying and everybody knows it! You Just love her so much that you don't want to let her go. She told you a million times, you didn't want to hear it" (Captivates). Sara hints that she is doing everything to in her power to please Kate by keeping her alive, but in reality she is only pleasing herself and this is part of the personal faith stage pertaining to gray areas and unclear answers.
Only when her son brings the truth to her out in the open, does she realize that as she keeps her spirit alive, she is killing Skate's. This answer to the question she has been searching for is a bad thing for Sara in the short term, but has its benefits in the long run. It is bad because she the truth is not what she wants to hear and causes her spirit to weaken. It is good that she hears the truth because it gives her a chance to finally move on to the next level of spiritual growth, mystical faith.
Before Kate dies, she begins to open up instead of turning her head away from what Kate has to say like she usually does. In the mystical faith stage the person challenges and improves structure because they are more accepting. Near the end of the movie when Kate shows Sara her scrapbook she made, she begins to cry and lays down beside Kate. This symbolizes that she is beginning to accept the fact that Kate is dying and she needs to let her go. Her acceptance at this time and even after Kate is gone shows her improvement in structure.
For Sara, her transition from one stage to another took place by overcoming a crisis she was facing, which is what one should do in order to move on to the next stage of spiritual growth (Wee). Captivates, Nick, dir. My Sister's Keeper. Writ. Level Jeremy. Film. 26 Novo 2012. John , B. In search of the good: A catholic understanding of moral living. 2nd deed. Ottawa: the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2004. Print. Wee, J. "Fowlers Six Stages of Spiritual Growth. " Trans. Reappoint. Wee,J. "Kohlrabi's Stages of Moral Reasoning. " Trans. Reappoint.
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