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19. Thursday: Jesse
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Sister’s Keeper, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Bodily Autonomy
Siblinghood
Parenthood
Control
Illness and Isolation
Summary
Analysis
Brian moves Anna into the fire station, explaining the situation to his colleagues. When Caesar asks if she’s going to ride with them, Brian thinks about it and says that she might. After dinner, he struggles to spend time with her, asking if she wants to play Go Fish and responding awkwardly when she asks to keep her tampons in the bathroom. Brian admits that he’s not sure how to handle things yet, and Anna says she feels the same. She then tells him that “no one plays Go Fish after they’re potty-trained.” As she hugs him, Brian thinks back to the last time he carried Anna, when they went through a field together and he noticed for the first time how long her legs had gotten. He wishes he could have kept her smaller for longer.
Brian and Anna’s first night at the station together is awkward, suggesting that Brian is somewhat out-of-touch with Anna now that she’s a teenager—hence his wish that he could’ve kept her young for longer, when it was easier to connect with her. However, the fact that Anna teases him about Go Fish and hugs him shows that, although they’ve gotten off to a bit of a rocky start, her time at the station is allowing her to relax much more than she would have been able to at home.
Themes
Earlier the same day, Brian goes to the hospital to visit Kate. He and Sara exchange updates about their daughters, and Brian confesses that he took Anna to the station for a few days to have some time to herself. Sara accuses him of “buying into Anna’s tantrum,” to which Brian retorts that he’s worried about Anna. Sara says she differs from him in that she’s worried about both their daughters. Brian looks at Sara and, for a moment, sees the woman he married. He kisses her on the forehead and tells her that she knows where to find him and Anna.
Sara and Brian continue to disagree sharply on how to handle Anna’s lawsuit. Sara still refuses to take Anna’s decisions seriously, while Brian sees them as an indicator that Anna is not okay. Ironically, although Sara accuses Brian of only caring for one of their daughters, her disregard for Anna’s lawsuit suggests that she is still prioritizing Kate’s wellbeing.
Themes
In the middle of Anna’s first night at the station, the bell rings. Anna decides to go along. They reach a nursing home, where an old woman, Eldie Briggs, has fallen down in her room. Anna helps Brian take care of her. As he takes care of Eldie on the way to the hospital, Brian notices that Anna is holding her hand. When they get her to the hospital and wheel her in, Anna asks Brian if Eldie is going to die. Brian tells her that he thinks she had a stroke, but that she’ll be okay. Anna says it would be great if all calls were like this, even though Brian considers it a terrible call. Brian realizes it’s because the thing that’s wrong with Eldie can be fixed.
Anna’s encounter with Eldie is upsetting, but it’s also a moment that brings out the best in her. She provides Eldie with a great deal of comfort throughout her ordeal and clearly has great concern for the old woman when she asks Brian if she’s going to die. Anna’s happiness that Eldie’s problem can be fixed suggests that she sees Kate in Eldie; although a stroke is a terrible thing to suffer, Anna wishes that Kate’s cancer had a short-term solution like Eldie’s condition.
Themes
Brian finishes up the paperwork for his call, which takes about 10 minutes. When he’s done, he searches for Anna but can’t find her. He immediately realizes where she’s gone and goes up to the hospital’s eighth floor, where he finds Anna in Kate’s room. Anna is sitting in Sara’s lap. Both she and Kate are asleep. Brian gently wakes Anna and tells her it’s time to go home. Anna responds that the fire station isn’t home, but she follows him nonetheless.
Even though Anna is benefiting psychologically from being at the station, this moment shows that she’s clearly homesick. Her draw to return to Kate and Sara despite her conflict with the latter reflects her struggle to pursue her own independence from the household, even when she has the chance to get away.
Themes
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After midnight, Brian wakes up Anna to bring her to the roof. Together, they watch a meteor shower. Anna asks if it’s always like this when they’re asleep, and Brian marvels at the core of her question: “Do all the wonderful things happen when we are not aware of them?” However, this shower is potentially once in a lifetime. Anna imagines picking up a star and keeping it in a fishbowl and asks if Kate can see this from her window. Brian says he doesn’t know and looks carefully at her. Anna says that she knows he wants to know why she’s doing this, and Brian tells her that she doesn’t have to say anything she doesn’t want to. Anna doesn’t respond—just rests her head on Brian’s shoulder.
The meteor shower is a moment of pure beauty, serving as an escape from all of the stress where Brian and Anna can simply be father and daughter. Anna’s question also underscores how young she still is and how she still has a childish wonder at the world. This beautiful instance is slightly undercut by Anna bringing up her lawsuit, but Brian’s promise that she doesn’t have to tell him anything affirms that he is someone Anna can trust to be there for her without judgement.
Themes
