Analysis Of The Adoration Of Jenna Fox

If your body was ninety percent artificial, would you still count yourself as human? The character Jenna Fox from the book The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson might have the answer. Jenna is a seventeen year old girl recovering from a traumatic accident, whose body has been replaced almost completely with prosthetics. In Jenna’s world, a limit is put on the amount of prosthetics one can receive, and Jenna has far surpassed it. Following her accident, her parents decided that the only way to save Jenna was to use an illegal amount of prosthetics on her. Their choice did not come without consequences however, as it heavily affected them and others around them, especially Jenna. The most important choice in the book was made by Jenna’s

In other words, Jenna isn’t sure anymore if she still is human considering that she has a ninety percent artificial body. In one particular passage, Jenna thinks to herself, “Is one out of five enough? Lily [Jenna’s Grandma] says percentages and politicians can’t define identity, but they’ve defined mine: illegal lab creation,” (Pearson 190). This quote showcases her difficulty and confusion trying to understand her identity. She tries to resolve her confusions by comparing the word identity’s dictionary definition to her own life, but she finds that only one out of the five definitions match. Jenna is unsure who or what she truly is. Additionally, Jenna also questioned her true nature when she learned that her parents had saved a backup of her consciousness in their closet. Jenna asks herself, “Which is the real me? The one in the closet or the one here on the forest floor? (Pearson 197). She is confused who the real Jenna is; the living, breathing one, or the one made of pure consciousness. Jenna is trying to figure out her true self, and is further confused that she has two consciousnesses. In brief, Jenna feels that she has lost her true validity as a human because of her parents’ choice to give her a synthetic