Can one truly achieve immortality? The depends on one’s definition of immorality. A person living forever never aging or dying, then no, the elixir of life or fountain of youth has not been found; nonetheless, in the case of Henrietta Lacks, her cells have. Henrietta Lacks, although dead, is still living through her malignant cancer cells that multiply endlessly as long as it is cultured with space. In classical literature, immortality correlates with an endless lifespan never reaching death of old age or disease. However, in more contemporary literature, immortality emphasizes on defying or escaping natural deaths such as the undead. The notion of immortality has been adapted and altered throughout generations and eras. One thing, however, …show more content…
One example of classical literature is the immortal Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. The gods and goddesses, who never age, possess beauty beyond what the eyes can hold, and are immune to diseases and some injuries, connects to the classical literature’s concept: an endless lifespan of never reaching old age or disease. Whether the gods may or may not have existed, their stories, myths, and legends are still being told today in various ways making them immortal— never forgotten, even after the source of origin have vanished. Just like the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, the characters in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will never be forgotten. The stories in the book immortalize all those in it: Deborah Lacks, Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, Elsie Pleasant, etc. For as long as the “a book that was a biography of both the cells and the woman they came from—someone’s daughter, wife, and mother” (Skloot 6) continues to survive those in it will never to be forgotten or lost, even after death. Not only the book that …show more content…
In the world renowned fiction series Twilight, innocent human children are captured at a young age, to turn them into vampires that ultimately create immortal children. Although banned by Volturi, most powerful coven of vampires, the immortal children are trapped in a time physically and mentally confining. The immortal children not being able to fend for themselves, they are constantly hunted or found by humans to experiment and relentlessly studied by the hands of the humans. Similar to the immortal children in Twilight, the HeLa cells from Henrietta Lacks are trapped in their test tubes for them to reach immorality, “That lady [Henrietta Lacks] has achieved true immortality, both in the test-tube and in the hearts and minds of scientists the world over, since the value of HeLa cells in research, diagnosis, etc., is inestimable. Yet we do not know her name!” (175). HeLa cells were constantly being made, like the immortal children, whether it is legal or not, and even after being made and sold off, they are constantly being studied by scientists. These cells that came from Henrietta Lacks making her immortal, but only labeled as HeLa, which comes from the first two letter of her first and last name. The memories of Henrietta will always exist as long as her cells do. Another example of immortality in contemporary literature is the
ILofHL Pages 56-86 Summary The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is the result of years of research done by Skloot on an African American woman with cervical cancer named Henrietta Lacks. Cells from Lacks’ tumor are taken and experimented on without her knowledge. These cells, known as HeLa cells, are the first immortal human cells ever grown. The topic of HeLa cells is at the center of abundantly controversial debates.
Mortality, the subject of death, has been a curious topic to scholars, writers, and the common man. Each with their own opinion and beliefs. My personal belief is that one should accept mortality for what it is and not go against it.
Henrietta’s cells were being inaugurated with space travel, infused into rat cells, and even being used to make infertile hens fertile again. However, these are only a few of the many accomplishments that Henrietta’s immortal cells made possible: “The National Cancer Institute was using various cells, including HeLa, to screen more than thirty thousand chemicals and plant extracts, which would yield several of today’s most widely used and effective chemotherapy drugs, including Vincristine and Taxol,”(pg.139). This example of logos from the text again shows just how important these Henrietta’s cells were to the future developments in
Although Henrietta Lacks’s cells were significant to medicine scientific developments, her cells caused a moral controversy. Throughout her radiation treatments, doctors removed two cervical samples, without her awareness. Henrietta Lacks’s cells were the first immortal human cells ever grown in without support of the human body. These cells are known as “immortal” since they are able to be frozen for a long period of time, shared among scientists and can grow open-endedly (as long as they have nutrients). Although this process was without her knowledge, this allowed for scientists to exam the cells (Zienlinski).
Henrietta Lacks did contribute to society scientifically in various ways such as vaccinating girls against cancer, eradicating polio, showing us how cells stayed young, mapping the human genome, and creating the field of virology. Many secrets didn’t emerge until the curiosity from Rebecca Skloot increased, resulting in the development of this book. There are many themes in the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks including science, immortality, race, morality, and poverty but an overlooked theme is memory. Memory is the action of storing and remembering information. Each family member held a piece to the puzzle Rebecca Skloot needed for her book. However, Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s fourth child and Zakariyya Lacks the fifth child contributed to
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a wholesome story about hope, science, and coming together as a family in a new, strange environment. The story consists of the author: Rebecca Skloot, endeavoring on a lifechanging journey which spans states, as well as time periods. The main struggle of the story is John Hopkin’s use of Henrietta’s Lacks’ cells without her knowledge. After Henrietta’s death, the scientific community receives these cells, and begins to make groundbreaking advances in the fields of medicine, cancer research, and virology. The main conflict in the story is what the family should receive in terms of compensation for Henrietta’s cells. The plot continues to thicken when Henrietta’s daughter: Deborah, begins to discover more about her mother’s past, as well as her mother’s cells effects on most, if not all of humanity.
As we age, we become more prone to a wide array of diseases, such as cancer and heart disease and treating these diseases most definitely helps us live longer but they do not seem to halt the natural aging process that eventually causes our bodies to weaken and wither away. New research suggests that, like several biological processes, the aging process could also be controlled and this could lead us to live much longer lives. However, commoners and bioethicists alike are often concerned about the bioethical issues pertaining to the life extension phenomena. They argue that the quality of life may be compromised in exchange for longevity and this may be due to intervention in the
In the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, the author highlights the scientific advances of HeLa cells, as well as the personal setbacks of Henrietta Lacks’ family. HeLa is a commonly used cell line in laboratories worldwide and is so often referred to as “the cell line that changed modern science”. This line of immortal cells has helped advance science in ways beyond compare. HeLa has allowed cell testing, cell cloning, and the discovery of various vaccines, including the HPV vaccine. While HeLa has done wonders in the medical field, it has caused unrepairable damage among the Lacks family.
later in the passage. In the article, “The Good, the Bad, and the HeLa”, Alexandra del Carpio, who has a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California states that this led to her cells “being the first immortal cell line cultured by scientists”, specifically a scientist named George Gey (“The Good, the Bad, and the HeLa”). Gey is the researcher at Johns Hopkins University who took the cell sample from Henrietta Lacks and is a world renowned scientist, famous for creating the first cells of HeLa. From his perspective, all that mattered was the cells. He didn’t focus on the woman behind them, or what injustice would happen to her and her family.
Common sense seems to dictate that we are all going to die one day. As we all get older we crave to keep our youth, and to stay young forever is the ultimate dream. The thought of a possible immortality is just an added benefit. Even though we have strived towards this goal for centuries, have we obtained advances in successfully staying young forever? In Bill Gifford’s book “Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (Or Die Trying)” he explores these ideas of life and aging further. In this novel, he goes on a journey to try and debunk the mysteries and questions behind the new science of aging. He gathers information from tests and scientists from around the country to discover what really works to prevent or delay aging and what is just a hopeful hoax. He helps us figure out why we age and why aging
The way men and other races view immortality differs depending on who knows the proper knowledge regarding who holds the immortality. Those who hold the immortality may not fully understand the impact of what it is to be mortal, or may use their knowledge of immortality to their advantage. In Tolkien’s work, the race of Elves are blessed with immortality, and others recognize them as ”immortal were the Elves, and their wisdom waxed from age to age, and no sickness nor pestilence brought death to the...
In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, many characters must adjust to the face of adversity to better their
...ves after him. There is a measure of immortality in achievement, the only immortality man can seek.” (Jacobsen, 196)
...eve in any concept such as an ending, brings the belief that one thing leads to another; therefore refuting the entire concept of human mortality to think of it instead as a never ending cycle and how death leads to another life somewhere else is preposterous. Nonetheless, the idea of immortality is no more than what it was, is and always will be - merely an idea.
Ever since the dawn of humanity, death has been the most feared and dreaded concept for the human race. As a solution to combat this end, humans have searched for immortality, whether it is from the Fountain of Youth or from a magical stone. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero Gilgamesh seeks immortality from the long-lived Utnapishtim to avoid the seemingly dark and bleak end that his friend, Enkidu, met. On the other hand, in “Passing On” by Bill McKibben, McKibben explores the drawbacks and consequences immortality may have on our lives. Although some may side with Gilgamesh in that immortality is to be sought after, I stand with McKibben and agree that immortality could be a bad thing.