71 pages • 2 hours read
Rebecca SklootThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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BetaSymbols & Motifs
HeLa Cells
The cells that came from Henrietta Lacks are the most prominent symbol in the book. While in actuality they are the immortal cells that came from Henrietta’s cervical cancer, they are the foundation for a whole host of questions concerning medical and scientific ethics. To the scientific community, they represent a breakthrough in medical advancements, like the polio vaccine, as well as a means for profit. To Henrietta’s children, the cells are literally their mother, with Deborah even fearing that her mother might feel the pain of the HeLa cell experimentation. To Henrietta’s relative, Gary, the cells are Henrietta’s angelic presence on earth, sent to aid in healing people through medical research.
Henrietta’s Toenails
During Henrietta’s autopsy, laboratory assistant Mary Kubicek sees Henrietta’s painted toenails and imagines her as a live person. For the first time, she considers that the cells she has been examining and distributing came from an actual, living person. The realization speaks to how Gey and his team dehumanized Henrietta and used her tissues as though her physical body had no connection to her personhood. Gey further dehumanizes Henrietta by refusing to name her to the scientific community; to him, her name isn’t relevant, only the use of her cells matters.
The Mixed-Race Cemetery
When Skloot meets Henrietta’s cousin, Cliff, he takes her to a cemetery where his slave ancestors are buried along with their white masters. As it was common for white slaveowners to father children with their slaves, the families are connected by blood. He points out that both white and blacks end up in the same place after death, suggesting the futility of racism. Nonetheless, Skloot visits the white Lacks family, who deny any connection to Henrietta’s family.
Lengauer’s HeLa Cell Picture
Christoph Lengauer’s framed picture of Henrietta’s cells is a symbolic bridging of the gap between the Lacks family and the scientific community. Lengauer is a cancer researcher, and he acknowledges the ethical wrongs that the family has suffered from people in similar positions. His gifting the cell picture to Debora and Zakariyya is the first hint of empathy they’ve received from the medical establishment, and they’re both touched. Zakariyya calls the moment “a miracle.”
