'The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks'

Comparative Literary Analysis
Trahan, Grace : December 1st, 2016 : P-2 Over the past 8 years of my life, I’ve always loved reading. It takes me to another world, with an amazing character, and a completely different life. I have never experienced anything like what’s in the books I read. But the wisdom and knowledge, I learn is infinite. When reading so many books, I connect with the characters, and learn a lot about them. Humans in books exhibit the best and worst of humankind. From them, I am able to learn about the human condition. I’ve recently read about two awe-inspiring humans that exhibit the best of humankind.
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and “Iqbal” reveal that humans are driven by past personal injustices to strive for
Deborah’s family friend would,“Scream and tell her she was a whore. (pg 115)” But with her mother gone, and her father crushed she would still, “pretend he was her father and [that] she felt like a regular girl. (114)” Deborah was said to be “happiest when she finds [found] information about her birth on her mother's medical records. (pg 114)” Deborah did face many challenges, but still chose to go on. “My nerve broke down, (pg 53)” she said. At one time “Both lids were swollen shut and shining like she covered them in blood-red shadow (pg 53)” But Deborah’s commitment was stronger, when asked to stop, “she just laughed.(53)” Deborah’s curiosity and horror is what caused her to, “lay awake at night worrying about what awful things might of happened to her mother and sister (pg 117)”
Deborah had lost her mother, something no one should have to go through at such a young age. After she found out about her mother’s cells, she was devastated. Society did not care that HeLa cells were from a real person, but society should. Henrietta’s cells contributed to cure’s for people everywhere. Society owes her family gratitude. Deborah from then on worked toward finding the truth of what happened to her mother, driven by constant worry and curiosity. She was dedicated to getting recognition to her mother, by her sadness and feelings of
[and] Ghullah, the owner, ties [tying] the boy’s feet together and hangs [hanging] him upside down from the fan on the ceiling. (pg 16)” By Ghullah, “beats [beating] the boys with a carpet fork, (pg 17)” and “chains [chaining] them up. Sometimes [with] two days [passing] before he releases then again. (pg 17)” Iqbal, despite his struggles, eventually said, “Children should have pens in their hands not tools.(pg 17)” He became, “a symbol for the struggle against child labour. (pg 16)”
Iqbal had witnessed how child slavery broke children down, and was motivated to stopping this, for himself and others in his position. When experiencing this major problem first hand it created a personal link, that drove him to making a change. Despite his young age, and being beaten he was still able to exhibit devotion, to make a huge dent in abolishing child carpet workers.
Deborah lived in America, and Iqbal lived in Pakistan, Deborah was an adult, and Iqbal was six years old. Despite their different ages and the societies they grew up in, they both had commonalities. Iqbal and Deborah had courage and dedication. Iqbal and Deborah were both committed to causes close to