~CHARACTER MOTIVATION~
ANNA/KATE: Anna and Kate are both antagonists and well as protagonists towards each other. Anna and Kate are both motivated by Love, Self-Preservation, Self-Discovery, and Satisfaction. Anna is trying to satisfy her needs of having her own medical choices and is also struggling with the consequences that could come with this decision. Anna is the only one who has the right blood tissue and cells needed to help Kate overcome her sickness. Anna is getting sick of being forced to help Kate on demand from her parents, so Anna files a lawsuit towards them. The struggle Anna is dealing with is if she stops helping Kate with her disease, Anna runs the risk of Kate dying. Kate is struggling to understand why Anna wants to do this. Kate obviously knows what the outcome could be if Anna decides to stop helping her as well. Anna wants to pull away from Kate in a heartbeat but isn’t able to right away because she is attracted to her through love. Their strong sisterhood bond has kept them together since the time they were both born. It’s because of this strong bond that Anna is unable to leave Kate “in the dust.”
SARA: Sara is motivated by greed, love, and compasion. Her greed is for Kate's health. She will do almost anything to make sure that Kate is healthy. Through this she almost forgets about her other daughter's health, Anna. Anna always seems to put on a front to her family so that they don't know what she is feeling. To them, they always believe that Anna is happy and don't really tune in when she has a problem. Her main problem is of course, the battle between getting attention and being allowed her own medical options. Sara is also compelled by love and compassion for both of her daughters as well as herself. She has trouble balancing the love between Anna and Kate. This unbalancing of her love gives Anna the message that maybe she isn't as loved as Kate is by the rest of the family. Sara struggles with trying to connect to Anna and what she truly feels because she is always having to help Kate with her medical problems. Through this struggle Jodi Picoult brings out the major themes of the novel as well as very deep questions one must ask themselves after they are done reading it.
BRIAN: Brian is motivated by his love for his wife Sara, and his two children, Kate, and Anna. He doesn't seem to show much love towards Jesse. He cares for Jesse because he is obviously his son but does not show as much love like a father should for his son. Brian struggles to keep the peace between Kate and Anna at some moments, but more so the peace between Sara and Anna. He is the only one who seems to care what Anna is feeling. Sara does, but struggles to keep her eye on Anna. She is always turned to caring about Kate. Kate always seems to come first within the family, and then Anna. I think the worst motivation that Brian has to deal with his the power of love towards the end of the book. When Brian finds Anna in the truck accident at the end of the book, he struggles with the several questions on how he should handle the situation. Should he handle it like a real firefighter and get all of the correct paramedics to the scene? Or should he act like a father who is simply caring for his own daughter and go with her to the hospital? I would never be able to handle it how he did. He now has to live with those questions in his head for the rest of his life.
CAMPBELL: Alexander Campbell seems to have little motivation in the beginning of the novel. Mostly greed for his own reputation. He wants to make sure that if he can help Anna win her case that it will reflect on him and make him look like a better lawyer. Towards the end of the novel though, Campbell is actually compelled by love and care for Anna and her reasons of freedom from her parents. This is definitely shown in the end at the emergency room when Campbell is caring so much for Anna's well-being, praying and hoping that she survives.
SARA: Sara is motivated by greed, love, and compasion. Her greed is for Kate's health. She will do almost anything to make sure that Kate is healthy. Through this she almost forgets about her other daughter's health, Anna. Anna always seems to put on a front to her family so that they don't know what she is feeling. To them, they always believe that Anna is happy and don't really tune in when she has a problem. Her main problem is of course, the battle between getting attention and being allowed her own medical options. Sara is also compelled by love and compassion for both of her daughters as well as herself. She has trouble balancing the love between Anna and Kate. This unbalancing of her love gives Anna the message that maybe she isn't as loved as Kate is by the rest of the family. Sara struggles with trying to connect to Anna and what she truly feels because she is always having to help Kate with her medical problems. Through this struggle Jodi Picoult brings out the major themes of the novel as well as very deep questions one must ask themselves after they are done reading it.
BRIAN: Brian is motivated by his love for his wife Sara, and his two children, Kate, and Anna. He doesn't seem to show much love towards Jesse. He cares for Jesse because he is obviously his son but does not show as much love like a father should for his son. Brian struggles to keep the peace between Kate and Anna at some moments, but more so the peace between Sara and Anna. He is the only one who seems to care what Anna is feeling. Sara does, but struggles to keep her eye on Anna. She is always turned to caring about Kate. Kate always seems to come first within the family, and then Anna. I think the worst motivation that Brian has to deal with his the power of love towards the end of the book. When Brian finds Anna in the truck accident at the end of the book, he struggles with the several questions on how he should handle the situation. Should he handle it like a real firefighter and get all of the correct paramedics to the scene? Or should he act like a father who is simply caring for his own daughter and go with her to the hospital? I would never be able to handle it how he did. He now has to live with those questions in his head for the rest of his life.
CAMPBELL: Alexander Campbell seems to have little motivation in the beginning of the novel. Mostly greed for his own reputation. He wants to make sure that if he can help Anna win her case that it will reflect on him and make him look like a better lawyer. Towards the end of the novel though, Campbell is actually compelled by love and care for Anna and her reasons of freedom from her parents. This is definitely shown in the end at the emergency room when Campbell is caring so much for Anna's well-being, praying and hoping that she survives.
