"Henrietta's Dance" 1
I am the author of "Henrietta's Dance"
Who is Rebecca Skloot?
Laboratories where tissue from patients is stored for possible research.
What is a Biobank?
Turkey is trying to get a green light from Russia to use new border crossings for delivering aid to earthquake survivors in northwest Syria, officials with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
authority or permission to proceed
What would this sentence look like if punctuated correctly?
For her part, Martin hopes the research keeps going.
The corrected sentence is:
For her part, Martin hopes the research keeps going.
Identify what types of figurative language are used here. Be specific.
That's probably why my mother let her go. Dear Dr. Cassie didn't want to incarcerate me here in Hell. She didn't think it was necessary. She didn’t see the need to put me away. She didn’t think I was crazy
Metaphor
She is not literally in Hell; therefore it is a metaphor. What she means is that it feels like Hell, a place where she is trapped & tormented.
If someone is described as cynical they are . . .
What is full of doubt?
What made Mary Kubicek realize Henrietta wasn’t just cells in a lab? When/where did she realize this?
Her red nail polish; in the morgue
Rebecca Skloot uses this rhetorical appeal throughout her essay.
What is pathos?
These are the moral rules in medicine and research.
What are bioethics?
At least one person has been bit by the green-eyed monster after the successful launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket last week.
What is jealousy imagined as a monster that attacks people.
What would this sentence look like if punctuated correctly?
Any woman would love to be able to create a baby of [her] own Martin says.
The corrected sentence is:
"Any woman would love to be able to create a baby of [her] own," Martin says.
Identify what type of figurative language is used here. Be specific.
“I’d catch a grenade for you / Throw my head on a blade for you / I’d jump in front of a train for you.”
These lyrics are an example of hyperbole. The speaker doesn’t literally mean that he would catch a grenade. The singer is exaggerating to make a point - which is that he is willing to do a lot for the addressee and their love.
Defined as the permission a patient gives a doctor to perform a test or procedure after the doctor has fully explained the purpose.
What is informed consent?
What does the word skepticism mean in the following sentence?
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks speaks to that skepticism, and above all is the vivid testament of how the Lackses feel they’ve been treated by physicians, researchers, journalists, and corporation"
What is doubtful or cynical.
In the second paragraph, which phrase indicates the change in tone of Henrietta’s life in Baltimore?
What is "what she didn't know"?
What is a chance occurrence?
Andy's going through a rough patch at the moment - his wife wants a divorce.
to experience lots of problems in a period of your life
What would this sentence look like if punctuated correctly?
In many cases there is no treatment and the affected child dies early in life
The correctly punctuated sentence:
In many cases, there is no treatment, and the affected child dies early in life.
Identify what types of figurative language are used here. Be specific.
“Do you ever feel like a plastic bag / Drifting through the wind…/ Do you know that there’s still a chance for you / ‘Cause there’s a spark in you… / ‘Cause baby you’re a firework”
Metaphor & Simile
1. ‘Do you feel like a plastic bag’ is a simile, comparing how one feels to a bag being tossed about. This simile is effective because sometimes we feel as if we have no direction, we just go where we are told or where life takes us - just as a plastic bad is thrown around in the wind.
2. ‘There’s a spark in you and ‘you’re a firework’ are metaphors, used to emphasize how full of energy and power the addressee are.
Identify the figurative language in the following text:
"The truth was, Henrietta's cells had traveled through the air, on hands, or the tips of pipettes, overpowering any cell cultures they encountered."
What is personification?
This is the quality of being open to more than one interpretation.
What is ambiguity?
Dale Keiger uses this rhetorical appeal throughout his essay.
What is ethos?
How does Skloot want readers to feel about cell research in regards to Henrietta's family?
What is that Henrietta and her family have been passed over by researchers, who sought to use the cells but not give recognition or consideration for the person who donated the cells.
If something is described as rural it is described as this.
What is of or relating to the country, country people or life, or agriculture.
The movie's only saving grace is the excellent cinematography.
Saving grace: a good quality that something or someone has that stops it, him, or her from being completely bad
What would this sentence look like if punctuated correctly?
John was anxious about his date, he decided to cancel it.
The corrected sentence is:
Identify what types of figurative language are used here. Be specific.
[The previous stanza established that this poem is about daffodils]
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Simile & Hyperbole
Simile: Here the continuous line of daffodils is compared to the endless stars in the sky with the word ‘as’. This is effective, as it illustrates how vast and expansive the field of flowers was.
Hyperbole: The line of daffodils must actually end at some point - therefore, it is not literally ‘never-ending.’ The speaker is exaggerating to make the point that it seemed to go on for a very long way
The purpose of THIS was to “help those who otherwise couldn’t get medical care”
What was the Hopkins Hospital?
As the film rolled, her long thin face teased the camera, flashing a seductive grin as she moved, her eyes locked on the lens.
The word locked in this sentence means?
What is fixed on?
What is the overall claim being made by Keiger?
Henrietta's family was not treated fairly by doctors; however, the issues of obtaining informed consent is difficult.
In paragraph 6 of the text, which words appeal to the reader's senses and what mood does this create?
"undertaker met . . . body"; "casket rolled back"; "unmarked grave"; "tobacco field"; "cattle roam"; "mother was born"
What is lonely, forgotten, and somber?
HeLa cells are described as robust. If something is robust it means . . . ?
What is healthy and strong.
I noticed the guitar wasn't made of real wood, but I didn't say anything because you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
to look in a critical way at something that has been given to one
What would this sentence look like if punctuated correctly?
Lori Martin 33 found out her son Will was born with a genetic malady known as Leigh’s syndrome when he was about two years old.
The corrected sentence is:
Lori Martin, 33, found out her son, Will, was born with a genetic malady known as Leigh’s syndrome when he was about two years old.
Identify what types of figurative language are used here. Be specific.
“On the day that I was born / the cards were dealt, the dice were thrown / I think my destiny was drawn.”
Metaphor & Alliteration:
1. ‘The cards were dealt’ and ‘the dice were thrown’ are metaphors, which mean that his fate was decided for him.
2. The repeated ‘d’ sounds are an example of alliteration.
What is the reasoning for Skloot to use simple syntax over the course of her article?
Skloot wants the readers to understand that the story of HeLa is intertwined with the story of Henrietta Lacks.
This word means tending to produce death or deterioration.
What is malignant?
"Henrietta's Dance" uses this style and was written for this purpose.
What are narrative and to persuade?
The use of special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.
What is jargon?
My family thinks I'm as mad as a March hare just because I practice a form of alternative medicine using magnetic fields.
Crazy or deranged; particularly eccentric.
Particularly cross or angry.
What would this sentence look like if punctuated correctly?
Between 1 in 2000 and 1 in 4000, babies may be born each year with syndromes caused by these genetic glitches; the syndromes range from mild to severe.
The corrected sentence is:
1. Between 1 in 2,000 and 1 in 4,000 babies may be born each year with syndromes caused by these genetic glitches, ranging from mild to severe.
2. Between 1 in 2,000 and 1 in 4,000 babies may be born each year with syndromes caused by these genetic glitches. The syndromes range from mild to severe.
Identify what types of figurative language are used here. Be specific.
Someone once said, “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” Or something like that. It was a statement my first therapist was fond of repeating. In fact, she was always saying it. It struck me as odd.
Hyperbole & Personification
Hyperbole: She can’t have been always saying this - she must have said other things. This is an exaggeration to make the point that she said it often, and a lot of the time
Personification: The fact ‘struck’ the narrator, yet it is not a person and cannot ‘strike’ her.