| Jodi Picoult,the American bestselling author,frequently writes about controversial topics in her works such as euthanasia,organ transplant,and juvenile suicide.The characters are usually burdened with tragic destiny as well as ethical and legal controversies.Picoult’s 2004 bestseller My Sister’s Keeper tells a story of 13-year-old Anna,who sues her parents for medical emancipation and the rights not to donate a kidney to her sister Kate,who is dying from leukemia.Seemingly,My Sister’s Keeper writes about the success and failure of a lawsuit,and whether to donate a kidney or not,but in fact,it depicts a journey of Anna’s ethical identity pursuits of being a daughter,a sister and an autonomous individual.The thesis,adopting ethical literary criticism as the theoretical framework,seeks to reveal Anna’s ethical identity dilemma,demonstrate her ethical identity pursuits,and explain the causes of her failure to acquire identity.The thesis attempts to analyze Anna’s ethical identity pursuits and ethical choice from three ethical relationships,namely,the mother-daughter relationship,the sisterhood,the relationship between human and medical advances.The thesis proposes that her parents’ false ethical choices hinder the development of Anna’s ethical identity,resulting in her ethical tragedy in the end.Although Anna fails to acquire her ethical identity,this traumatic story provides readers with valuable lessons and moral edification.The thesis is both a suggestion that people adopt new medical technologies properly and reasonably,and a strong advocate for the promotion of children’s autonomy. |
