Henrietta Lacks And Never Let Me Go

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The best society is one where every member is driven to lift their equal part, and no one is left with too little or too much of the weight. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro acts as exemplars for the consequences of when this careful balance falls out of place. Absent from these particular books, societies are most successful when everyone consciously and genuinely sacrifices for the common good, and receives just compensation for their deed. In order for a society to successfully run, its members must be willing to relinquish some of their individual rights for the sake of the common good. Unfortunately, there often comes a point when those offering their services to the common …show more content…

What they could expect, and what wasn’t granted to them was proper justification from the rest of society in response to their using of Henrietta’s cells. The Lackses note that “[Henrietta’s] the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty.” They wonder, “if our mother is so important to science, why can’t we get health insurance” (168). The strength of the common good is crucial, and without it, society would be hard pressed to make improvements such as cancer treatments. But there must be a balance, a tipping point when those giving to the common good aren’t receiving enough back. In Henrietta Lacks, this comes in the form of health insurance, and in Never Let Me Go, it comes in the form of respect. Never Let Me Go is another perfect example of what can go wrong when the balance is grossly out of place. Also centered on the medical field and solutions to deadly diseases, the book focuses on a group of students who have given way too much to the common good. Created by science, students, or “clones”, at Hailsham grew up with knowledge of gloomy days ahead. But only when they had truly discovered their talents and fallen into loving relationships did they realize their lives would be cut short. Although the students at

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