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Chapter 34
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism, Classism, and Sexism
Family and Faith
Progress vs. Privacy
Technology and Globalization
Immortality and Its Costs
Summary
Analysis
As the day progresses, Deborah grows covered with hives, and Rebecca becomes concerned. The two finally get to Clover, where Deborah asks Rebecca to take a photo of her with the two pictures of Elsie in front of Henrietta’s grave. They then go to visit the elderly Gladys’s house, where Deborah announces that she is going to start a Henrietta museum.
Gladys’s son Gary comes in, and Deborah shows him the new picture of Elsie. He and Rebecca are both worried about the over-emotional Deborah, who’s still covered in hives. Deborah grows increasingly hysterical as Gary tries to calm her, telling her that she must “relax” and quoting scripture. Gary eventually begins channeling the holy spirit, praying and singing to God for Deborah, and begging that the “burden” of Henrietta’s cells be lifted from her daughter’s shoulders. Deborah sobs, and Rebecca feels incredibly guilty for the grief she believes she has caused. Gary, however, thanks God for sending Rebecca to them and prays for Him to give the burden of the cells to her.
We return to the theme of spirituality, an uncomfortable topic for Skloot, but an immensely comforting one for the Lackses. By thanking God for Rebecca, Gary generously includes her in this family tradition, while also highlighting one of the deepest themes of the book—the way in which Skloot has taken on the “burden” of Henrietta’s cells and story as her own, or least has offered some relief for the Lacks family.
Themes
