How we cite our quotes: (Page)
Quote #7
Deborah realized these movies were fiction, but for her the line between sci-fi and reality had blurred years earlier, when her father got that first call saying Henrietta's cells were still alive. Deborah knew her mother's cells had grown like the Blob until there were so many of them they could wrap around the Earth several times. It sounded crazy, but it was true. (237-38)
Skloot wants us to understand that Deborah's belief in some of the more far-fetched theories about Henrietta's cells (i.e. that hybrids of the cells are full-fledged monsters) start out as some version of reality. Most people—admit it, you probably believe that you're either alive or you're dead, no in-between—wouldn't know what to make of this unusual situation with a dead Henrietta and her living cells. And you have the benefit of the Shmoop science learning guides.
Quote #8
He grabbed a piece of scrap paper and spent nearly a half-hour drawing diagrams and explaining the basic biology of cells as Deborah asked questions. Zakariyya turned up his hearing aid and leaned close to Christoph and his paper. (264)
Finally—a doctor who gets it. Christoph Lengauer not only agrees to meet with the Lacks family to show them the HeLa cells in his lab at Hopkins, he takes the time to explain things in a way that Zakariyya and Deborah can understand. And he does it with enthusiasm, compassion, and respect for the family's intelligence. And Deborah and Zakariyya respond. It's a transformative moment for them. This guy's a hero in our book.
Quote #9
She sat down next to me and pointed to a different word in her sister's autopsy report. "What does this word mean?" she asked, and I told her. Then her face fell, her jaw slack, and she whispered, "I don't want you putting that word in the book." "I won't," I said, and then I made a mistake. I smiled. Not because I thought it was funny, but because I thought it was sweet that she was protective of her sister. (282-83)
Here we have two failures to communicate: first, the unknowable and unutterable word on Elsie's autopsy report, which we don't know because Skloot kept her promise. Then, Deborah's sorrow and mistrust cloud her ability to read Skloot's non-verbal cues: that approving smile gets read as mockery or sneakiness. This moment certainly highlights the importance of context and emotional state in any interaction.