1. The subjective conclusions I can make about Mama Speed based on the objective details are that she is a caring, intelligent, and religious woman. The fact that Speed had “dozens of ‘spiritual sons,’ who she treated no different than her six biological sons” shows that she is considerate and nice. Some people do not want to take care of their own children, let alone other children. She wanted the children in the community to be good at math by giving each child “a free Hershey’s kiss for each correct answer.” She helps those children to better their future. When Speed mentions that people try to push the town off the map, but “God won’t let them;” therefore, she believes in God and is religious.
2. The idiom “the other side of the tracks” refers to either the not so nice part of town or like a “the grass is not always greener on the other side.” Almost as if the train tracks are a definite divide between the two sides of town: the good and the bad. The other side of the tracks is the bad side where there is more crime and poverty. It is a
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I think Skloot decided to make this chapter so brief to not focus too much on her death. The book is called the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks, not the death of Henrietta Lacks. There is no reason to dwell on her death because the book is about her cells and who she was as a person. Skloot probably decided not to describe the final moments of Henrietta’s life due to the fact that Henrietta was probably in a lot of pain and it was a sad time for her family. Henrietta’s family most likely did not want to talk about either. Skloot might not know the details of Henrietta’s final moments. These choices affect the chapter by only focusing on the important parts of Henrietta’s death. The boys wanting to donate blood and Henrietta wanting her children taken care of. It causes the reader to remember Henrietta as a nice woman who cared for many and had many care about her too; instead of a woman who died with such pain and