Skloot makes sure that none of the events shown in her book are her portrayals of each character. Their words are not interpreted or altered in any way and the voice of each character is raw and direct from the source. The characters are developed in two ways. From a third person point of view in which she describes the Lacks family’s past or by the direct dialogue between Skloot and the Lacks family. Also, the main rhetorical device to keep the rule of “show, don’t tell” is diction of the Lacks Family. Not a single part of their speech is edited for the book to keep the real characteristics of the people involved. Preserving the character’s use of their syntax is also important. Skloot’s rule of “show, don’t tell” is kept throughout
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This is because Skloot did not have the chance to interview Henrietta directly. As a result, most of her character development come from the Lacks family’s stories and narratives. Skloot even tells us that she “relied on interviews, legal documents, and her medical records to re-create scenes from her life” and that whenever it was possible she “conducted multiple interviews with multiple sources to ensure accuracy” (xiv). Using these sources Skloot uses imagery to recreate the past of Henrietta Lacks and for the reader to understand the character even more. Skloot’s imagery is effective in showing Henrietta’s short life, rather than telling it. Skloot describes Henrietta to have a “beautiful smile and walnut eyes” (23). Skloot does a recreation of Henrietta’s speech and it reveals a great deal of Henrietta’s character. After Henrietta treatments for her cancer she tells her friends that “it just feels like that blackness be spreadin all inside me” (48). The syntax used in Henrietta’s speech allows the reader to see that she is worried and scared about her current condition and the treatment she receives. She carries this fear to her deathbed, but her caring thoughts are still present as her final words being “you make sure Day takes care of them children… Especially my baby girl Deborah”
This is because Skloot did not have the chance to interview Henrietta directly. As a result, most of her character development come from the Lacks family’s stories and narratives. Skloot even tells us that she “relied on interviews, legal documents, and her medical records to re-create scenes from her life” and that whenever it was possible she “conducted multiple interviews with multiple sources to ensure accuracy” (xiv). Using these sources Skloot uses imagery to recreate the past of Henrietta Lacks and for the reader to understand the character even more. Skloot’s imagery is effective in showing Henrietta’s short life, rather than telling it. Skloot describes Henrietta to have a “beautiful smile and walnut eyes” (23). Skloot does a recreation of Henrietta’s speech and it reveals a great deal of Henrietta’s character. After Henrietta treatments for her cancer she tells her friends that “it just feels like that blackness be spreadin all inside me” (48). The syntax used in Henrietta’s speech allows the reader to see that she is worried and scared about her current condition and the treatment she receives. She carries this fear to her deathbed, but her caring thoughts are still present as her final words being “you make sure Day takes care of them children… Especially my baby girl Deborah”