Ms. Madison Phillips Essay

The Search For Justice in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

In the beginning of the book, Dr. David Henry is forced to deliver his own children although he is only an orthopedic surgeon. This is due to the unfortunate event of a severe snowstorm in March in the southern state of Kentucky. He and his wife, Norah, were expecting only one child. Upon the birth of his first child, Paul, he discovered a second female child to be born, Phoebe. When she was delivered, David noticed something “off” about this girl; she had Down Syndrome. Norah was in such a state that she was not comprehensive of the situation. He took full advantage of this and had Phoebe taken away by the nurse, Miss Caroline Gill. Later, he had told Norah that the Phoebe did not make it past birth. David had explained his reasoning for such dislike of Down Syndrome; his sister had passed away at the age of 12 and all he can remember is the grief that his mother had gone through. This was what David claims to not want to put Norah through, so that’s why he decided to lie to her. Caroline was told to take the baby to a home for those who are mentally handicapped. She had walked inside and saw how they were treated: not as men and women, but as incomprehensive animals. These people endured abuse from their “caretakers”. Caroline decided she would not have any of it; she took the child in and raised her as her own. That same night that she took Phoebe, she met a truck driver named Al, who she later marries and he helps raise Phoebe with Caroline. Throughout the years raising Phoebe, Caroline had realized that she had been no different than any other student aside from her disorder making her a little slower. Caroline decides she will enroll Phoebe into regular classes, but the school board is not allowing it and saying she has to enroll elsewhere. This response triggered something in Caroline. Of all of the years she has seen Phoebe treated differently for her disability, this was the one thing that had set her off. After trying to enroll Phoebe and being rejected, Caroline

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