By Meg Daughtery

Identity: My Sister’s Keeper, The Bell Jar, A Thousand Splendid Suns

Jodi Picoult Bestselling author born on May

19, 1966, in Nesconset in Long Island in New York

Studied creative writing at Princeton and had two short stories published in Seventeen magazine

Awarded New England Bestseller Award for Fiction

She and her husband Tim now live in Hanover, New Hampshire with their three children

Sylvia Plath Born October 27, 1932 in Boston,

Massachusetts She was an exceptional student

despite the depression she went through in 1953

She married Ted Hughes Ted left Plath and as a result she fell

into deep depression that winter On February 1963 she committed

suicide using her gas oven The Collection of Poems won her the

Pulitzer Prize First poet to win Pulitzer Prize after

death

Khaled Hosseini Khalad Hosseini was born in Kabul,

Afghanistan in 1965 Hoseini’s family moved to San Jose

California in 1980 His first novel The Kite Runner has

become a international bestseller published in 70 countries and he was equally as successful with his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khalad has been working through The Khalad Hosseini Foundation inspired by a trip to Afghanistan Khalad had made in 2007

My Sister’s KeeperMain Characters: Anna Fitzgerald

› Thirteen year old girl who lives as a donor to her sister Kate› Anna decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation

Kate Fitzgerald› The middle child and focal point of many of the events in the

novel› Mostly defined through her battle with cancer

Sara and Brian Fitzgerald› The parents of Anna and Kate who struggle in their marriage

because of their different opinions about the trialThemes: Bonds of Sisterhood

› Both girls recognize that from birth Anna has served as Kate’s lifeline as well as sister which makes their relationship even stronger

Frank Weston Benson The Sisters 1899

The Bell JarMain Characters: Esther Greenwood

› Esther is a smart, ambitious young girl who dreams of being a writer› Esther suffers from a mental breakdown and must fight against her

depression and to regain her sanity Mrs. Greenwood Esther's mother who does not do much to support Esther's

dream of a writer and agrees with society’s notions about women

Buddy Willard› A smart, achieving boy who represents the ideal 1950’s male and seems

to be ideal for Esther› suppresses Esther’s writing ambitions and tries to make her marry him.

Themes: Lack of Relationships

› Due to Esther's feeling of isolation from society, she does not have a support system to motivate her

By Bruno Brudrovic

Stasis in darkness.Then the substanceless bluePour of tor and distances.God's lioness,How one we grow,Pivot of heels and knees! - The furrowSplits and passes, sister toThe brown arcOf the neck I cannot catch,

Ariel (1965)

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Main Characters: Mariam

› Quiet thoughtful women born out of wedlock to a rich man › Is forced to marry Rasheed when she is fifteen as a result of her mothers

death

Laila› Laila is the second female protagonists and is independent and intelligent

Rasheed › widowed shoemaker who believes in the standard of what the ideal wife

should be like which is subservient and obedientThemes Female Bonds

› Laila and Mariam form a strong bond despite their husband and government to reduce their power

Enough by Leisa Collins who promotes the security of Afghan women and girls freedom and equality.

Identity Anna’s Identity

› Anna and Kate share a complex bond that forms a substantial part of each girls identity

› Anna desires to know who she would be without Kate Esther’s search for identity

› Esther tries to identify herself with the relationships she has with people in her life but because of her inability to from strong relationships she is incapable of finding her identity

Mariam’s and Laila’s Identities › Mariam is forced to identify herself through Rasheed who

makes her over when they go in public and controls her every action

› Laila must give up who she wants to become and marry Rasheed because of her little options and for her love of Tariq and her child

Works Cited Ed. Diane Telgen. "The Bell Jar." Novels for Students. 1. Detroit:

Gale, 1997. 22-42. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 May 2012.

Google Images. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.google.com/imghp (image of Jodi Picoult, image of Sylvia Plath, image of Khalad Hosseini, image of painting of The Sisters, image of painting by Bruno Brudovic, image of Enough, image of My Sister’s Keeper book cover, image of The Bell Jar book cover, image of A Thousand Splendid Suns book cover)

"Khaled Hosseini | Biography." Khaled Hosseini | Biography. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.khaledhosseini.com/hosseini-bio.html>.

MIller, Erin C. "Jodi Picoult Biography." About.com Bestsellers. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://bestsellers.about.com/od/authorprofilesaz/p/jodi_picoult.htm>.

"Sylvia Plath- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More." Sylvia Plath- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11>.