The Memory Keeper’s Daughter- Character Watcher ~Megan Douglas
As the story continues, it does not seem like Dr. David Henry changes all that dramatically. His outlook on sending his daughter away stay the same even though holding this lie in makes it difficult to continue to have an honest relationship with his wife. Because he does wish to stay in contact with his daughter, he sends and receives letters to and from Caroline, Pheobe’s mother figure. This shows he does care and love his daughter deep down. His character is one that tries to ‘blend in’ with the rest of society, which can have its ups and downs. He is not completely crazy, which is a good thing, but he is far from having unique qualities. He is, in my opinion, a very bland character. He is a very serious character who does try to be a good father, but is not very supportive of his wife or his son. His motives are almost all selfish and self seeking. Although he does have a wife and children, it seems as if he comes first in his life, which is not what one may think of a father.
Some questions to ponder…
1. What has made Dr. David Henry so selfish?
2. What are all of the reasons that he chose to send his daughter away? Are there any “hidden” or less obvious reasons?
3. What are, if any, unique qualities Dr. David Henry has?
~Megan Douglas 
Category: Uncategorized 4 comments »
April 4th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I think your being a little harsh on David. He is not being selfish at all. First off, he got rid of of Phobe to spare his family what he himself went through. That seems like he was thinking of others. Also I would like to point out that Norah is’nt creating the division between the couple. She refuses to move on and let the past be the past. She is overly protective about the child and doesn’t try to work on the problem between David and Herself.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I agree with Brett, Dr. Henry doesn’t seem as selfish as you make him out to be. Megan, you yourself said that he tried to be a good father. This proves that he isn’t selfish, he cares for his family, he just isn’t so good at it. I believe that he send Phoebe away because he wanted his family to have an easier time, so he was thinking of his family the whole time. Lastly, one unique quality of Dr.Henry is the fact that he likes photography, I mean come on, who likes photography??? (just kidding)
April 5th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Brett Pallas
where is Heatther Kinneys First and SEcond post?? Seriously
April 14th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Guys, use some examples from the text to support your claims beyond your generalizations. And make sure you answer all the questions Megan asks.
Shank