Kathryn Stockett The Help Analysis

The period 1940-1975 represented a time of trouble within the United States and overseas. As World War II ended in 1945, many Cold war conflicts erupted shortly after that, increasing social controversy among teenagers, minorities and especially women. During this time period, gender inequality was ongoing in many aspects of life. Women were tired of constantly staying home engaging in domestic activities and were dissatisfied in their roles as “housewives”. The rise of the women’s rights movement was spurred by the growth of women joining the workforce, resentment of being treated as inferior to men, and the rise of unity among women.

Through Women’s Eyes by Ellen Carol DuBois and Lynn Dumenil addresses American History from 1865 until present day. The third edition of this textbook includes visual and primary sources over several centuries. I used this textbook in a history course, “Women in the United States, 1890 – Present;” I found the textbook to be engaging, helpful, and useful throughout the course. The way in which in the information was presented allowed me to learn, assess, and analyze the difficulties women faced.

Early twentieth century America is shaped by World War I , the effects of industrial growth, and a beginning of a new age in literature. Despite movements for progressive reforms like the prohibition of alcohol and the movement for women’s suffrage women’s rights were still limited by traditional gender roles. Women are a “detached portion” of their husbands and expected to submit to his every demand. As result of women being viewed as flighty and emotionally unstable, men must take the dominant role and every decision made in the family is approved by them. Moreover, the purpose of a woman’s life is to maintain a household and birth and care for her

The war brought enormous changes in American women’s lives. Before the war and for much of the world’s history, Women were seen as second-class citizens. At the start of the struggle women

As the United States was continuing recovering from the Civil War and embracing the expansion of the West, industrialization, immigration and the growth of cities, women’s roles in America were changing by the transformation of this new society. During the period of 1865-1912, women found themselves challenging to break the political structure, power holders, cultural practices and beliefs in their “male” dominated world.

Kennedy. “President Kennedy established the Commission on the Status of Women to examine issues related to women and to make proposals on such topics as employment, Social Security, education and tax laws” (Sink 1). Kennedy appointed Eleanor Roosevelt at commission chair. She has supported her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt political career, served in the United Nations and helped creates the Universal declaration of Human Rights. As of now, there was a developing enthusiasm for women’s rights. Courts were being confronted with cases that managed the privileges of women. The commission found there were unfair moves made against

The book “The Help”, written by Kathryn Stockett, is a book that takes place in Jackson, Mississippi, around the 1960's, when the blacks were segregated from the whites. The story is mainly about a black woman Aibileen whose main job is to take care of children as well as to handle household duties. Along the way they meet a woman Skeeter's whose lifelong dream is to become a writer however the only job she can find, is with the Jackson Journal writing a housekeeping advice column which she knows very little about. To succeed in the job, Skeeter turns to her friend's maid, Aibileen, for answers and help to write the column.

Feminist theory is a term that embraces a wide variety of approaches to the questions of a women’s place and power in culture and society. Two of the important practices in feminist critique are raising awareness of the ways in which women are oppressed, demonized, or marginalized, and discovering motifs of female awakenings. The Help is a story about how black females “helped” white women become “progressive” in the 1960’s. In my opinion, “The Help” I must admit that it exposes some of our deepest racial, gender, and class wounds as individuals and social groups, and that the story behind the story is a call to respect our wounds and mutual wounding so that healing may have a chance to begin and bring social

Prior to World War II, employers and the government held that there were jobs appropriate for women and jobs which were inappropriate because women were not capable of fulfilling the tasks involved in such work. As we

July 13, 1848 marked the beginning of a movement that would shape the beliefs and rights of today’s society. It was on this day that the fight for social and political equality among America’s women began to develop. This renowned movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, had many goals in which mighty-powerful women would achieve with a mind-set to push them through any barrier or obstacle obstructing their path to equality. Lasting until 1920, the Women’s Rights Movement had a target towards changing how women were treated and looked upon within their “stereotypical” societies. Women advocated their rights through organizations and campaigns, as well as educating others of the unfair justice. With the help of the Women 's Rights Movement and the brave, fearless women who supported this reformation, the fight for women 's liberation was on the move towards success. This historic

With the rise of the modern age economic survival has become difficult for families based on a single income. This economic need along with modern attitudes toward gender equality has resulted in women being represented in the workforce in greater numbers. However, until the 1960’s women faced severe discrimination when trying to enter and maintain a position in the workforce. Often qualified women would be passed over for men with less experience and education. Employers were fearful that women were too emotional and were not equipped to handle the stress of the work environment. Also driving the decision to not hire or promote women was the concern over the additional health care expenses and leave time pregnant

The current counterculture and social upheavals of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam war caused this new feminism to emerge, signaling the beginning of a transforming era in women’s history (TWE, 607). Women were tired of living in a man’s world where they

The women’s rights movement was a huge turning point for women because they had succeeded in the altering of their status as a group and changing their lives of countless men and women. Gender, Ideology, and Historical Change: Explaining the Women’s Movement was a great chapter because it explained and analyzed the change and causes of the women’s movement. Elaine Tyler May’s essay, Cold War Ideology and the Rise of Feminism and Women’s Liberation and Sixties Radicalism by Alice Echols both gave important but different opinions and ideas about the women’s movement. Also, the primary sources reflect a number of economic, cultural, political, and demographic influences on the women’s movement. This chapter

In the 1900s women were not primarily seen in the work force. Women were at home cooking fresh meals mostly from the garden they grew themselves. They cleaned the house, and took care of the offspring. Women accommodated to their men. The men were the main source of income. The women typically didn’t see the money nor spend it. If the women were single they happened to work but it was little pesky job such as a waitress. In 1930s even during the great depression women were discouraged getting jobs. Until later on during the 1960s that’s when women started to stand up for their rights. This is when they passed a bill stating “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bans discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. At the same time the Act establishes the Equal Employment

The women’s movement began in the nineteenth century when groups of women began to speak out against the feeling of separation, inequality, and limits that seemed to be placed on women because of their sex (Debois 18). By combining two aspects of the past, ante-bellum reform politics and the anti-slavery movement, women were able to gain knowledge of leadership on how to deal with the Women’s Right Movement and with this knowledge led the way to transform women’s social standing (Dubois 23). Similarly, the movement that made the largest impact on American societies of the 1960’s and 1970’s was the Civil Right Movement, which in turn affected the women’s movement (Freeman 513). According to