The Help By Kathryn Stockett

The Help is about a young white woman, Skeeter Phelan, trying to bring attention to the reality that black women, aka “the help” face daily. The movie is set in Jackson, Mississippi at the height of legal segregation and racial tension. The movie takes a historical issue and applies humor in order to appeal to larger audiences. The Help accurately depicts the white supremacy of the segregated South, but is historically inaccurate in its portrayal of characters, mood, and overall unrealistic appeal of the 1960s United States.

African American’s role in this country has been long and has never been easy. During the early years of the United States, African Americans endure the hardship of slavery and had to deal with beatings, harsh working conditions and constant yelling from their racist white owners. Even after the abolishment of slavery, African Americans still endure another one hundred years of discrimination. A perfect way to examine a pivotal time in American History of African Americans and the racism they went through is seen in the movie “The Help”. The movie is set to take place “in Mississippi during the 1950s-1960s, Skeeter is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends ' lives -- and a Mississippi town -- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families.” (The Help) The movie was originally based on a book written by

“‘Don’t you ever wish you could change things?”’ (10). In Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960’s, woman ahead of her time, Miss Skeeter, proposes an idea to write a book about the lives of colored maids in Jackson. Aibileen and Minny, two maids, are among the first ones to agree to help Skeeter, despite the potential danger to themselves. In The Help, Kathryn Stockett creates an engaging and immersive world that explores racism and social injustice by using well-developed writing, the ideal amount of imagery, and strong characters.

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.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is story about the journey of a young woman, Skeeter, standing up for what she believes in and following her dreams. This story is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960’s, which is the height of the Civil Rights movement period. The story is through the viewpoint of three narrators: Skeeter Phalen, Aibileen Clark, and Minny Jackson. Skeeter is the main narrator out of the three. She is a young white woman returning home after receiving her journalism degree from Ole Miss. She is reuinited by her friends, Hilly Holbrook and Elizabeth Leefolt.. After receiving a job at the Jackson Journal writing for the home cleaning section, she goes to Aibileen, Elizabeth’s colored maid, for help. She and

Within the movie “The Help” a variety of major issues represented, most directly the discrimination that existed in the 1960s. The movie itself follows the journey of a white, budding journalist and her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen and Minny, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. To start off her career as a journalist, she decides to write a book, titled “The Help,” that recounts the experiences of the black maids in her town to help expose racism. As critical as the movie is of the racial discrimination that existed in its time frame, some continue to say that it silently communicates racist tones throughout the entire movie. This argument is justified as the movie often found itself highlighting the

The Help, A novel written by American author, Kathryn Stockett in 2009 tells the story of black maids working in white home. Setting in Jackson, Mississippi during 1960s, the society is obviously segregated into two groups, whites and blacks. Although there is some variety in economic and social class, race is the first determinant of a person's place and whether or not having right to access to educational, occupational, and economic opportunity. Racial tensions are high because white community members employ violence and coercion to possess the Civil Rights Movement from sweeping into their Mississippi town. The unfair practices of post-colonization make the lives of the town's black members so difficult.

Life in the 1960’s was not sweet like pie for the women who found themselves stuck in an endless loop of clearing someone else’s tables, raising someone else’s children, and living by someone else’s rules. These black maids lived in fear, knowing the white ladies they worked for could ruin everything for them by saying the wrong thing, or having the wrong attitude. The book, The Help, and the movie of the same name have quite a few differences that I noticed. It may only have a Lexile of 730, but that does not reflect the extreme measures this story goes to tell an amazing tale of bravery and strength that nothing else can rival. However, the author of The Help, Kathryn Stockett, and the director of the movie, Tate Taylor, knew what they were

“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett is a personal memoir written in the perspective of 20 year old graduate Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan. This story begins with Skeeter finishing school and coming home to a house with her maid, Constantine Jefferson, no where to be found. She begins questioning her mother about her whereabouts, with no luck. She begins to understand the prejudice that comes with being black in the day and age of 1962, with hopes of getting these women to tell their sides of the story she sets out on recruiting Aibileen.

The Help chronicles a recent college graduate named Skeeter, who secretly writes a book exposing the treatment of black maids by white affluent women. The story takes place in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The death of Medgar Evers triggers racial tension and gives the maids of Jackson the courage to retell their personal stories of injustice endured over the years. The movie depicts the frustration of the maids with their female employers and what their lives were like cleaning, cooking, and raising their bosses’ children. The Help shines a light on the racial and social injustice of maids during the era of Jim Crow Laws, illustrating how white women of a privileged

The most compelling character of this novel was Aibileen, an African-American maid working her days taking care of precious Mae Mobley Leefolt and the Leefolt’s house. She cooked and cleaned and earned little to no pay while doing so. Aibileen faced many conflicts throughout this book such as working through her son, Treelore’s death as well as raising a white two year old in a strict white woman’s house. She taught this girl to learn to love herself because her own mother was not. “Gave Mae Mobley one more hug, whisper, ‘You a smart girl. You a good girl.’” (Stockett 111) The biggest conflict Aibileen faced, however, was sitting down everyday and being interviewed by Skeeter Phelan who was a privileged white girl trying to make it as a writer. Skeeter asked Aibileen questions about what it is like to work as a maid, the challenges she faced daily, and trying to overcome the segregation gap in Jackson, Mississippi. As hard as it was, Aibileen answered all of these questions honestly in attempts to help Skeeter publish a book about working as a black woman during that time. Aibileen was developed well by the author because she showed the relationships she developed with white characters such as Skeeter and Mae Mobley. During that day and age, a black woman working together with a white woman was unheard of. Throughout The Help, Aibileen was going against the norm of society to try and find peace in this splintered town which made

As Zora Neale Hurston once said, “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.” In The Help by Katherine Stockett, three brave women of different races join together to stand up for what they believe in and publish an anonymously written book based on the treatment of black maids working for white families in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s. In the novel, Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter tell their stories from different perspectives in order to give voice to those who cannot be heard.

“For most women, whether you’re an actress or whatever you do, there is this pressure in society and within the world to look a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way, say certain things, and be this idea as opposed to being a person.” - Amber Tamblyn

Kathryn Stockett’s The Help is an emotional and thrilling novel about love and loss. In 2011 the book came to life in an inspirational movie directed by Tate Taylor. I chose to read The Help because it is a New York Times Bestseller and it was recommended by so many readers. After reading Stockett’s novel a member from NPR.org stated, “This could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird...If you read only one book...let this be it.”

Although the maids were struggling and going through a difficult time in 1960’s, The Help portrays that their family members were too. Segregated society against the backdrop of the growing US civil rights movement in the 1960’s has an impacted. “Race also determines who has access to educational, occupational, and economic opportunity. Racial tensions are high as white community members employ violence and coercion to try to keep the Civil Rights Movement from sweeping into their Mississippi town” (Shmoop Editorial Team). The white community in the movie continue to keep the black women as their servants throughout their lives. As Skeeter the white lady, who writes a book about The Help and portrays through the book that the African American women go through. As the white women of Jackson, Mississippi read the book they began to act more violent to the black women. The book is away as the black women to make a statement about the civil rights they have.