The Help Sociology

Based off of Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel, The Help is a movie told from an African American’s point of view during the early 1960’s in Jackson, Mississippi. The three main characters include, Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia (Skeeter) Phelan. Skeeter is a young writer who has recently returned from the University of Mississippi. She has been advised by the Elaine Stein, who is the editor at Harper & Row, to write about a topic she is passionate about, that way she can continue her dream of becoming a serious writer. In addition, Skeeter accepts a writing job down at the Jackson Journal where she writes a housekeeping column. Ironically, she has no housekeeping experience

“They say it’s like true love, good help. You only get one in a lifetime,” (Stockett, 437). The Help is an enlightening book in which Kathryn Stockett talks about the things others are scared to approach. This is a story about racism, segregation, risk, and violence, specifically between the help and their employers, in Jackson, Mississippi around the time of Martin Luther King Jr. This touching book was turned into a movie in order to reach an even larger number of people. From the protective relationships between the help and their employers, to the love between the white babies and the aids, to the abusive, cruel correspondence between the help and the white people in Jackson, this story covers it all. Although the written account of

Before watching the movie, I already had a general knowledge of racism in the United States, the civil rights movements of the 1960s, and the discrimination that African Americans went through. I have seen different movies based on the civil rights movement and segregation, but this movie was the first one that I saw that focus on African American women experiences during the civil rights movement. After watching the movie, years later I decided to read the book that based on. The book “The Help” was published in 2009, by the author Kathryn Stockett. This story is about African Americans women working for white households in Jackson Mississippi, during the early 1960s.

Discrimination has shown up tremendously in this movie, but one of the few incidents that stood out the most to me was when the women decided to give separate bathrooms to the maids because they carried too many “diseases” that would harm others if anyone made contact with. This was very ridiculous because the bathrooms were placed outside and some were even miles away from the house, so if it was a storm the maids would have to

Chapter 1 explains how the sociologists focus on social forces such as religion, education, politic, race, class, and gender in the society that might be influence people’s behaviors. For instance, most people is believed that people are poor because they are not working and that wealth is the reward for who are working hard. However, the sociologists look at other factors that might cause the poverty in the society. How can we define the poverty? Is it because people don’t have enough money, food, or shelter? When are people feel satisfy with what they have? Karl Marx explains the class conflict theory in which the bourgeoisie controls the means of production and wealth while the proletariat works for the bourgeoisie. The social class caused

The 1960’s turn out to be one of the most critical years for our American society. During the 1960’s the United States (US) was in a stage of racial issues that were having a negative correlation in our environment. These racial issues were laying a platform for a movement against the violation of rights that were restricted for colored people. This movement was known as the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s and it encourage colored people to speak the truth of the conditions they live under in a free democratic society. The movie “ The Help” shows us how colored people were defined and what social class the White dominant Americans put them. The movie “ The help” expresses a society and social class message that shows how African Americans

The Help is a novel written about the southern United States in the 1960’s; a time where whites are viewed as being superior to African-Americans. In the story a white woman, who had a maid of her own growing up, decides to anonymously write a controversial book about what it’s really like to be an African-American woman working for a white family. With the help of numerous African-American maids she is able to complete her book and give many people an insight into what it’s like being the help. Despite the fact that the novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett and the movie based on it share many similarities, the differences in the relationships between the characters, the perspective of the narration and the overall theme cause the movie to be

> The sociological perspective is described as seeing the general in the particular. In this essay I will attempt to apply the sociological perspective to analyze song lyrics from the first verse of the song My Block by Tupac Shakur (see appendix for lyrics). Tupac (1971-1996) is the most famous gangster rap artist of all times. He was well known for his lyrics and their ability to express the grief of the Black community. He was an advocate for Black rights and very much against the societal system and class societies. Many say he exaggerated the conditions under which the Black community and the lower class were in because he was a wealthy man rapping about suppression. To other’s he was part of the

For this writing assignment I have been asked to give my own definition of what I think spirituality is and if it differs from religion. I also need to explain whether or not I believe Americans are becoming more accepting of other religions. The last questioned I need to answer is what would happen if the United States decided to financially back all Catholic churches. I hope to answer all of these questions to the best of my ability in the next few paragraphs.

For this week’s readings, the syllabus, beginning with the course description I look forward to learning more about minority and majority groups and how each groups factors influence social values. I believe when starting this course most of the class should already have an understanding of these topics based on the fact that we deal with them every day. When we interact with people in our own group and people of other groups we are unconsciously making judgements based on their status just as much as they are too. I believe it is important to be aware of those thoughts and be curious about why we might think that way. From the course objectives and assignments listed, it definitely seems like this class will have each student questioning themselves

Sociology and psychology is the study of the mind and the environment around us which makes us who we are. These theories assist us to understand behaviour from individual and societal levels.

The movie “The Help” shows the lifestyle of black women in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s. A young adult named Skeeter who wished to become a journalist gathers maids to write about their testimonies as black maids, which at first refused because of the fear of getting caught yet later agree. The setting of the movie is historically inaccurate because it didn't go into detail about the civil rights movement and all the things that occurred during this time, which was an important time in history. As well as the Jim Crow Laws, the movie also never spoke about what white people would do to those who were colored for example beating them to death.

Society has changed and evolved throughout time. Perhaps one of the most significant changed in contemporary American society is the treatment towards African Americans. “The Help” a feature film directed by Tate Taylor is based on the non-fictional novel “The Help” written by author Kathryn Sockett. The feature film explores the life of African American maids of Jackson Mississippi, in the early 1960’s. The 1960’s displayed all African Americans to being left out of the “American dream” through neglect and racism. African Americans faced prejudice and discrimination in almost every aspect of their life, from jobs to housing and even their education. They were denied the right to sit at the same lunch counter or use the same public rest

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.

Social structure and social interaction are based on two levels of analysis: Macrosociology and microsociology. Macrosociology, like its name describes, is focused on the broad view of society and how it studies society’s behavior. Theorists can analyze and distinguish the different social classes and groups in society. Microsociology is focused on social interaction, how people react and what they do when they are together. Theorists can examine people’s behaviors and how they communicate to one another. Both can be used to understand society and society’s social life.