The Social System In Kathryn Stockett's The Help

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

Her first date with Stuart Whitworth could probably go down as one of the most cringe-worthy blind dates ever, after Stuart making some snarky remarks; Skeeter comes back sounding a little unladylike. Asking questions like “I’m sorry, but were you dropped on your head as an infant?” and saying “Well, I’ve never met anybody with such a drinking problem.” Since that date you see a little boost in her confidence. She and Abileen decide to follow through on their project. This leads to Miss Stein actually liking it and wanting a full manuscript by new years. Throughout the rest of the novel we witness Skeeter become more comfortable in releasing her feelings to not just to Minny and Aibleen but to her mother, Hilly, and every character in the book. What makes Skeeters development different from other characters from other novels is that she doesn’t experience the events that affect her firsthand. Of course the main things throughout the book such as her almost engagement, and writing the novel happens to her. But the things that really shape the character that the novel ends with are the stories told to her by Aibleen and Constantine. Everything that happens in this novel, good and bad leads up to Skeeter finally leaving Jackson. She got the job of her dreams, and something she worked for. Eugenia “Skeeter Phelan taught me that with great risk, comes great reward, disappointment, and in the end

The Help occurs during the segregation period during the year of 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi. The main character is Aibileen Clark, a 50-year-old African American maid spending most of her life raising white children ever since her teenage years. She works for Elizabeth Leefolt, a wealthy housewife, who is the best friend of the antagonist, Hilly Holbrook. Elizabeth has a child named Mae Mobley whom Aibileen is very close to. Aibileen’s best friend is Minny Jackson; she is a maid who works for Hilly Holbrook and her mother Missy Walters for nearly a decade. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is a young, white American woman, seeks a successful writing career after graduating from the University of Mississippi and returns to home, soon to find out her long-time maid, Constantine, supposedly quit working for her family; this was a great mystery for Skeeter because Constantine did not write to Skeeter explaining why she left. Skeeter found out Hilly Holbrook, Elizabeth Leefolt and their friends believe blacks “carry various diseases to the white people”. Hilly drafted a disease

“What, you’d kick me out [of the junior league committee]? For disagreeing with you?’’ (Stockett, 10) says Skeeter Phelan, in response to Hilly Holbrook. This quote shows the attitude of a young woman who was confident enough to stand up to the city bully. Hilly Holbrook was a powerful character in this novel because of her thirst for leadership, guaranteed potential, and attention. She was demanding with her words and made it very clear to the neighboring residents of Jackson, Mississippi that she owned the town like a queen. The women of Jackson were too afraid to stand up for themselves like Skeeter achieved against her. Hilly often claims her position of power with her philosophy of ‘doing anything to protect the town’

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

In the novel, The Help, Skeeter finds out she does not belong in the town she grew up. After graduation she wanted to be an editor at Harper & Row. Although she was declined, she received a letter that giving her advice stating, “ go to your local newspaper and get an entry-level job” (Stockett 83). This became Skeeter’s motivation and goal to someday work for Harper & Row. Her first step in making the dream come true was becoming Miss Myrna.

Stockett’s novel is created around segregation and the human rights time in USA. The novel is about Skeeter, a young white woman who decides to write a novel about black maid’s life in Mississippi. Skeeter asks for help from a number of maids for instance Minny and Aibileen. The people of Jackson is very close-minded

Skeeter breaks the social law of talking with the negro women. In the same way, Boo contravened his society's acceptable behavior by pulling pranks and stabbing his father with scissors. The pair both go out of their way and get into trouble with society or others. Boo and Skeeter happen to cause a stir in their society but take their mishaps in different ways.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett, is a book set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi, told by three different women: Abilene, Minny and Skeeter, in each of their perspectives. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is a graduate student whose dream is to become a writer, but when she tries for a position at the local newspaper, she is given the job of writing housekeeping tips.

It goes through the childhood of Jean-Louise Finch, known as Scout, and how she learns about the world. The Help is a movie directed by Tate Taylor set in 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi. It is about a young lady named Eugenia Phelan, known as Skeeter, coming back from college and writing a book about how maids (The Help) are treated. Both characters believe that

Segregated toilets – a recurring symbol in The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, are mentioned in over 18 pages of the book. The author uses this symbol to represent the racial bias against the colored by the white. The words “disease” (Page 8, page 10, page 184) and “diseased” (Page 28) are commonly used as a fact while describing colored people in a bathroom context. “All these houses they’re building without maid’s quarters? It’s just plain dangerous. Everybody knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do.” - a racist character named Hilly Holbrook exclaims on page eight. Although that statement had no basis, almost all of the white characters immediately accepted this piece of information due to a societal notion that colored are unclean and ignorant.

Skeeter, a young Ole Miss graduate that is reaching out to the real world, seemed to be extremely innocent and naïve as the book began. For instance, Skeeter still lives with her parents, aspires to be a writer, and

Skeeter. Aibileen was black, and back in her days, blacks did not have the opportunity to receive the same education as whites did. Aibileen was a very bright student and would have been very successful if she could have finished school. Even her teacher, Miss Ross, said that she was very intelligent, “You’re the smartest in the class, Aibileen.” Unfortunately, she could not finish school, because she had to support her mother with bills that she could not pay herself. She stopped going to school when she was fourteen years old. She instead went to work as a maid and wait on white families. Because of her lack of education, she did not speak very well. She often used slang in the book. For example, she said “Sho nuff” or “doe-nob”. Those are just a few things that she says that show that she does not have very good grammar. This quote, “All I’m saying is, kindness don’t have no boundaries”, tells the reader that Aibileen was kind hearted. She was telling Minny that she could be kind to anyone. She was explaining that just because of the person’s skin color does not mean that people have to act differently towards them. Aibileen cared for everyone that came into her life. She even cared for her ex-husband, Clyde that cheated on her and left her and her son behind. She also truly cared about every single white child ever she waited on; she waited on a total of eight-teen

The Help is set in the early 1960’s in Jackson Mississippi. Kathryn Stockett chose this location because that is where she was born and raised. Though she was born in the 1970’s a whole lot hadn’t changed regarding white and colored people. The only thing that had changed were the law books but what didn't change were the kitchens of white homes.