Themes Of Literature In The Help, To Kill A Mockingbird

Compare how the theme of courage is explored in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help?

The setting of the help is in Jackson, Mississippi. The year is 1962, so it is during the time of Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement. In Mississippi, there are still many people who believe that African Americans should not be treated with the same luxuries as white people. For example, Hilly Holbrook is starting an incentive for the black help to have separate bathrooms from the white families. She believes African Americans have diseases, so she does not want her family to use the same bathroom as her maid. The governor of Mississippi in The Help is extremely racist, and he does not want African Americans to have equal rights. Jackson, Mississippi is described as a terrible place for African Americans to live, and it would only be

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

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 novel The Help is plagued by many issues society faces today, but fails to realize. Just like in the setting of the book, none of the characters we deem racist think or know that they are acting this way, it is just accepted as a societal norm of the time. This much reflects our society in the present; we fail to realize that we discriminate. Much of this is embodied in the character of Hilly Holbrook, who, through her villainy, takes control over much of the "going ons" of Javkson, Mississippi. She promotes segregation and racism through fear and humiliates all who try to undermine her authority.

Prejudice, the killer of all killers, is the theme that will catch you by surprise. Lots of people write books about this theme but two in particular seem to stand out from the rest, those are Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Dark Smile’s (Online poet) poem “Prejudice”. Harper Lee and Dark Smile have similar ideas about what prejudice is, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee’s book, is older, but it conveys the same theme as the poem “Prejudice”, Dark Smile’s poem, however there are some differences in the way they are conveyed and authors purpose.

For instance, the African-American community in Mississippi are considered, as the title suggests, The Help. Taylor raises the issues that were prevalent during the 1960’s and the stereotypes that formed the context in the film about Mississippi, in the past. Throughout the film we are presented with harsh stereotypes of African-Americans, the main antagonist being a white female called Hilly Holbrook. An example of the many stereotypes portrayed in the film is when Holbrook does not allow her maid, Minny to use the guest bathroom during a thunder storm, but rather demands her to use the maid’s bathroom that is across the house having to walk through the heavy rain to get there. The reason being, as Hilly says, “It’s just dangerous, they carry different diseases than we do.” The use of “they” refers to ALL African-Americans, revealing that Hilly believes that ALL black people have diseases that are different and much more dangerous than those of her skin tone. Hilly, being the main antagonist influences others in the white community to think the same forming a town of bigotry and racism. The stereotype of this social group being the African-American community sheds light on the racism and bigotry that took place in Jackson, Mississippi. In the ATSS novel, the oppression of women is caused by male dominance. However, in the film The Help(2011), there is a disparity in the treatment of women in the two different communities, namely the white community and the black community. In the film, black women were oppressed while white women were not. Both texts explore this issue of inequality. However, the issue is caused by oppression in the novel and racism in the

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Scout and Jem encounter a multitude of things in their lives that have helped them come of age. One of these things is getting attacked by Bob Ewell as well as learning that Boo Radley wasn’t so iniquitous after all. Although, these things could not have happened without certain literary elements to support and provide background to the situation. I believe these literary elements are symbolism, character, along with conflict.

It is a very cold, chilly and quite night, Stephen has an very awful dream. He dreams of his mother being trapped inside in a room of thousands of snakes. Even Though Stephen was frightened of snakes because of his past in his life, he goes into the room to save his mom. Stephen was very courageous in his dream because he got past through his fear while many people in today’s society can’t do it. In to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Help by Kathryn Stockett, many characters show a lot of courage which determines them to have dedication and not being fearful. Despite circumstance, Hilly treated all the blacks maids like they were dogs and Bob Ewell showed completely dishonesty to the court and all the black people.

The novel ‘The Help’ written by Kathryn Stockett explores the theme of racial prejudice. During the time this novel was set in Jackson, Mississippi was strictly under the Jim Crow laws which brought about discrimination and segregation rules and regulations. In the novel, we see how people of colour are treated and hated on by the people in their community. With the main focus being how the white housewives treat their black maids. We see an insight into how these white housewives justify the exploitation and emotional abuse they laid upon their black maids, by believing that people of colour are physically different and therefore inferior to white people. Race is the number one way people in Jackson determine a person's social status and how someone is treated in society, therefore the people of colour are treated differently and thought little of in comparison to white people. Often black people being degraded and hurt emotionally and physically because they are said to be ‘different’. Throughout the novel we see how the white people in society refer to their maids and people of colour in descriptive and derogatory ways, usually comparing them to animals. This shows us how in the novel white people believe that there is a major difference between them and people of colour, implying that black people are more like animals rather than others of the human race. In the novel, one of the white housewives Miss Hilly expresses her belief that people of colour are ‘unclean,’ and ‘diseased ridden’, apparently carrying and catching depravity and disease which are not carried by whites. An example of this in the text is when Miss Hilly say that she wants to pass "A bill that requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the colored help. I've even notified the surgeon general of Mississippi to see if he'll endorse the idea. I'll pass." This quote shows us how the authorities in this book also contribute to the racial prejudice against the black people. There was false information stated about the blacks just because of their colour, and this brought even more segregation between the races. This quote makes me feel sad. Sad for the poor people of colour being discriminated against, but also sad that white

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in 1903. This novel is basically a coming of age story for a young girl named Scout and her older brother named Jem. Who grows up in a time where racism is normal. They soon learn to stand up for what is right, just like their dad, Atticus.

In to kill a mockingbird there are many themes that contribute to the story that makes it what it is. With every chapter of the book, there's this new element that adds to the book that truly makes the book To Kill a MockingBird. If the characters were different in any way is wouldn't truly be Too Kill a Mockingbird but it is written so perfectly that it ties it all together making a book that will be enjoyed for times to

    In The Divided Reception of The Help by Suzanne W. Jones, she states that from choosing the help from Miss Daisy's perspective, it makes a white character the heroic savior of helpless black people (pg 12). Unfortunately one thing many who have seen the film The Help, fail to acknowledge the fact that a colored person’s voice wasn’t being heard. There wasn’t much support to those who spoke about the reality of the south. This lead to having a white privilege spokesperson which was Skeeter, to put their stories out there for them. So in other words, they needed someone whose voice would receive more attention. A viewer from North Carolina wrote, “The movie was full of funny moments, as well as deep and meaningful moments, that really made me think of how life was for African Americans. Not only that, but it made me think about racism in general. Beyond this, I would also say that it’s the kind of film that it’s the kind of film that inspires you to stand out for what is right.” Even though not everyone's perspective was so favorable, there was still some readers that had a worthwhile effect. There was a constant terror in these people's lives, they only spoke when they were spoken to. So the thought

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.

It is commonly acknowledged that Literature is the reflection of the society. It is indeed true that literature reflects the attitude and perception of the society where it is written. Literature mirrors the vices of the society with an intention to make the society realize its mistakes and make amendments. The vast literature, produced from time to time, bears evidence to the fact that man is prone to discrimination. Treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their sexuality, skin, and class has, been core theme of the Harper lee’s master piece To Kill a Mocking Bird. The novel is told from Scout’s perspective; through Scout, we witness the social construction of race, class, and gender. The novel continues to be taught in classrooms due to its illustration