Characterization Of Hilly Holbrook In The Help
Gregor Schweigart Q2 c – English LK 14.01.2014
Characterisation - Hilly Holbrook
Hilly Holbrook is a character from the novel “the Help“ which was written by Kathryn Stockett in 2011. In the storyline she plays an important role as she is on one hand a childhood friend of Skeeter and on the other hand one of the most important supporters of segregation in Jackson.
She is about as old as Skeeter and has brown hair and an athletic body.
Her appearance is always very stylish and fashionable in order to look younger than she really is. Her Husband is the future politician William Holbrook with whom she has two children. She has a self-conscious and kind of gentle arrogant character and a good standing in the community.
She seems to …show more content…
have reached her aim of life being a housewife married to a successful husband. She wants Skeeter to adapt her lifestyle that is why she imploringly pushes her to find a possible husband.
"It's your time, Skeeter.
It is your turn. And damn it, I'm not going to let you miss this just because your mother convinced you you're not good enough for somebody like him." (p. 88)
Hilly is the leader of a popular women club called the Junior League, which provides her a big influence on the white women in town.
She does not shy away from excluding or bullying people, who don't fit into her lifestyle. In the role of the Junior League leader she organizes the yearly charity event in the community for example to help starving children in Africa.
Her motives for nearly everything she does seem to be selfish in order to always improve her reputation. An excellent example is her response to the question by a woman on the charity event, why the Junior League sends cans and not money to the starving african children.
"You cannot give these tribal people money […]. There is no Jitney 14 Grocery in the Ogaden Desert. And how would we even know if they're even feeding their kids with it? They're likely to go to the local voodoo tent and get a satanic tattoo with our money." (p. …show more content…
99)
This quote perfectly displays Hillys attitude towards Africans or black people in general.
Her view of society is pretty obsolete as she tries to convince the people in Jackson of keeping and even pushing on the segregation while most of the USA was moving in the opposite direction at that time. In her opinion black people carry diseases, thats why she advises the inhabitants of Mississippi with her “Home Help Sanitation Initiative” to build the toilets for their black employees outside of their houses. Beside that she describes black people in general as lazy and dumb. After her maid Minny uses her toilet, she dismisses her and spreads the rumor that Minny stole from her in order to make it impossible for her to find a new job. As revenge Minny bakes a chocolate pie mixed up with shit and hands it over to Hilly pretending to apologize, which Hilly eats two slices from.
This moment represents a change in the life of Hilly. Her former best friend Skeeter starts writing about her and other white women of the community in her novel. In order to save her reputation and the political career of her husband, Hilly turns away from
Skeeter.
She tells her that she is"about to be a politician's wife”, and asks her “How William is ever going to get elected in Washington, D.C., one day if we have integrational friends in our closet?" (p. 205)
The character of Hilly gives an example of the lifestyle and the thinking of big parts of the high-society white women in the south at that time.
Through out the whole book we do not learn anything about the reasons for Hillys animosity against black people. She refuses to go with the time and instead adheres to the obsolete ethic values and she will probably not change this attitude.
Characterisation - Hilly Holbrook
Hilly Holbrook is a character from the novel “the Help“ which was written by Kathryn Stockett in 2011. In the storyline she plays an important role as she is on one hand a childhood friend of Skeeter and on the other hand one of the most important supporters of segregation in Jackson.
She is about as old as Skeeter and has brown hair and an athletic body.
Her appearance is always very stylish and fashionable in order to look younger than she really is. Her Husband is the future politician William Holbrook with whom she has two children. She has a self-conscious and kind of gentle arrogant character and a good standing in the community.
She seems to …show more content…
have reached her aim of life being a housewife married to a successful husband. She wants Skeeter to adapt her lifestyle that is why she imploringly pushes her to find a possible husband.
"It's your time, Skeeter.
It is your turn. And damn it, I'm not going to let you miss this just because your mother convinced you you're not good enough for somebody like him." (p. 88)
Hilly is the leader of a popular women club called the Junior League, which provides her a big influence on the white women in town.
She does not shy away from excluding or bullying people, who don't fit into her lifestyle. In the role of the Junior League leader she organizes the yearly charity event in the community for example to help starving children in Africa.
Her motives for nearly everything she does seem to be selfish in order to always improve her reputation. An excellent example is her response to the question by a woman on the charity event, why the Junior League sends cans and not money to the starving african children.
"You cannot give these tribal people money […]. There is no Jitney 14 Grocery in the Ogaden Desert. And how would we even know if they're even feeding their kids with it? They're likely to go to the local voodoo tent and get a satanic tattoo with our money." (p. …show more content…
99)
This quote perfectly displays Hillys attitude towards Africans or black people in general.
Her view of society is pretty obsolete as she tries to convince the people in Jackson of keeping and even pushing on the segregation while most of the USA was moving in the opposite direction at that time. In her opinion black people carry diseases, thats why she advises the inhabitants of Mississippi with her “Home Help Sanitation Initiative” to build the toilets for their black employees outside of their houses. Beside that she describes black people in general as lazy and dumb. After her maid Minny uses her toilet, she dismisses her and spreads the rumor that Minny stole from her in order to make it impossible for her to find a new job. As revenge Minny bakes a chocolate pie mixed up with shit and hands it over to Hilly pretending to apologize, which Hilly eats two slices from.
This moment represents a change in the life of Hilly. Her former best friend Skeeter starts writing about her and other white women of the community in her novel. In order to save her reputation and the political career of her husband, Hilly turns away from
Skeeter.
She tells her that she is"about to be a politician's wife”, and asks her “How William is ever going to get elected in Washington, D.C., one day if we have integrational friends in our closet?" (p. 205)
The character of Hilly gives an example of the lifestyle and the thinking of big parts of the high-society white women in the south at that time.
Through out the whole book we do not learn anything about the reasons for Hillys animosity against black people. She refuses to go with the time and instead adheres to the obsolete ethic values and she will probably not change this attitude.