The Help
Riley Petty
The Help Essay
“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.” This is the world that Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan lives in throughout the book The Help. For Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s, racism is as routine as the Wednesday afternoon Bridge games. However, things are about to change when Skeeter digs deep and uncovers shameful secrets and hidden stories that make this book impossible to put down. Kathryn Stockett captivates the reader with the alternating narrator's points of view, the controversial topic of racism, and the fact that the characters are constantly flirting with disaster. The consistent change of narrators is a huge factor that makes this novel so unique from others. The speaker goes from Skeeter, the white protagonist who has never experienced much discrimination, to Aibileen Clark, a well-mannered, older maid. Finally, Minny Jackson’s perspective is showcased. She is a hot tempered, “sass-mouther” maid. Being inside of the maids’ mind shows the reader something that the white women they serve would never see. An example is when Minny reminisces inside the safety of her head by thinking: “I saw the way my mama acted when Miss Woodra brought her home, all yes Ma'aming, no Ma'aming, I sure do thank you Ma'aming. Why I got to be like that? I know how to stand up to people.” These rotating views give the reader an insight to each person, their lives, and their differing opinions as well as thoughts. This creates the effect of being on both sides of the battle field where the reader can step inside of the shoes of each main character. In one chapter, the reader sees the lack of trust that negro women show towards Skeeter when she tries to help. In another, Aibileen and Minny tell their stories of how they have been accused of various actions. Such allegations include stealing silver and being made to eat lunch in the
The Help Essay
“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.” This is the world that Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan lives in throughout the book The Help. For Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s, racism is as routine as the Wednesday afternoon Bridge games. However, things are about to change when Skeeter digs deep and uncovers shameful secrets and hidden stories that make this book impossible to put down. Kathryn Stockett captivates the reader with the alternating narrator's points of view, the controversial topic of racism, and the fact that the characters are constantly flirting with disaster. The consistent change of narrators is a huge factor that makes this novel so unique from others. The speaker goes from Skeeter, the white protagonist who has never experienced much discrimination, to Aibileen Clark, a well-mannered, older maid. Finally, Minny Jackson’s perspective is showcased. She is a hot tempered, “sass-mouther” maid. Being inside of the maids’ mind shows the reader something that the white women they serve would never see. An example is when Minny reminisces inside the safety of her head by thinking: “I saw the way my mama acted when Miss Woodra brought her home, all yes Ma'aming, no Ma'aming, I sure do thank you Ma'aming. Why I got to be like that? I know how to stand up to people.” These rotating views give the reader an insight to each person, their lives, and their differing opinions as well as thoughts. This creates the effect of being on both sides of the battle field where the reader can step inside of the shoes of each main character. In one chapter, the reader sees the lack of trust that negro women show towards Skeeter when she tries to help. In another, Aibileen and Minny tell their stories of how they have been accused of various actions. Such allegations include stealing silver and being made to eat lunch in the