The Help
Hunter Love
Ms.Defelice
English 4
4/23/15
Informative Essay “The Help”
In the story of the help it had many different themes one of the themes would be showing us the importance of literature – books, newspaper articles, and bills – in creating, challenging, and changing the racist systems that at the time was ruling Jackson, Mississippi. The Help was written by Skeeter but was stories told by Aibleen, Minny, and other maids showing the points of view of colored help working for white families in Jackson. They all knew that this book would put them in danger but they all felt that their stories needed to be told good or bad.
The other theme of the story was race. Race is not a very neutral concept in The Help. Jackson, Mississippi is very much so a separated society. Still stuck in the Jim Crow Era, there are strict rules, laws, and norms that were restricting the lives of the townspeople but the rules also kept the white people from crossing the color lines. Kathryn Strucketts novel shows and explores the worst of the fake stereotypes about black people – that they are lazy, dirty, carry diseases, and in general are less intelligent the white people. The novel show how the false thoughts are put into the lives of everyday people in Jackson, from the laws to regular conversations, and how these beliefs get passed from generation to generation. The story shows how powerful and dangerous it can be to challenge the stereotypes and to dissolve the lines that are meant to separate the people all on the basis of skin color.
Love page 2
The Help also gives us a chance to peek into the private lives of the citizens in the 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi which gives us a theme of home. The novel show the dysfunctional social light created by segregation and racism influences the home lives of the characters. The society gives certain rules for men and certain rules for women. White women like Elizabeth and Hilly, are expected to not work neither at work nor at home. Black
Ms.Defelice
English 4
4/23/15
Informative Essay “The Help”
In the story of the help it had many different themes one of the themes would be showing us the importance of literature – books, newspaper articles, and bills – in creating, challenging, and changing the racist systems that at the time was ruling Jackson, Mississippi. The Help was written by Skeeter but was stories told by Aibleen, Minny, and other maids showing the points of view of colored help working for white families in Jackson. They all knew that this book would put them in danger but they all felt that their stories needed to be told good or bad.
The other theme of the story was race. Race is not a very neutral concept in The Help. Jackson, Mississippi is very much so a separated society. Still stuck in the Jim Crow Era, there are strict rules, laws, and norms that were restricting the lives of the townspeople but the rules also kept the white people from crossing the color lines. Kathryn Strucketts novel shows and explores the worst of the fake stereotypes about black people – that they are lazy, dirty, carry diseases, and in general are less intelligent the white people. The novel show how the false thoughts are put into the lives of everyday people in Jackson, from the laws to regular conversations, and how these beliefs get passed from generation to generation. The story shows how powerful and dangerous it can be to challenge the stereotypes and to dissolve the lines that are meant to separate the people all on the basis of skin color.
Love page 2
The Help also gives us a chance to peek into the private lives of the citizens in the 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi which gives us a theme of home. The novel show the dysfunctional social light created by segregation and racism influences the home lives of the characters. The society gives certain rules for men and certain rules for women. White women like Elizabeth and Hilly, are expected to not work neither at work nor at home. Black