The Pie Of Miss Hilly

The short sentence structures suggest that this moment is extremely tense as Minny is revealing a secret that could endanger her future, but the use of the expletive in the phrase, ‘eat my shit’, illustrates the power and confidence she had over Miss Hilly. This moment is symbolic as Minny destabilises the power dynamic by using her ‘special ingredient’, now discovered to be her own faeces, in her pie for Miss Hilly (a powerful white woman) to eat. Moreover, Minny’s act of revenge is made sweeter by watching her eat, and even enjoy, her pie before telling her the truth, ‘And then I watch her. I watch her eat it myself. Two big pieces.’ The repetition of ‘I watch’ highlights Minny’s disbelief over the way Miss Hilly was devouring the pie. Minny has successfully gained leverage
Black female readers may find this moment to be empowering as a black woman stood strong in the face of adversity, which can then lead to change amongst disadvantaged communities. However, it is important to note that despite Minny’s act of courage, the values of those in power are not going to change overnight. This is exhibited when Skeeter observes the way Hilly talk to Aibileen, ‘Hilly raises her voice about three octaves higher when she talks to colored people. Elizabeth smiles like she’s talking to a child, although certainly not her own.” The word choices ‘octaves’, ‘smiles’ and ‘child’ confirm Hilly and Elizabeth’s stances that black people are unintelligent which is conveyed through their manner of speaking. This attitude stemmed from scientific racism, an ideology that emerged after the Civil War that theorised that black people were naturally dissimilar from whites, which then became a way to dehumanize black