Confronting Injustice: Scout and Skeeter's Battle

Confrontation Versus Accommodation

Desmond Tutu says “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Scout, main character of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Skeeter, main character of the movie The Help by Tate Taylor, both demonstrate their agreement to this statement in different ways. To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the 1930s during the Great Depression and Jim Crow laws. Discrimination and prejudice thrives in the small, Southern town in which Scout lives. This exposes her to these things, and her reactions show her moral beliefs. On the other hand, The Help takes place in the 1960s in Mississippi where racism and segregation are the building blocks of society. Skeeter

has been exposed to this her whole life, and how she reacts shows her beliefs as well. While Scout reacts to discrimination she sees with physical aggression, Skeeter reacts with anger and passion, and both of these reactions show the girls’ moral beliefs.
Scout reacts to discrimination in her town by being physically aggressive.

When Aunt Alexandria is asked if Scout can have Walter Cunningham Jr. over for dinner again, Aunt Alexandra explains that since Walter is of lower status than them, he cannot come over. This makes Scout react in the following way: “I don’t know what I would’ve done, but Jem stopped me. He caught me by the shoulders, put his arm around me and led me sobbing in fury to his bedroom” (Lee 301). This kind of aggression shows Scout’s emotional confusion about societal discrimination, and she believes that she should be able to play with him regardless of societal status. Also, her physically aggressive reaction to discrimination shows that the only way she knows how to resolve problems is with physical aggression to things she does not understand. Additionally, Scout’s cousin Francis calls Atticus a “nigger-lover” multiple times. This causes Scout to react very aggressively as shown in the following passage: “This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right…” (112). Scout’s physical response reveals that when the honor of someone she loves is at stake, she will defend it as best as she can even though she does not fully understand the accusations in the first place. Also, her reaction displays that she believes in Atticus and therefore, she believes in what he does. She has been exposed to the Tom Robinson case enough to understand that it is defending a black man, and the fact that she defends her dad’s actions shows that she believes it is right as well. Scout’s aggressive reactions to the discrimination she faces in her town demonstrate her moral

beliefs.
Skeeter reacts angrily to discrimination, and this reaction demonstrates her moral beliefs. Skeeter has never had a date, and she is in her twenties as an attractive girl. Her mother begins to rationalize that her lack of boyfriends or dates is due to the fact that she is homosexual. Her mother asks if she is a lesbian because this would explain her disinterest in the men she has seen. Skeeter is very confused and angry about this (Taylor). Skeeters anger toward her mother shows that she does not believe that she needs to be in a relationship to feel happy, successful, or complete. Also, her rage towards these questionings demonstrates that she believes that women are capable of providing for themselves. In addition, Skeeter discovers that her mother had fired Constantine, one of the help for the Phelan’s for over twenty years, for no good reason. When Skeeter learns this, she is devastated, enraged, and heartbroken (Taylor). Skeeter’s heartbrokenness shows her beliefs that the colored help is not just the help-- they are part of the family. This mutual love shows her belief in racial equality. Additionally, the anger that she has demonstrates that she does not think that the staff should be thrown out after a small incident just because Skeeter’s mother had to defend her own reputation. Skeeter’s moral beliefs are shown in the way she reacts angrily to the discrimination she experiences.
When both of these women are exposed to discrimination, Scout reacts violently and Skeeter reaction passionately and angrily. With Scout, she is about eight years old, and she lives in a discriminatory community. Meanwhile, Skeeter is in her twenties and is fully aware of the racial situation as well as the many other prejudice-filled beliefs in her community. Scout is too young to understand the entire situation in depth, so her reactions show that she feels upset about the discrimination, but does not understand the discrimination in itself. Her disappearing ignorance is what compels her to react aggressively. Skeeter understands the prejudices of the times and reacts with anger because she has had enough of the inequality. She realizes that someone in the white community (where most power was held at this time) needs to step away from the herd and speak out against prejudices. Both Skeeter and Scout were born and raised in the South, so their experiences were very similar. After looking at these stories, the depth in which prejudicial beliefs were ingrained in the minds of Americans was far deeper and less like today than previously thought. When looking at society today, it is obvious that some groups of people are more represented, whether it be by race, religion, sexuality, etc., and there should be equal representation of the different groups of people in our society to normalize egalitarian beliefs.