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Finding My Voice Considering all of the novels/plays I have read this year in AP Lit, I connected the most with Skeeter from The Help. The Help is a novel that can stand the test of time. It not only taught me what African American life was like for a group of maids in the 1960s but also taught me that I can have a difference in the world by using my voice. Through watching each of the narrators grow as people, I was able to understand the impact that telling a story can have on an individual. Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter’s personalities meshed so well together that they were able to create a best-seller. By watching the town’s reaction to the stories, I learned that my opinion is valued and should be heard by others. It was interesting that …show more content…
I chose to read The Help last because it ended up summing up most of my high school experience while simultaneously teaching me new life lessons and preparing me for the future. Something that I struggled with early on in high school was presentations. Similar to Skeeter, I was shy and didn’t necessarily like getting up in front of people to talk. This happened until I reached Junior year when I began taking AP classes and joined YLC. It was no secret that I was terrified of AP Language at the start, but as time went on I got more comfortable with the class and the workload. Like Skeeter, it took me awhile to warm up to exactly what I was getting myself into but when I came to the realization, it all became worthwhile. Furthermore, when I joined YLC, I had no idea what to expect but something inside me pushed me to keep moving through it. It wasn’t until the Spring of Junior year that I realized everything I had accomplished in just a few short months. Last year at Venture Youth to Youth when I was dancing with 5th graders was when it hit me. I saw the impact that I had in the 5th graders in only two short days. This compares to Skeeter on a smaller scale because she was able to have an impact on Mississippi and parts of the whole world. Because I pushed myself like Skeeter pushed herself, I was able to find my passions and my voice. The Help taught me to never stop chasing what I want. It is the persistency and dedication that is put into an activity that makes it worth it in the end. Skeeter spent months writing and editing her book to finally be published. She was able to do this through the constant support of her friends. Even then, she had no idea what kind of impact it would have in the end. I have experienced this through my AP classes this year. Last year at this time, I had no intention of passing either AP test I took. I knew that I needed to do my best. Something that has always bothered me is being so close to something and then never getting it. For example, for the past four years in cross country, I always fell in the eighth spot for the league meet. The top seven went on to race in the district meet. It wasn’t until my senior year that I was able to finally be number seven. Being this kind of person for most of my life, passing the AP English exam last year was a huge success for me. I can thank my friends for sticking with me and raising the bar for me to follow throughout these past few years as well. AP English isn’t experienced alone. It was from the moments that we all share together and when everyone is focussed in together that the magic truly happened. The lessons that I have learned in the past couple years of high school, along with those from The Help have not only shaped me into the person that I am today but also who I plan to be in the future.
Like Skeeter, I too am moving away to a bigger city to pursue an education. Although it was hard for her to leave her family, especially her mother, she knew it was the best thing to do for herself. In the past few years, I have learned what I need to do to benefit myself while not forgetting those that I love. As sad as it was for Skeeter to leave Mississippi, she knew that she was going to make a difference in the biggest city in the United States. Although it is on a bigger scale than me, I can still be related to Skeeter. When Skeeter was in high school, the only thing her mother wanted from her was for her to find the man of her dreams. Although she listened to her, she wasn’t as confident in herself as her mother was. It wasn’t until she was pushing herself through her book and realizing who she was that she finally got engaged to a man she admired dearly. I feel as if I relate to Skeeter finding her confidence in this way. I have definitely gained confidence through the past few years and hope to keep improving it as I move into college. I can’t say that I have reached every goal I have, but I can say that I am improving. Altogether, I have learned what it means to be
myself. Through writing The Help, Skeeter learned about her newly found friends as well as herself. She evolved from the shy and quiet person that she was into one that could look Hilly in the eye and tell her she was wrong. By making my decision to join AP English two years ago, I was able to experience something similar. I have learned through my experiences along with The Help that anything is possible through hard work and determination. I hope to never lose sight of the end goal when I am struggling in college. Furthermore, Skeeter learned how to believe in herself through her persistence and determination. Because she never gave up and followed her dreams, she has become an inspiration for me to follow. Although I already relate to her in some ways, I hope to keep improving my self-esteem and continue finding my voice through everything that my years after high school has to offer.
Night is a dramatic book that tells the horror and evil of the concentration camps that many were imprisoned in during World War II. Throughout the book the author Elie Wiesel, as well as many prisoners, lost their faith in God. There are many examples in the beginning of Night where people are trying to keep and strengthen their faith but there are many more examples of people rebelling against God and forgetting their religion.
Having an opinion and or a belief is better than not having one at all. A great man such as Elie Wiesel would agree to that statement. He believes standing up for what is right by showing compassion for a fellow human being than for letting good men do nothing while evil triumphs. The message he passes was how indifference is showing the other man he is nothing. He attempts to grasp the audience by personal experiences and historic failures, we need to learn from and also to grow to be the compassionate human being we all are.
Smelcer, my high school history teacher. My teacher dedicated a whole month of class on the topic of “Black Lives Matter.” She loved to read books on opinions on black society. I think this book would fascinate her if she has not already read it. She always taught us about the struggles of African Americans, but never about the privilege that some of them had. Some African Americans were better off than most whites at the time. They were doctors and lawyers, most of the black elite were making salaries close to middle class Caucasians. The book shows how not only how whites look down on the African American racial background, but so did people of their own race. I think this simple fact would be intriguing to my teacher and maybe challenge her views on black society. It could also contribute to her lessons in class, teaching high schoolers about this exclusive society. Lastly, I would recommend this book to Mrs. Smelcer because it proves that while the members of the black elite had “privilege and plenty” they were still racial discriminated against by whites, even through they should have been
As I reflect on my college life, I wonder about the choices I have made that have led me to where I am today and that will guide me into shaping who I long to become. The things I have had to sacrifice, the support and experiences I have had with family, friends, strangers and work colleagues. I don’t know what I will be doing three months or thirty years from now but I do know that I want to have new experiences. When I graduated from high school, I knew I didn’t want to be that person that moved back to the same town and stayed there for the rest of my life. I even contemplate leaving the United States in my adult life. Who really knows, maybe those cards are still in the deck. For now, I know my immediate goals include focusing on completing my college education the best I can, and moving away from my comfort zone, broadening my horizons and taken risks.
I picked Miss Skeeter to write about, Miss Skeeter was raised in a home where she was brought up by a black woman as her nanny and maid of the house. For that era it was normal for kids to be raised that way. Miss Skeeter’s life was simple and she was rich, she didn’t know what it was like to need or want anything in life. She wasn’t exposed to many of the hardships that many of the black characters in the book suffer or go through. Her life was really good, she was fortunate to have all that she did. It wasn’t until she went away to college and spent some time away from her family and her friends influence. Miss Skeeter was the only one out of her friends that actually went away to college and was able to see the world through another viewpoint and I think that affected her, she was able to see what life is really about she realized what a privileged life she really did live.
I am reviewing The Help by Kathryn Stockett.The Help is a powerful,truth-filled story set in the early 1960s in Jackson,Mississippi.It is a novel about black African American maids working in white households and being treated unfairly.
The novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a New York Time’s bestseller, and with good reason. This work explores and uncovers numerous amounts of topics other books and writers would shy away from. Such as, but not limited to, racism, discrimination, prejudice, and segregation in the South during the nineteen-sixties. It also examines the lives of multiple characters including Skeeter Phelan, a writer determined to expose the hidden lives of the black maids in her community, Minny Jackson and Aibileen Clark, two colored maids living in Jackson, Mississippi during this time period. In addition to that, this novel helps create a sense of clarity and understanding of the lives of the colored in the early stages of the Civil Rights movement. Also, this work contains numerous important plot points that help reel readers in, creating a whirlwind of events that anyone would be interested in. However, none of this would be important without the location this novel takes place. Being the south, Mississippi provides the perfect setting to help add more roadblocks to the quest of three women against the world.
Overall The Help is an amazing book by Kathryn Stockett. The three characters Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny all are different people. But somehow, they manage to become close friends. Or almost.
In my perspective, I thought that The Help by Katheryn Stockett was an exciting and special book which enhanced me views or race, class, and gender. This fantastic book gave me the thought of how life was like down in Mississippi during the 1960's. The Help gave me different standpoints and characteristics that had taken place with places still segregated by the color of their own skin. These viewpoints hit my mind that gave me the option to judge the book by how life was viewed upon by society in the past and present time.
Kathryn Stockett is one of the most outstanding writers out there to this day, and this is proven by many of the a awards she has won, including Oscars she has won, and surprisingly she had only written one book. Her book "The Help" is one of the most touching and moving books of our time, even though many can't relate to these stories, many can just feel the sadness and empathy for these women. This book has really opened my eyes about issues I haven't even noticed existed that poorly and due to this book it has made me change my perspective on many things I strongly believe about before. This book also shows you the lives of many African America women who only wanted an equal chance in society, but was not given the opportunity to be treated fairly or even civil like a person should be treated.
I am a sophomore at Cathedral High School and throughout the school year I have read multiple novels, however only one novel stood out to me. The novel that stood out to me the most was Fahrenheit 451. The reason this book stood out to me was because of your character in the novel. Out of all the characters I have read about, only you have been a real hero to me. Your role as the hero in the novel Fahrenheit 451 was very riveting. It was inspiring to me how you stood up for your beliefs and saw that what society was doing was wrong. You were able to overcome actual obstacles in your way; instead of just running away from your problems before you tried to solve them. You were also able to make an enormous impact on your society by challenging the morals of those around you and by not letting others brainwash you and persuade you to give up on trying to stop the burning of books.
... and I started to realize some of the good effects that moving has had. I now understand that this experience has changed me in positive ways as well. Soon I would have friends in different places in the world that I can visit. I would have many places where I could go and feel like home. Most importantly, I would learn that one can adapt to every town and its people and that friends can be made everywhere. Every place has its conveniences and its problems. Every town has its generous and heartless citizens.
Kathryn Stockett's award-winning novel, The Help, is about three women in Mississippi whose determination to start a movement change the way people of different races view one another. Skeeter has just graduated with a degree and hopes to get a job with writing, but her mother is desperate to marry her off. Aibileen and Minny, two African American maids, have never thought of writing about racial issues until Skeeter approaches them with the idea of publishing a book documenting a black maid's life in the South. Together, the three women and a number of other maids secretly compile their working experiences, from humorous accounts to dangerous ones. I enjoyed reading The Help because Stockett uses humorous writing when applicable and a serious
Therefore, I decided to attend UC Davis, which was seven hours away from my home. When I arrived at UC Davis, I noticed her depression started to worsen. Making it hard for me, but yet simple. She is my mom. I could not help to think I was to blame. I thought to myself, "What am I doing here? My mom needs me." I, then realized that she held it together because I was physically there to support her. I was her rock, but I was also seven hours away. Still, I did everything I could to help her. Calling her everyday was a part of my daily routine, as well as taking the bus home at least twice a month. Balancing school and family took a huge toll on me my freshman year, but I grew so much from
The day I moved away, a lot of things were going through my young mind. As I took my last look at my home, I remembered all the fun times I had with my family and friends through out my life. Now I was moving 800 miles away from all of that with no insight on what lied ahead for me. As my family and I drove away from our Michigan home, I looked out the window wondering what Virginia would be, and what my friends were doing. A lot of things were going through my mind at the time. At the time my main worry was if I would make any friends, and how I would adjust to everything. During the whole drive down, my mother would often let me know that everything would be all right and I would like it. Trying to be strong and hold back my tears, I just shook my head no, wondering why we had to move so far away. Life would be different for me and I knew it would.