In The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, there are important conflicts that give insight to understanding characters. Racism is a strong continuous theme in the book that is part of all the characters’ storyline. It shows the type of person Hilly Holbrook is and what she as a character represents in today’s world. Conflicts in relationships also affect major characters such as Skeeter, Minny and Aibileen. These conflicts are what pushes them to move on from Jackson and find something better out in the progressing world. Racism is an important conflict in The Help as it shows different characters’ actions and how they deal with this conflict. An example of a character who is deeply racist and inflicts racism is Hilly Holbrook. Hilly has very strong …show more content…
Hilly uses her status and power as president of the Junior League to influence the other ladies to agree with this initiative. She doesn’t believe herself to be racist, that her actions are just and right, or that she patronising towards them. When she sends canned goods to The Poor Staving Children of Africa charity, she explains why they don’t send them money, “And how would we even know if they're even feeding their kids with it? They're likely to go to the local voodoo tent and get a satanic tattoo with our money.” This shows her ignorance of the world and society out of Jackson, as some places in America were starting to eliminate segregation. She is only one example of the many supporters of racism in the south that act hostile and inhumane towards black communities and excuse their actions as not racist. When in fact their attitudes show they don’t care about how their black servants are treated, only that they agree with …show more content…
On the outside, Minny is quick witted and tough but when Leroy is beating her, she’s vulnerable and weak. “They think big strong Minny, she sure can stand up for herself. But they don’t know what a pathetic mess I turn into when Leroy’s beating on me. I’m afraid to hit him back. I’m afraid he’ll leave me if I do.” This emphasised the message that there is more to people underneath their appearance and that you shouldn’t judge or think you know someone based on their looks. Minny’s growth is also shown in the book when she finally leaves Leroy and like Skeeter moves on to find a better life, one that they both deserve. The publishing of the book may have contributed to her realising that she can achieve anything and that she deserves
“Children are not blind to race. Instead, like all of us, they notice differences” and the character of Ellen Foster is no exception to the rule (Olson). Ellen Foster is the story of a strong willed and highly opinionated and pragmatic child named Ellen, growing up in the midst of poverty and abuse in the rural south. Her life is filled with tragedy from the death and possible suicide of her mother to the abuse she endures at the hands of her alcoholic father and his friends. Despite her hardships as such an early age, she never gives up hope for a better life. In addition to her struggles with poverty she is surrounded by a culture of racism in a society that is post Jim Crow
In the story, “Brownies” by Z.Z. Packer the two main characters create different and clear ideas that shape the story. Notably, the character, Arnetta is very effective and manipulative, much the opposite of the frequently disregarded and ignored, flat character Laurel. These two characters are oppositional of one another but carry the central theme of racism and human cruelty in the story. Resulting in Laurel understanding that retribution has no boundaries and that one person alone cannot change this.
Being her first published novel, I think author Kathryn Stockett did a terrific job at writing, “The Help.” This novel won awards from Goodreads, The Choice Awards, best fiction and was voted the New York Times number one bestseller. I like how this novel is based around the theme of prejudice, making it easier to understand because prejudice is a big thing in our history. “I want to yell so loud that Baby Girl can hear me that dirty ain’t a colour, disease ain’t the Negro side a town. I want to stop that moment from coming - and it comes in ever white child’s life - when they start to think that coloured folks ain’t as good as whites… I pray that wasn’t her moment, pray I still got time.” I also liked how the author, Kathryn Stockett, gave each character a southern accent, therefore the novel came across as more realistic. The ‘flow’ of the novel is easy to follow and isn’t
New worldly conflicts arise everyday and many of these conflicts make us question our morals as individuals and as a nation. In both “Flight Patterns” and “The Help: A Feel-Good Movie That Feels Kind of Icky” we are introduced into the conflicts that race bring about in everyday life. It is indisputable that race is hard to talk about and everyone seems to have a different stance on what is racism and what is not. In both stories, race is brought up and talked about in a way that is solely bringing truth to the issue. In Sherman Alexie’s story we see the thought process about race from someone who is not white, and in Dana Stevens’ story we see how a white woman sees controversy in a film that is supposed to be about black women. Both stories
The book is narrated from the first person perspectives of three women: Skeeter,Aibleen and Minny.The twenty two year old Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is the daughter of a prominent white family who has just graduated and wants to pursure her career as a writer but it’s 1960s and her mother will not be happy if she doesn’t have a ring on her finger. She has been brought up by black maids since she was young, and longs to find out why her much-loved maid, Constantine, has disappeared.Aibleen is a black,wise maid who is raising her seventeenth white child.She dedicates all her work time to Miss.Leeflot,while trying to heal the scars left by her own son’s death.Minny,Aibleen’s best frend is short,fat and the sassiest women in Mississippi.She is the best cook but she cannot mind her tongue resulting having being fired from nineteen jobs. Stockett’s characters are strong, sometimes bold, yet sometimes silent. She adds humor and fun, as well as danger and intrigue in the novel. She has done a great job writing from the point of view of numerous characters. All three of them had their own chapter.Every character has a personality, goals, and a backstory.
Kathryn Stockett's book The Help has sold over five million copies and has spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. Stockett's book has also been made in to a major motion picture. The Help is a story about African American house maids based in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi. The story is told by three main women, Minny, Aibileen and Skeeter. Aibileen and Minny are both African-American maids, while Skeeter is the daughter of a privileged family. Aibileen is raising another white child by the name of Mae Mobley whose mother does not participate in her care. Minny is working for an outcast, newlywed, white woman who is keeping her employment a secret from her husband. Skeeter is working on becoming a journalist and takes the risk of interviewing Minny and Aibileen for her book that she publishes. All meetings are done in secret. All of the maids Skeeter interviews talk of a woman named Hilly, who holds the ideal that whites are superior to African-Americans and intends to get everyone in her “ladies group” ( in which Skeeter is a member) to join in the ideal and embrace it. Hilly is one of the specific antagonists in this story, which ends in her demise. This story describes everyone in Hilly’s circle to a T, but it is published with an anonymous author and the names get changed so that no one can figure out who wrote it. Most people will “rant and rave” that Stockett's book is an amazing story of the struggle for African American's in
Each of the main characters are very different. First off is Aibileen. She is a quite women who never disobeys orders from her white woman even if she doesn’t want to do it. “ ‘So you’ll use that one out in the garage now, you understand?’ I don’t look at her. I’m not trying to make no trouble, but she done made her point.”- (Page 34) Miss Leefolt built a “special” bathroom for her to use so that she won’t use the white bathrooms. The reason that the author was to show that Aibileen did what she needed to do to keep her white women happy. Aibileen also is polite to people that she needs to be polite to. Even in her own home she is nice to Skeeter. “ ‘Anything…you’d like to add…about that?’ ‘No ma'am’ ‘Aibileen, you don’t have to call me ‘ma'am’ not here’ ”- (Page 169) Minny on the other hand is the exact opposite. She doesn’t care about what other people think. If it’s a white women that’s tipping her off and she doesn’t work for her then she’ll tell her off. “ ‘What makes you think colored people need ...
The 1960s was the time when women and men were treated with cruelty, were paid barely enough money to spend on food, and were beaten senseless just because of their race. Though it sounds like an excruciating life to live, many of these African Americans lived life to the fullest despite what others thought of them. In Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, African Americans are treated hastily by whites, as analyzed by the book’s historical significance, personal analysis, and literary criticisms to fully comprehend life in the 1960s of the south.
Though racism seems to be a thing of the past, there is still room for progression in the United States. Having been a country that was widely accepting of the enslavement of African Americans over a century ago, many Americans have not evolved nor turned the page on the subject. Despite the many movements, trials, and acts developed by our society to ensure civil rights to all African Americans, America remains a principally racist country. The only effective way to defeat racism is to not practice or teach what was once taught one hundred years ago. Author Alex Haley is quoted, “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” If we do not teach our youth of prejudice or hatred towards human beings for something as trivial as differing skin color I believe racism, not only concentrated in the United States, but globally, will diminish.
Minny is also a maid who, because of her sassy mouth, frequently transitions between jobs and bosses. Immediately readers identify that Minny is courageous and that her anger and snarky remarks get her into trouble quite often as she struggles with keeping her thoughts to herself. She questions why she has to act kind and polite to white people she doesn 't respect or care for, "I saw the way my mama acted when Miss Woodra brought her home, all yes Ma 'aming, no Ma 'aming...Why I got to be like that. I know how to stand up to people." (Stockett, 47) Skeeter, a privileged white girl who just recently graduated from college plans to be a writer. She affiliates herself with other southern house wives who have their own social club referring it to, The League. Skeeter is differnt from your typical person in Mississippi who treats blacks as equal and views the as any normal person. These thoughts were developed as a young child after creating a deep and personal relationship with her maid, Constantine "All my life I 'd been told what to believe about politics, coloreds, being a girl. But with Constantine 's thumb pressed in my
Discrimination is “the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things.” On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was ordered to give up her bus seat to a white passenger and refused. This act of opposition defied all normalities for the average black woman. The treatment of a woman who was black compared to the treatment of a white woman in that age was completely discriminatory. Rosa Park’s strength to influence justice against racial segregation has slowly influenced justice against all discrimination. “The Help,” a 2009 novel written by American author, Kathryn Stockett, is a story about African-American maids working for white households in Jackson, Mississippi set in the early 1960’s. “The Help” depicts these women as individuals similar to Rosa Parks, who want to influence change and equality. Through “The Help,” the reader can relate the thoughts and views of the characters to our society today, particularly on the grounds of race, class and gender.
First, the author uses conflict to show what the characters have to overcome throughout the course of the story, such as Mrs. Baker forcing Holling to do chores at school and
As you can see, there are a lot of major internal conflicts. However, there are many more not so important conflicts that weren’t listed! Ranging from racism to loneliness, the characters in this novel have gone through a lot, physically and mentally. As the novel progresses all the characters seem to go from a negative, depressed mental state to a positive and loving one. Jefferson dies with courage because Grant was able to crack Jefferson and help him, which also ended up helping himself. Miss Emma and Tante Lou are now at peace thanks to Grant’s affect on Jefferson. The only reason the novel ended with everybody in a positive state of mind is due the decisions and actions made because of the internal conflict. In conclusion, internal conflicts are very important to the story causing conflicts and plot twists to interest the reader and pull the novel together.
Since she is the one, who winds up convincing Aibileen into sharing her stories, she winds up as this white defensive figure, protecting the maids from their white managers.Aibileen is the maid that we initially learn of Aibileen, she has dealt with white families ' infants for around 30 years. She shows a great deal of generosity and concern for the children that she is dealing with, which at the time the story starts is Mae Mobley. Aibileen 's child, Treelore, passed on 5 months before Aibileen began working at the Leefolt house, and Aibileen 's sadness is shown throughout the entire novel. Treelore passed on working at a plant, where he slipped and was ran over. We learned that Treelore 's employer left him hopeless in front of the hospital. The loss of her child assumes a vital part in the novel, since it turns into Aibileen 's principle rationale in challenge.Aibileen is depicted as more genuine and idealistic. She is a woman who is known in her neighborhood. Aibileen from multiple points of view speaks to the mother generalization clarified in the hypothesis section. She is depicted as maternal, mindful and adoring the white infants she
In the movie The Help there are a lot of themes having to deal with psychology. Out of 83 themes i've picked 7 themes that I thought related to the movie the best. In my paper i'll talk about Ethical issues, Hatred, Law, perspective, resolution, education and child development. In the movie this brave white women wanted to write a book about how it feels to be an african american maid. The time period of the movie was late 1960s when discrimination and the jim crow laws were a big part of an everyday living for an African American.