Sacrifice In Kathryn Stockett's The Help

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The Value of a Sacrifice within a Journey Napoleon Hill once said, “Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.” A hero’s goal is achieved from sacrifice as they are willing to risk a personal factor of their lives to allow for it to be reached. Even if it worsens the situation for themselves, the result helps others in need which enables the achievement to be more significant than the sacrificed entity. In Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, personal sacrifices are made for the goal to be achieved, as the ultimate outcome is worth more than the sacrifice itself. This is seen through Skeeter sacrificing her social life, Minny willing to sacrifice her job and her life, and Aibileen sacrificing her job …show more content…

Writing an unconventional book, Skeeter sacrifices her social life as the society in 1962 does not accept the topic, but the purpose of the book has more meaning than anything she can give up. As she focuses on writing and helping the coloured maids, Skeeter gradually abandons her friends. Once Hilly becomes suspicious and discovers that Skeeter has been reading books on coloured rights, the friendship deteriorates as Hilly does not approve of such behaviour. Hilly’s popularity empowers her to alienate Skeeter, but she continues to write. Before Stuart can propose to Skeeter, she admits the truth about the secret book she has been composing, but he also rejects the idea and deserts her. She has “nothing left here but enemies in the Junior League and a mama that’s [going to] drive [her] to drink. [She has] burned ever[y] bridge there is. And [she is] never [going to] get another boyfriend in this town and everybody know[s] it” (499). The beginning of this quotation suggests that Skeeter has nothing of value left in Jackson, Mississippi as the book forces her to give it up. She loses crucial parts of her life, but the book has become more important than those aspects. In regards to the

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