Everyone is faced with trials and tribulations throughout their whole life. The saying “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% is your attitude towards it” was made famous by well known Christian extraordinaire, Charles R. Swindle. I strongly agree with this statement and try to live my life by it. In “The Help”, we spend some time getting to know two of the ladies in this story, Minny Jackson and Celia Rae Foote. Now these ladies could hardly be any more different, however they seem to be dependent on each other for various different reasons. As the story unfolds we learn more of their back story and who they really are as people. I strongly believe that in Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help”, Stockket uses three significant subplots to show their growth as dynamic characters. …show more content…
Aibileen is listening in on the bridge game when she hears Hilly say “I keep telling her, if that Minny can’t cook she needs to just go on and fire her.” (7) talking of course about her mother, whom Minny is working for. However Minny is referred to as “near bout the best cook in Hinds County, maybe even all a Mississippi.” (8) by Aibileen and in the next chapter we learn Minny’s side of the story, “what you feed Miss Walters at bridge club today? I worked all morning making that fool a Carmel cake and she wouldn’t eat a crumb.” (16) We also learn of Minny’s temperament from Aibileen in the first chapter, “Minny got a mouth on her.” (8) and about her strength in the second, “Minny could probably lift this bus up over her head…” (15). in chapter two Aibileen also shares with Minny that “I think she got her eye on you, Minny.” She being Hilly since Minny works for her mother. Minny later gets fired because Hilly is moving her mother into a home, but before she does she makes sure Minny can’t get another job; she tells the other ladies around town she is a thief. Minny gave Hilly “what she deserve” (25) with a mysterious
This is an example of Jeannette’s parents trying to keep their children as optimistic as possible.They knew that their life would be rough and tough based on what they had gone through however if they always kept the positive mindset it would make things a lot easier for
She was not aware of the hatred many had for her, especially Hilly, for marrying her ex boyfriend, hiring her ex maid (who also put her feces in a “special pie” she made for her), and wearing raunchy skin showing clothes that distracted the husbands of many, including her own. Minny attempted to teach Celia that it was not okay for her husband not knowing that she had not only a maid, but a black maid. In addition to that, she also taught her other various things, and they bonded during the movie. Similarly, Hiram had the same situation. He met Emmett Till, a chicago raised negro, who didn’t know that he had to treat the whites in a particular way in the south. In one section of the book, Hiram gave a very famished Emmett the rest of his lunch. R.C., a rambunctious 18 year old who Hiram had known since he was a child, awoke from his nap, was furious of what he did, and tortured and beat Emmett. Just from witnessing that, Hiram finally knew what his dad had always argued about with his grandpa. Celia also realized that Minny had been mistreated by the women of the high society. After some time, these two character knew the hateful and evil acts of many of the Southern people, and would not stand for it. They were the outsiders, the odd men (and women
Both awe-inspiring and indescribable is life, the defined “state of being” that historians and scholars alike have been trying to put into words ever since written language was first created. And in the words of one such intellectual, Joshua J. Marine, “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”. Essentially, he is comparing life to a bowl of soup. Without challenges or hardship into which we can put forth effort and show our potential, it becomes a dull and flavorless broth. But for characters in novels like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the difficulties and trials that we all must face can transfigure the mundane liquid mixture of existence into a vibrant and fulfilling gumbo. The protagonists of these works are two strong-willed and highly admirable women, who prevail in the face of overwhelming odds stacked in everyone’s favor but theirs. In their trying periods of isolation brought about by cold and unwelcoming peers, particularly men, they give their lives meaning by simply pushing forward, and living to tell the tale.
The author, Betty Smith, taught her readers to push through any obstacle in life, through the books conflicts, setting and research. Francie had always felt distant from her mother. This is demonstrated from the plots conflict in the story. Betty Smith wrote, “Johnny grew in weakness and went further
In a country like the United States of America, with a history of every individual having an equal opportunity to reach their dreams, it becomes harder and harder to grasp the reality that equal opportunity is diminishing as the years go on. The book Our Kids by Robert Putnam illustrates this reality and compares life during the 1950’s and today’s society and how it has gradually gotten to a point of inequality. In particular, he goes into two touching stories, one that shows the changes in the communities we live in and another that illustrates the change of family structure. In the end he shows how both stories contribute to the American dream slipping away from our hands.
This account of enduring adversity begins with a man by the name of Robert Newsom. After his wife passed away he apparently craved the need for sexual fulfillment. He came to the conclusion that the best possible way to nourish his craving was by purchasing a young, healthy slave to keep as his personal "mistress". So at the age of 14, Celia became a white-man's sexual object. Over time Celia accepted her role in the Newsom household and bore two of Newsom's children. Towards the end of her five years at the Newsom farm she began a personal romance with another slave by the name of George. Finally, George's masculine pride erupted and he demanded that Celia end this sexual relationship with Newsom. Celia went to Newsom in an effort to stop the nature of their affair, but was unsuccessful in doing so. Out of desperation it is believed that Celia even went to Newsom's two daughters, Virginia and Mary, who still lived with their father, to plead protection from him and his enforced sexual interactions, with no luck once again.
herself. Janie, all her life, had been pushed around and told what to do and how to live her life. She searched and searched high and low to find a peace that makes her whole and makes her feel like a complete person. To make her feel like she is in fact an individual and that she’s not like everyone else around her. During the time of ‘Their Eyes’, the correct way to treat women was to show them who was in charge and who was inferior. Men were looked to as the superior being, the one who women were supposed to look up to and serve. Especially in the fact that Janie was an African American women during these oppressed times. Throughout this book, it looks as though Janie makes many mistakes in trying to find who she really is, and achieving the respect that she deserves.
1) One of my favorite quotes from The Help By:Kathryn Stockett Aibileen Clark states "They ain't rich folks. Rich folks don't try so hard."The reason being is when your born into a higher society than others you don’t feel need to try as hard as the people who weren't born into that kind of lifestyle.
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
Living during the early nineteen hundreds was not easy for African American women. Women gained power through marriage, but they still were looked down upon and treated like slaves. In the story “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Zora Neale Hurston uses diction, symbolism, and foreshadowing to reveal how Janie sought to discover her own identity marrying three different men who helped her discover her independence leading to the fact that women were poorly treated during this time period and deserved more respect than they received.
Looking back on the death of Larissa’s son, Zebedee Breeze, Lorraine examines Larissa’s response to the passing of her child. Lorraine says, “I never saw her cry that day or any other. She never mentioned her sons.” (Senior 311). This statement from Lorraine shows how even though Larissa was devastated by the news of her son’s passing, she had to keep going. Women in Larissa’s position did not have the luxury of stopping everything to grieve. While someone in Lorraine’s position could take time to grieve and recover from the loss of a loved one, Larissa was expected to keep working despite the grief she felt. One of the saddest things about Zebedee’s passing, was that Larissa had to leave him and was not able to stay with her family because she had to take care of other families. Not only did Larissa have the strength to move on and keep working after her son’s passing, Larissa and other women like her also had no choice but to leave their families in order to find a way to support them. As a child, Lorraine did not understand the strength Larissa must have had to leave her family to take care of someone else’s
To be inconsistent with traditional communities beliefs it is hard for many to accomplish. Nevertheless, writer Kate Chopin fights that conflict to deliver the readers a few of the greatest thought vexing literature that a human can get their hands on. Applying to her improvement reflections of narrative stories, such as plot control, irony, and character development, Kate is capable to take the reader towards a world of feelings that humanity would despise. Chopin shows her unbelievable literary ability in “The Story of an Hour” by joining character development and plot, with her use of thought-provoking vocabulary and narrative irony.
Three Cups of Tea, written by David Relin and Greg Mortenson, is a story about Mortenson's mission to provide education to children in Pakistan and Afghanistan after he stumbles across a village during a climbing expedition. Supposedly this is a true story. However, Jon Krakauer, author of Three Cups of Deceit, writes to uncover the truth behind Mortenson's story. Although some of the events have been proven as true, Krakauer has found that several others have been exaggerated. The credibility of all three authors is determined by their sources, evidence, and ethics. Based on ethics, Mortenson seems to be the least credible and Krakauer is the most credible, with Relin’s credibility falling somewhere in between.
The presence of overbearing authority figures in Miriam Toews’ “A Complicated Kindness” proves that when excessive stringency is applied, negative consequences are created within the target being “controlled”. The groups being influenced may therefor retaliate in acts of defiance or fall under domineer of their authority figures in which case it could represent religion, government and parental authority. This point is emphasized in the novel through events and behaviors by the characters such as social outburst perceived as “taboo”, acts of rebellion and search for “outlets”, the idea of “double life” and conformity within a community causing people to become less self-aware.
Minny showed that her husband is violent, " 'Why? Why are you hitting me? ' .... I was trapped in the corner of the bedroom like a dog. He was beating me with his belt. It was the first time I’d ever really thought about it. Who knows what I could become," (485) and "I ain 't telling, I ain 't telling nobody about that pie. But I give her what she deserve! .... I ain 't never gone get no work again, Leroy gone kill me..." (24). Also, it shows that Minny is forced to work for her family to earn money in order to raise their family up. It 's different from Skeeter 's situation in that Skeeter is hoping to continue her career but Minny has no choice to change her situation. Minny is a strong character in the book and she even took revenge against Hilly after she spread rumors about Minny. However, Minny seems so weak, vulnerable and under the mercy of her husband Leroy. Even if Leroy abuses Minny, she endures it because she loves him. Sexism here is in the superiority of men over women that give them the right to abuse them. According to Skeeter, in early 1960s, Sexism appeared in jobs that were open only for men, "My eyes drift down to HELP WANTED: MALE. There are at least four columns filled with bank managers, accountants, loan officers, cotton collate operators. On this side of the page, Percy and Gray, LP, is offering Jr. Stenographers fifty cents more an hour," (68). Characters from