The Help: Week of 2/16/15

Book: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Prompt: Character Introduction, Connections
Pages: 0-174
Comments:Elenia Maria Isabella

  This week I have been reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This book follows the stories of three women, Minny, Aibileen, and Skeeter in Mississippi Jackson in the 1960s. Aibileen is a black 52-year-old woman who has been taking care of white babies and cooking and cleaning since she was a teenager. She had a son named Treelore who died at 24 years old. His death left Aibileen devastated but taking care of children is part of her coping. Minny is also a black maid a few years younger than Aibileen. She has been doing housework for white families since she was a teenager. Aibileen and Minny are best friends but are complete opposites. Aibileen is a kind woman who knows not to talk back to the families she works for while Minny is really sassy which has cost her a few of her jobs.

  Skeeter is a 23-year-old white woman. She is best friends with the woman that Aibileen works for and is in a high society group. As the story progresses, she becomes distant to the "safe zone" of her community as she realizes how wrong her friends treat their maids. One thing that really struck Skeeter is that her friends wanted to get a colored bathroom for Aibileen so they don't get "diseases that they carry." Skeeter is an aspiring writer and once she gets to know Aibileen after being assisted for a house cleaning column, she learns about a book that Treelore was working on. He was going to write a book about his experience of working and his white boss. This gives Skeeter the idea to write a novel filled with interviews with colored maids on their real thought on working for white families. This is very dangerous but Skeeter is passionate about it because she wants people to know the truth. Aibileen knows this is a very dangerous task and says no in the beginning. Though still hesitant, she later on agrees on it and tries to convince Minny as well. Minny says no multiple of times but also says yes later on. In the chapters that I'm on, Minny is very sassy towards Skeeter and doesn't participate as much as Aibileen. I think what Skeeter is doing is very reckless but great. I hope things work out well for her and the maids but I know something bad will happen.

Skeeter, Minny, and Aibileen from the 2011 film, The Help

   Skeeter went to the library to get Aibileen some books because that is something Aibileen wanted for awhile but it's not allowed. Since she is helping Skeeter out with the interviews, it's the least she could do. One part that stuck out to me was when Skeeter was browsing for some books, "I spot a single copy of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. I grab it, excited to deliver it to Aibileen, but when I open it, I see the middle section has been ripped out. Inside, someone has written 'nigger book' in purple crayon. I am not as disturbed by the words as by the fact that the handwriting looks like a third grader's." I think the reason she was disturbed at the fact that it was a child's handwriting more than the words themselves is because children are being influenced by their surroundings. No one is born racist. This child may not even know what the n-word is. This reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird when Francis would tell Scout that Atticus is a n-lover. Neither of them knew what that meant but Francis must have heard it from his parents. Children just know that its offensive but don't really understand what those words really meant.