The help exposé

The Help

Title : The Help

Author : Kathryn Stockett

Genre : Historical fiction

Main characters :

• Miss Skeeter Phelan is the character narrating a majority of the story. She is college educated and an aspiring journalist. Though she begins the story as an insider and friend to Hilly Holbrook, Skeeter becomes an outcast because of her social views and her unwillingness to go along with Hilly on her separate restroom initiative.

• Aibileen is a maid and a writer who agrees to help Skeeter write a book of stories of colored maids and their experiences working for white families. Aibileen narrates sections of The Help and functions as a mediator between Miss Skeeter and the other maids who agree to participate in the book project. Aibileen is a considerate caretaker of children, though her own son has died.

• Minny is another maid. She speaks her mind more freely than any other character, with the possible exception of Miss Hilly. Minny experiences a great deal of hardship over the novel. This makes Minny the most dynamic character in the book, in a position not only to change herself but to change others.

• Hilly Holbrook is the antagonist of The Help. Once the best friend to Miss Skeeter, Hilly runs rampant over her former friend and any one else who would dare to get in her way. She is a brattish (grossiere) woman. Though she truly loves her children, she cannot see her way to a compassion that extends beyond her own narrow interests.

Setting :

The Help is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi and told primarily from the first-person perspectives of three women: Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan.

Themes : 6 themes but I only choose 3

• Race and Racism

Racism manifests in the lives of the black maids in a number of ways: they are denied opportunities for educational or professional advancement, they perform repetitive work for white families, they must curtail their speech to prevent violence, and they must use separate facilities. Perhaps most damaging of all, black people are constantly exposed to social messages telling them that they are dirty, lazy, and in all respects less than white people.

Even the way the book is written remind back to this central theme.  

The Help also suggests that it is possible to cross this racial divide. In addition to anecdotes about rude or abusive employers, we hear stories of maids who have very close relationships with the white families for whom they work. Through her efforts to be a mouthpiece for the black maids of Jackson, Skeeter develops a close friendship with Aibileen and Minny. It's possible, through effort and understanding, to begin to heal the wounds of racism.

• Mothers and Daughters

Mothers and daughters have difficult but deeply loving relationships. The Help examines several different types of mother-daughter relationships.

Elizabeth Leefolt has a strained relationship with her mother, who is aloof and demanding; she continues this unhealthy dynamic by being neglectful and critical of her own daughter, Mae Mobley. There's also an indication that mother-daughter relationships are not necessarily dependent on blood ties. For example, Aibileen acts as a mother to Mae Mobley, not only taking care of her day-to-day needs but also teaching her to be kind to others and to always have respect for herself.

Skeeter has a difficult but loving relationship with her mother, who is constantly pressuring her daughter to dress better and catch a man. Skeeter later discovers that this critical edge is tempered by love; her mother has cancer, and she wants to make sure her daughter has a good life after she is gone. Though Skeeter's mother often bosses her daughter, she also stands up for her at critical moments, such as during her conflicts with Hilly and Stuart.

• A Writer's Life

What does it mean to be a writer? The journey to publish the book is not an easy one. After an initial stroke of luck in catching Elaine Stein's attention, Skeeter struggles to develop her ideas, conduct interviews, write the book, and find a publisher. Each step is fraught with difficulties; for example, she must complete the book in only a few weeks in order to send it in for the annual editor's meeting. Skeeter spends many long nights typing until her hands are covered with ink and paper cuts, but she ultimately prevails.

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