The Help

The Help is a novel by Kathryn Stockett. It is set in 1962 when segregation was large in the South. The story involves a maid and her experiences with raising 17 children in Jackson, Mississippi. A movie has been made in it's honor.



Author: Kathryn Stockett
'Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, where she brought the setting to this novel. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and creative writing. She worked in New York City in magazine publishing for 16 years. The Help was her first novel, which took her five years to write. She was married once, but recently got divorced in 2011. She now lives in Atlanta and has one daughter.'

Setting: Jackson, Mississippi
'In the 1960's, Mississippi was one of the poorest states in the nation. It was during the civil rights movement so blacks and whites were very segregated. Blacks were allowed to vote, although, whites insisted they didn't. So many feared voting because some could easily loose their jobs. '

Genre: Fiction
'Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locals is entirely coincidental. Fiction is something invented by the imagination. The Help is a novel.'

Plot Summary
The Help is about a woman named Aibileen. She is the narrator of the novel. She has taken care of seventeen children, although, Mae Mobley has a very special place in her heart. Aibileen has practically raised her as her own. Skeeter moved back to Jackson Mississippi. One day at Elizabeth Leefolt's house, Mae's mother, Skeeter asks Aibileen how she feels about the way she is treated as a colored maid. Skeeter is concerned with the separations of the whites and blacks. Aibileen and skeeter eventually agree to work on writing a book together. They begin to try and recruit other maids to share their stories of how they are being treated in Jackson. The book is published and becomes a big hit! People discover that Skeeter was the one to write the book and life quickly becomes harder for her so she takes a job in New York. Aibileen gets fired from her job as a maid so she takes the money from her book and starts a new life.

Characters

 * Aibileen - She is the narrator in The Help. She is a maid for white people and has raised 17 children. She contibutes in the writing of The Help.
 * Skeeter - She also helps write the Help. She is a 23 year old white woman. She was raised by a maid named Constantine.
 * Minny Jackson - Minny is Aibileen's best friend. She also is a maid and is employed to a white person.
 * Mae Mobley - Mae is the daughter of Elizabeth Leefolt. Although, Aibileen practically raises her as her own.
 * Hilly - Hilly is not a very pleasant character. She comes off as a nice woman because she gives to charity and such, but really she'll stop at nothing to ruin the black community.
 * Elizabeth Leefolt - She is the boss of Aibileen and is a terrible mother to Mae. She may not be the wealthiest white woman but she tries hard to fit in.
 * Constantine Bates - She is Skeeter's old maid who helped raise her as a child. Her ending is unfortunate.
 * Celia - She is Minny's boss. She is Johnny’s wife so she is instantly placed with the elite group of people.
 * Lulabelle - She is Constantine's daughter. she can pass for a white child so is put up for adoption.
 * Yule May Crookie- She can’t get enough money to pay for her sons college so she steals something of Hilly’s and is thrown in jail.

Author's Style
'The novel is told in first person from Aibileen's point of view. The author, Kathryn Stockett, uses bad grammar to illustrate Aibileen's accent and lack of education. For example, "By the time she a year old, Mae Mobley following me around everywhere I go." said Aibileen. Obviously, this is the way that the colored spoke. '

Setting
The Novel starts off in Elizabeth Leefolt's home where Aibileen is employed as a maid. It moves to different homes as Aibileen and Skeeter begin to write the Help and listen to the stories of other maids living in Jackson Mississippi. It was during the 1960s so life for African Americans was tough. Aibileen describes Jackson in the book as: "So Jackson's just one white neighborhood after the next and more springing up down the road. But the colored part of town, we one big anthill, surrounded by state land that ain't for sale. As our numbers get bigger, we can't spread out. Our part of town just gets thicker." As you can see, Mississippi was not the best place to live during this time.

Themes

 * Racism - During the 1960’s, when this book takes place, segregation was big in Mississippi. Miss Hilly was the worst character when it came to racism and she tried very hard to ruin the black community.
 * Women's rights - Women were always told they belong in the kitchen. All of the maids in Jackson came together to contribute to the writing of The Help.

Symbols
'' This symbols the hatred that black maids have for Hilly. It shows how much they must despise her enough to feel like they must make a pie made of poop for her to eat. ''
 *  The Pie 

'' When Skeeter hears the preacher on the radio in the kitchen that Aibileen’s in, it really brings back memories of her maid, Constantine. So she begins to question Aibileen.''
 *  The radio 

'' Hilly won’t loan her maid money to pay for her sons college so she steals a ring from her which turns out to be worthless but she gets thrown in jail anyways. It shows the true cruelty of Hilly. ''
 *  Miss Hilly's Ring 

Significance of the Opening/Closing Scenes
Opening Scene: The opening scene is basically describing how awkward Elizabeth feels with her own child and how she is a bad mother. It demonstrates the experience and good qualities Aibileen has when it comes to taking care of children. She has to raise Elizabeth’s child because she is not fully capable.

Closing Scene: Aibileen is fired from her job and the last scene is her leaving her old life to find a new one. She is fired from her job as a maid at The Leefolt’s household. It is extremely emotional and sad because she has to leave Mae Mobley behind. But she has to brave up and take on a new beginning.

Memorable Quotes
''Skeeter is basically asking Aibileen how she feels about her life as a maid. She is concerned about how upset the segregation may make her.''
 * "Do you ever wish you could... change things?" (page 12)

Skeeter is angry with her mother because she lied about what happened to her old maid Constantine, who practically raised her.
 * "Mother, she raised me. You tell me right now what happened." (page 197) 

''Skeeter is smiling to her self as the Preacher Green's sermon plays on the radio. She obviously has happy memories with her.''
 * "That reminds me so much of my maid growing up."(page 11)

''Aibileen has a lot of concern for the children and she loves them all. ''
 * "I just..I want things to be better for the kids," I say "but it's a sorry fact that it's a white woman doing this."(page 255)