Characters & Plot:
The Help takes place throughout the 1960’s in pre civil rights movement Jackson Mississippi(5). The main story is about a socially awkward yet well educated young woman named Eugenia Phelan aka skeeter who after taking her first job ever as a cleaning column lady decides to ask Aibileen, a kindhearted colored house maid, for help(35). A couple of awkward meetings later Aibileen finally opens up and tells skeeter about her son's dying wish to publish a book filled with black interviews. Upon hearing this skeeter gets the idea to write a book about how colored maids feel about working for the white folk of Jackson Mississippi. At first Aibileen is reluctant to help on account of her safety as a colored women talking about white folks however after a powerful sermon from her pastor and the cruelty of Miss Hilly Holbrook, a mean and vicious yet somewhat misunderstood white lady who happens to be the main antagonist in the book, Aibileen decides to help with the book. Skeeter started interviewing Aibileen however getting other maids to participate was the biggest struggle throughout the book however with the help of Minny Jackson and her terrible, awful, no good deed(76) they were able to get more maids and publish the book with the help of Miss Stein, a publishing agent in New York.
The Help takes place throughout the 1960’s in pre civil rights movement Jackson Mississippi(5). The main story is about a socially awkward yet well educated young woman named Eugenia Phelan aka skeeter who after taking her first job ever as a cleaning column lady decides to ask Aibileen, a kindhearted colored house maid, for help(35). A couple of awkward meetings later Aibileen finally opens up and tells skeeter about her son's dying wish to publish a book filled with black interviews. Upon hearing this skeeter gets the idea to write a book about how colored maids feel about working for the white folk of Jackson Mississippi. At first Aibileen is reluctant to help on account of her safety as a colored women talking about white folks however after a powerful sermon from her pastor and the cruelty of Miss Hilly Holbrook, a mean and vicious yet somewhat misunderstood white lady who happens to be the main antagonist in the book, Aibileen decides to help with the book. Skeeter started interviewing Aibileen however getting other maids to participate was the biggest struggle throughout the book however with the help of Minny Jackson and her terrible, awful, no good deed(76) they were able to get more maids and publish the book with the help of Miss Stein, a publishing agent in New York.
The Help :
a story where love and hate intertwine in a never ending heart
Intense love and deep hate are extremely present in the book. In the book it is so difficult to not end up falling in love with a character you just hated not to long ago. While the book is Based in a society where children are taught since elementary school to hate one another just because of their race and you think that there is nothing good in the story at all however we see the love counteract the hate in the most beautiful way possible. While we see and feel the deep rooted hate between the white men who blinded the poor African American boy just because he used the wrong bathroom(78) we also see and feel the love between Aibileen and Mae Mobley(1). We see the love when Aibileen takes baby girl in her arms every day and
Tells her that even though her mother mis treats her it's not her fault and that she is kind, she is smart, and she is important(24). We also see this when she takes Mae Mobley aside for their special stories where Aibileen teaches her about love and acceptance. And finally while we see the hate and mistrust from Miss hilly Holbrook towards the colored maids in town with her home help sanitation initiative(10) we also see the love between Miss Celia foote and her maid minny who at first had no regard for miss Celia however after the miscarriage Minny quickly opens up and becomes Celia’s confidant(267) The book goes on to prove that even in the darkest of moments love will always win. When the book was finally published and Miss hilly starts telling people to fire their maids one lady decided to stick up for what's right. One of the most touching moments in the entire book is when Lou Ann Templeton ,one of the ladies in hilly’s circle, calls skeeter over telling Skeeter that Hilly tried to get her to fire her maid Louvenia. But Lou Anne loves Louvenia and will never fire her she goes on to say that sometimes louvenia is the only thing that keeps her going on her worst days(381) She also goes on to tell Skeeter that she admires the book. This sentiment proves that no matter where you are or who you are you will always have a choice to either show love or be hateful. Constantine, skeeters maid, always told skeeter that every morning till the day you die you gonna have to decide am I gonna believe in what those fools say about me today(31)? And so yes the help is a book where love and hate intertwin to create an amazing book.