The Help
By: Kathryn Stockett
Overview:
In Jackson ,Mississippi, it's the social norm to have black maids raise white ladies children, but when Skeeter Phelan returns from college to her hometown with dreams to become a writer she takes the position of a writer for housekeeping advice column in the paper. Not knowing a thing about cleaning, she starts talking to her friends maid, Aibileen. As they become closer skeeter gets an opportunity from a publisher in new york to write about the true stories of these southern domestic servants. After reading the jim crow laws she is absolutely disgusted and decides to interview abileen, who is the only maid who agrees at first. They start to secretly meet at ablieens house with caution in fear of being caught, and soon other maids open up about their stories. One of them is Minny, a quick tempered maid who speaks her mind. Skeeter soon opens her perspective of the prejudice ways of her upbringing in the south. Her book is soon published anonymously with fake names, but the white women of jackson soon begin to recognize their own stories in the book. Even Skeeters best friend Hilly Holbrook is hell bent on revenge when she realizes the books contents, but is ultimately silenced due to the stories details about herself. The book itself gives a voice to the black maids of Jackson as the state of Mississippi begins to see the line between black and white. |