The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
PLOT
Kathryn Stockett tells the story of three ordinary women, Ms. Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny, during 1962, Mississippi. Each women comes from different backgrounds, Ms. Skeeter is a white, twenty-two-year-old, who just become college graduate. While most of her friends dropped out to start a family of their own, Skeeter isn't looking towards settling down just yet and is returning home in search of starting her writing career, while finding something greater for her life. Aibileen is a black maid, raising her seventeenth white child. She has been a maid since was fourteen, and has many years experience of being a help. After the tragic death of her only son, Aibileen has changed and come to accept the outcome of the situation by trying to readjust herself into the daily life of being a help. Minny, Aibileen's best-friend, is also a black maid. Minny struggles to get back on her feet after being fired by her previous boss, Mrs. Hilly, for rumors of being a theft and stealing household items. With a reputation like that floating around town is bad enough, but it becomes a bigger obstacle for her to get a job.This group of women come together to create a secret project that can possibly put them at risk to harm and cruelty of the community or bring them success through the stories the share. With a lot at stake, these three women take the risk anyway to break free from the suffocating lines that define their town and their era.
The best aspect of this book has to be the plots structure. Stockett writes the book from a first-person perspective of the three women. Each perspective always intertwines and may even give more depth into another characters plot. I really enjoyed this part of the book because it adds a nice touch to transitions with another woman's perspective of daily life. It didn't make the transitions awkward or leave me lost at certain points because Stockett always found a way to fill in for what either previously happened or what may happen next. For example, Skeeter was asking Aibileen about a certain maid that used to work for her family, Constantine. Readers are placed in this situation in particular more than once. We see this scene through the perspective of Ms. Skeeter constantly questioning and conflicting feelings for the absence of Constantine. While the Abilene, fears for Skeeter asking all these questions and holding back to giving her a true answer.
What was the most difficult or most irritating aspect of this book?
This most difficult and irritating aspect of this book was Ms. Hilly taking the role of the villain throughout the story. As the story progressed I began to build a personal grudge against her and the cruel things she did to Minny and Aibileen and her once good friend Skeeter. For example, after publishing the project the women worked so hard to complete, some stories and testimonies in the project were actual true stories by the maids themselves. When Ms. Hilly found a snippet of a story about herself, she went mad. Although she could not bring Aibileen, and Minny to jail, she ended up just getting her revenge. Ms. Hilly got Aibileen fired from her seventeenth home claiming that she too stole some of her silver. Ms. Hilly gets Leroy, Minny's husband, fired from his job and blames it all on Minny. Leroy attempts to kill Minny, until Minny takes her children and leaves Leroy behind.
Who do you think the intended audience is for this book? Why do you think this? Are you included in that intended audience?
There is no intended audience for this book. I saw this because any person reading this book can enjoy what it has to offer. Immediately, from the first lines of the beginning of the book, Stockett takes you back to 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi. The book offers lots of funny, sad, triumphant, and disappointing moments, but in the end any reader will be cheering for the main characters as they go through this invigorating journey of completing their secret but special project.
Given that audience, how effective do you think this book is? Rate it on a scale of 1 (not at all to your liking) and 10 (right up your alley). Why this rating?
I would give this book an 9. Stockett does such a wonderful job of intertwining real live events from the 1960's and civil rights period, but also keeping attention to her own story she wants to share with readers. The help leaves you feeling empowered and gives you drive to make change. This is deffinetley a book that many people can re-read over again and again.
REVIEW/QUESTIONNAIRE
What was the best aspect of this book? (Plot, structure, characterization, themes, motifs, tone, writing style, and so on.) Why do you think this? Elaborate and provide some examples. The best aspect of this book has to be the plots structure. Stockett writes the book from a first-person perspective of the three women. Each perspective always intertwines and may even give more depth into another characters plot. I really enjoyed this part of the book because it adds a nice touch to transitions with another woman's perspective of daily life. It didn't make the transitions awkward or leave me lost at certain points because Stockett always found a way to fill in for what either previously happened or what may happen next. For example, Skeeter was asking Aibileen about a certain maid that used to work for her family, Constantine. Readers are placed in this situation in particular more than once. We see this scene through the perspective of Ms. Skeeter constantly questioning and conflicting feelings for the absence of Constantine. While the Abilene, fears for Skeeter asking all these questions and holding back to giving her a true answer.
What was the most difficult or most irritating aspect of this book?
This most difficult and irritating aspect of this book was Ms. Hilly taking the role of the villain throughout the story. As the story progressed I began to build a personal grudge against her and the cruel things she did to Minny and Aibileen and her once good friend Skeeter. For example, after publishing the project the women worked so hard to complete, some stories and testimonies in the project were actual true stories by the maids themselves. When Ms. Hilly found a snippet of a story about herself, she went mad. Although she could not bring Aibileen, and Minny to jail, she ended up just getting her revenge. Ms. Hilly got Aibileen fired from her seventeenth home claiming that she too stole some of her silver. Ms. Hilly gets Leroy, Minny's husband, fired from his job and blames it all on Minny. Leroy attempts to kill Minny, until Minny takes her children and leaves Leroy behind.
Who do you think the intended audience is for this book? Why do you think this? Are you included in that intended audience?
There is no intended audience for this book. I saw this because any person reading this book can enjoy what it has to offer. Immediately, from the first lines of the beginning of the book, Stockett takes you back to 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi. The book offers lots of funny, sad, triumphant, and disappointing moments, but in the end any reader will be cheering for the main characters as they go through this invigorating journey of completing their secret but special project.
Given that audience, how effective do you think this book is? Rate it on a scale of 1 (not at all to your liking) and 10 (right up your alley). Why this rating?
I would give this book an 9. Stockett does such a wonderful job of intertwining real live events from the 1960's and civil rights period, but also keeping attention to her own story she wants to share with readers. The help leaves you feeling empowered and gives you drive to make change. This is deffinetley a book that many people can re-read over again and again.
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