In her novel, “The Help,” Kathryn Stockett paints a vivid picture of the struggles of black maids working in white households in Jackson, Miss. in the early 1960s.
Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson devote their lives to raising white children and cleaning for white women to make a living for their families. Ironically, they have to leave their own children at home to essentially raise themselves.
Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is a recent college graduate who comes back home to find her cherished maid, Constantine, gone without any explanation from her parents.
Stockett uses the perspective of these three women throughout her novel to guide the reader through the story from the viewpoint of both blacks and whites.
In the end, all three women have one common goal: to bring into light the truths, both good and bad, about being a maid and to give a voice to those who are usually voiceless. They do this by putting together a book of collected stories told by the black maids in the community.
Through this unlikely collaboration, readers witness these characters break down racial barriers to bring hope to the black community in Jackson. They put their differences aside and learn to trust, respect and eventually love each other. In addition, Skeeter not only breaks down racial barriers but breaks down her own personal barriers so that she can pursue her dream of becoming a writer.
This humorous, although eye-opening, novel is hard to follow at first because Stockett uses the syntax of a thick southern drawl during Aibileen’s narrative. In the end, the reader comes to appreciate Stockett’s choice to do so because the writing style helps immerse the reader in the culture of the deep south.
A page turner for sure, readers develop a personal relationship with the characters that encourages them to read more to discover what the Jackson community’s response is to the controversial book they publish.
Hannah Burner is a fourth-year student majoring in English with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at HB674784@wcupa.edu.