The Help, a New York Times bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett, has stirred up quite a lot of disputes over the years. The novel gives light onto a subject that has been hidden for quite some time- mistreatment of African American women working as maids for white households in the 1960’s. Though disturbing, Stockett effectively spreads awareness onto this issue and successfully created an arousal in its discussion which spread like wildfire by creating a novel that depicted the life of maids living in Jackson, Mississippi. But what sparked her interest in this subject, and why write about it when she did? Stockett began writing The Help in New York only days following the attacks of 9/11. She was able to combine the “post-traumatic consciousness”
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While searching for an editor, “Stockett insisted on keeping the language of the African American characters distinct from that of the whites” (Pearl McHaney, 82), because having the maids such as Aibileen and Minny speak the same way as characters such as Hilly Holbrook and even Skeeter Phelan, would be unrealistic. By using different forms of dialect, quite similar to Twain's use in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Stockett is able to convey the idea that separation was so vital in this society, because no matter what the subject is, African Americans were living different lives from whites, in this case they were unable to receive a decent education or even use the same public library (Stockett, …show more content…
Seen throughout the novel, examples of this dominance include when Skeeter was applying for a job and recognized that the same job was offered for males with a pay of “fifty cents more an hour” (Stockett, 69) along with Minny Jackson's multiple beatings from her husband. Though discrete and at times minor details, this male dominance represents another part of American culture during this time
While searching for an editor, “Stockett insisted on keeping the language of the African American characters distinct from that of the whites” (Pearl McHaney, 82), because having the maids such as Aibileen and Minny speak the same way as characters such as Hilly Holbrook and even Skeeter Phelan, would be unrealistic. By using different forms of dialect, quite similar to Twain's use in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Stockett is able to convey the idea that separation was so vital in this society, because no matter what the subject is, African Americans were living different lives from whites, in this case they were unable to receive a decent education or even use the same public library (Stockett, …show more content…
Seen throughout the novel, examples of this dominance include when Skeeter was applying for a job and recognized that the same job was offered for males with a pay of “fifty cents more an hour” (Stockett, 69) along with Minny Jackson's multiple beatings from her husband. Though discrete and at times minor details, this male dominance represents another part of American culture during this time