In The Help by Kathryn Stockett the reader is quick to realize that Minny Jackson is not to be messed with. Minny is not a person to have as an enemy. Minny’s sharp tongue provides comic relief to the novel but also plays an important role in the development of Minny’s character. It is revealed to the reader through Minny Jackson’s thoughts that she is categorized and labeled by her harsh mouth and carries insecurities hidden under her confident and unbreakable shell. Stocket also reveals through the thoughts and words of other characters that Minny is looked highly upon in as an unbelievable cook, a dedicated maid, and a protective mother.
Minny had to leave her school education behind as an eighth grader to help financially support her …show more content…
Leroy leaves Minny vulnerable and defenseless. Leroy even justifies his abuse by saying Minny would be a mess if he did not continue to physically abuse her (485). Since Minny is the main source of income for her family, Leroy becomes furious when she loses any job because of her mouth. Without a steady income for the family, Leroy can not afford any booze to feed his addiction and abuse of alcohol. His alcoholism is a major source of his abuse towards Minny. Leroy’s abuse take a major turn for the worse after he loses his job. Minny thinks about Leroy’s abuse, “He won’t touch the kids. He’ll yell, but that’s what fathers are supposed to do” (483). This implies that Leroy has never laid a hand on one of his children out of anger or frustration, but possibly as a justified and fatherly punishment. Towards the end of the novel we observe a change in Leroy’s physical abuse. Minny takes shelter at a nearby gas station after running away from Leroy and tells Aibileen over the phone, “He throw the kids in the yard and lock me in the bathroom and say he gone light the house on fire with me locked inside!” (514). This quote shows us that Leroy laid a hand on the kids out of anger for the first time. He also gets so worked up about losing his job he is
Minny had to leave her school education behind as an eighth grader to help financially support her …show more content…
Leroy leaves Minny vulnerable and defenseless. Leroy even justifies his abuse by saying Minny would be a mess if he did not continue to physically abuse her (485). Since Minny is the main source of income for her family, Leroy becomes furious when she loses any job because of her mouth. Without a steady income for the family, Leroy can not afford any booze to feed his addiction and abuse of alcohol. His alcoholism is a major source of his abuse towards Minny. Leroy’s abuse take a major turn for the worse after he loses his job. Minny thinks about Leroy’s abuse, “He won’t touch the kids. He’ll yell, but that’s what fathers are supposed to do” (483). This implies that Leroy has never laid a hand on one of his children out of anger or frustration, but possibly as a justified and fatherly punishment. Towards the end of the novel we observe a change in Leroy’s physical abuse. Minny takes shelter at a nearby gas station after running away from Leroy and tells Aibileen over the phone, “He throw the kids in the yard and lock me in the bathroom and say he gone light the house on fire with me locked inside!” (514). This quote shows us that Leroy laid a hand on the kids out of anger for the first time. He also gets so worked up about losing his job he is