Major Events In The Help Essay

Superior Essays
4. What are 5 major events that took place in The Help? The first major event I 'm going to talk about from the novel is when Aibileen agrees to tell her story to Skeeter. This is significant, for it represents a willingness to speak the truth despite her fear. Aibileen is also instrumental in convincing Minnie to tell her story to Skeeter; once Minnie talks, the other maids begin talking, too.
Another important moment is when Hilly humiliates Skeeter in front of the League. This one act changes up how all the white women in town treat Skeeter and sets up a kind of tension between them which requires an over-the-top repayment: toilets all over Hilly 's lawn and a book which cryptically reveals that Hilly once ate human refuse.
Celia hiring Minnie is another important event in the novel, as it allows Minnie to discover that a white woman and a black woman can maintain a successful relationship and even, eventually, friendship. They love and respect one another, something which is not the norm here; they also share a disdain for Hilly which brings them both
…show more content…
Elizabeth refers to her baby daughter as "it" and this detail hints at the work Aibileen will later do to counteract Elizabeth 's lack of care for Mae Mobley. The use of "it" is followed by Aibileen 's realization that "something is wrong with this situation." This statement foreshadows the full disclosure of Elizabeth 's lack of warmth. Also in the first chapter, Hilly mentions her initiative to have separate restrooms put into all the houses where African American help is employed. The mention of the initiative foreshadows two things. First, this foreshadows the construction of the restroom in the Leefolt house. Secondly, this foreshadows the dynamic which will dominate the narrative where Hilly 's opinions antagonize those who disagree with

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Celia had feelings for another Slave that was on Newsom’s farm named George. Because of this, Celia killed Newsom as a result of warning him to stop having…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Elizabeth had no idea what exactly was going on, one can only imagine what she had gone through as she sat there on that bench listening to everyone’s racial comments. From the book, it…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abigail Schaefer Mr Lucasko Honors Social Studies II August, 27th 2015 Coming of Age in Mississippi Summary and Historical Analysis In Anne Moody’s memoir Coming of Age in Mississippi, Civil Rights plays a large role. Majority of the story takes place in Mississippi during the 1940’s ,with a young girl no older than four or five,named Essie Mae(Later known as Anne Mae). Essie Mae lived on a plantation owned by a man with the name Mr. Carter. She lived with her mother, father, and younger siblings Adline and Junior.…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Parallelism involves the use of a variety of types of information, including difference between characters. Stockett uses a parallelism as a technique to illustrate that characters contrasted each other. Although Minny also discriminated by other white people in some public services, there is a difference between Hilly's treatment towards Minny and Celia's treatment. Hilly treats Minny in a rude way she is not only accused Minny of stealing, but also she started the rumors. She has been telling people that Minny is a thief.…

    • 2154 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    African American Maids

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the book, The Help Miss Skeeter and Aibileen have an unyielding bond even though Miss Skeeter is white and Aibileen is African-American. Miss Skeeter lives at home with her mother and father and writes an article for the Junior League. Aibileen lives by herself and works for Elizabeth Leefolt. Aibileen has been working for white families all her life and has raised seventeen children. Aibileen is raising her eighteenth and nineteenth child who is Mae Mobley and Raleigh.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jackson, Mississippi was full of injustices in the 1960s. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is a young, white, and inspiring writer that wants to write a book exposing the maltreatment of the help by using their experiences. She receives assistance from Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson along with a few others to generate enough stories for the book. The Help was written by Kathryn Stockett and published in 2008.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    but she’s not use to a white woman wanting to eat with her so when Celia sits down with her, her first thought is to sit her I the dining room but she refuses to go in there and says she is sitting with her in the kitchen. Celia expresses her gratitude for Minnie being there but Minnie says that she says she has to tell her husband before he finds out on his…

    • 1424 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In society there are the people that stand up for what they believe in, and there are people that are scared to stand up for what they believe in. In To Kill Mockingbird and The Help, both Scout and Skeeter demonstrate the quality of showing respect for their beliefs. Skeeter lives during the 1960 's, A time where discrimination is at an all-time high. For example most whites lived in huge houses and had a lot of money while African-Americans lived very poor and were working as the whites maids. While Skeeter is in her early 20s, Scout is just starting her life as a young girl.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Soon enough both daughters became very aware of the relationship between Celia and their father. Due to the explanation of the relationship it gives a clue to the daughters that the relationship between both Celia and their father is a reality. Yet they still could not have a say so, or do anything to prevent the sexual abuse from happening. On Celia’s behalf she still continued and begged for Newsom to leave her alone, but he did not mind her words. Even when Celia threaten her master of the fact that she would hurt him, Newsom did not take any offense from a slave girl.…

    • 1531 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Oppressive love is a Venus Fly Trap; getting too close to it will eventually cause the plant to snatch the victim with its beautifully dangerous traps. Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God explores the journey of Janie Crawford, a southern black woman struggling to be set free from oppression. While marriage should be based on love and affection, Janie’s marriages are based on submission. Because of this abusive love, Janie loses her self-image while yielding to the needs of others.…

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stereotypes In The Help

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Regarding the book “The Help” in 1960’s stereotype was definitely a big issue. It started in the beginning of the story when the author Minny Jackson, used the bathroom in a white colored family’s home. This was the first sign of segregation; African American people were not a loud to sit on the toilet. Aibileen Clark, is a black woman who cleaned and who took very care of a white child in a white family home. Skeeter, is a white woman who soon realized, that white people were treated differently in the work place than African American women.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” ~Rosa Parks. The roots of racism have passed down through generations because parents force their children to follow racial traditions in order for them to continue those norms for future generations.…

    • 1529 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Skeeter In The Help

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The film, The Help directed by Tate Taylor is about a determined story to make a change in black civil rights in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter, is a main character who was influenced by others to stand up for the purpose of black civil rights. Skeeter is a young, self-motivated and successful woman, who has the aspirations to be an excellent writer. She is quite different from her friends, as she has a different view on the racism and civil rights of the black maids. She is strongly influenced by the black maids, Aibileen and Minnie to write a book to create awareness of their mistreatment.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Help is a movie that was adopted from Kathryn Stockett’s novel by the same name. The film takes place during the 1960s in the seemingly bright and blooming town of Jackson, Mississippi, however as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that beneath this town lays a depressing world of prejudice, hate, and separation. The story of the film is being told from three different women’s perspectives: Skeeter Phelan, Aibileen Clark, and Minny Jackson. The film’s protagonist, Skeeter, is a young white woman that just recently graduated from college and dreams of being a published writer going so far as to contact one of the biggest publishers in New York. As the plot progresses, it becomes clear that Skeeter doesn’t fit into this small town Jackson…

    • 1214 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Help “The Help” was a move that took place in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s. It was based on discrimination and segregation of Black people. It describes how the Blacks were mistreated due to the color of their skin. It was during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. This movie is an eyeopener to some of the profiling that Black people had to deal with.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics