Character Analysis: The Help

Prompt 4 Independent Reading Essay 4

“A bill the requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the colored help. I’ve even notified the surgeon general of Mississippi to see if he’ll endorse the idea” (Stockett 9). In the 524 historical fiction novel, The Help by Kathryn Stockett the year is 1962 and Skeeter, a white southern girl comes back from college with the hope of becoming a writer. She chooses to interview African American women who have spent most if not all of their lives taking care and raising white children. At first only one maid, Aibileen speaks up who happens to be Skeeter’s best friends housekeeper. However, after they work together for a little while more housekeepers come forward to share their stories and thoughts.

‘First, But I don’t know any others well enough’ I am tempted to bring up the word friends, but I’m not that naïve. I know we’re not friends” (Stockett 109). This was said by Skeeter to Aibileen. After interviewing and getting to know Aibileen a bit better, Skeeter begins to feel closer to her. Next, “‘And Miss Skeeter asking don’t I want to change things, like changing Jackson, Mississippi, gone be like changing a lightbulb’’ (Stockett 24). This shows Aibileen talking about her interview with Skeeter and how Skeeter acts, or says the changing how things are in society or daily life for Aibileen is as easy as changing a lightbulb but it wouldn’t be this easy because of the time in history. Lastly, ’“Go shopping…get some new clothes. Go do whatever white women do when the maid’s home” (Stockett 51). Minny is talking to Miss Celia and describes how she has to do whatever the white women ask or want like go shopping for them. This also shows the the history affects Minny’s motivation because she runs errands for the white women she worked for. As shown above because of the time in history, Skeeter decides to interview Black women, Aibileen does not think it’s possible to change how things are in society, and Minny does whatever the white women tell her to

“‘All these houses they’re building without maid’s quarters? It’s just plain dangerous. Everybody knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do’” (Stockett 8). Hilly Holbrook is one of the main privileged white ladies in the book. She is also the one who came up with the idea about Housekeepers having separate bathrooms from everyone else. The history plays a role in her behavior because if this was today where people today think everyone is equal situations like these wouldn’t happen. She is racist and treats her Housekeeper Minny badly. In one part of the book, Minny goes into the white bathroom and flushes the toilet without sitting down. She did this knowing she would get fired. To sum it up, Hilly Holbrook and other white privileged women treated their housekeepers