Examples Of Stereotypes In The Help

In the novel entitled, The Help, race is a socially constructed concept. Jackson, Mississippi is an extremely segregated society where the majority of the white population creates rules that try to differentiate blacks from whites. However, there are a group of white individuals that stand for equality, which in turn could lead to danger amongst each other. Although Mississippi is the setting, seemingly different women joined together to change the way coloured maids were viewed. They set aside the false stereotypes of black individuals as well as white and spoke against it. After critically analyzing the relationships in the novel by Kathryn Stockett, it is evident that unity and parenting defy the stereotypes in regards to racism.
Unity is the state of being united or joined as a whole which the characters clearly exemplify. Minny Jackson, one of the maids that had spoken out against the injustice was neither submissive nor quiet.

Aibileen Clark definitely plays the parenting figure in Mae Mobley’s life, the child she cares for. Aibileen knows that the loving relationship could hurt them both but she does it regardless. She loves and cares for Mae Mobley as if she were own, despite the colour of her skin. It became a part of Aibileen’s routine to tell Mae Mobley, “You a smart girl. You a kind girl,”(Stockett 107), and keep saying it until Mae Mobley would repeat it back to her. Her mother constantly rejects her so she turns to Aibileen for comfort. Aibileen knows people are not born racist; it is something they are taught to be. They are taught to think, “coloured folks ain’t as good as whites,” (Stockett 112). Considering this, Aibileen’s desire is to teach Mae Mobley lessons everyday about racial equality and to love herself. Aibileen tries to break the ideas that are taught and passed generation to generation. She tries to influence Mae Mobley into understanding the unequal world of