ipl-logo

Revenge In Hilly Holbrook's The Help

594 Words3 Pages

Hilly Holbrook’s manipulative and condescending personality shapes her into the main villain of the novel, The Help. Her elite status in the town of Jackson, Mississippi, forces people to conform to her wants, and she punishes anyone who tries to challenge her. Due to her lack of concern for anyone other than herself, she becomes a brutal force against nearly every person she comes approaches. As mentioned in the book, Hilly is the epitome of the white woman stereotype. Aibileen’s analysis of the white women’s form of revenge accurately represents the character of Hilly. Hilly “likes to keep her hands clean” and “takes her time with revenge”; depicting such revenge in her way of punishing Aibileen for participating in writing Help. Cunningly, she waited and plotted for days after initially reading the book on attacking Aibileen. Hilly plots and schemes until she can use her silver service as blackmail and use Elizabeth to intimidatingly confront her. Moreover, revenge also showcases her racism towards African Americans. The relentless nature of her revenge stems from her ideology that black people are unworthy. Hilly feels as though Aibileen was disrespectful to have provoked her since she and her people are so, in her mind, less than and “they carry different kinds of diseases than she does". …show more content…

When it comes to revenge, she has no boundaries. Accordingly, Hilly sent a woman desperately working to send her children to college to jail for years over a worthless ruby ring. While she was aware of how essential Aibileen was to Elizabeth and her children, she put her best friend out of a maid after forcing her to fire Aibileen anyway. Whether it be a stranger or a family member, she is willing to betray anyone. Fully aware of her actions, Hilly disregards the consequences of her actions, harmful or not, due to her lack of

Show More
Related

  • Tom Robinson's Death Essay

    626 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mayella is being coerced into living a lonely and secluded lifestyle, ultimately causing her to crave any and all attention given to her. When Tom began to help Mayella with her everyday chores, it made her feel as if she was in the spotlight. During Mr. Finch’s cross-examination of Mayella, he broaches the subject of her social life, and when he asks her who her friends are, she replies in questioning manner and has no knowledge of the term “friends” (183). Additionally, Bob Ewell’s selfishness drove him to do whatever it takes to leave the lowest class of citizen in Maycomb. However, instead of working for this goal, Bob Ewell took the easy way out, and accused a black man of raping his daughter.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Help And To Kill A Mockingbird

    722 Words  | 3 Pages

    This incident shows the reader that she wants to be taken seriously by her colleagues. It also displays that Hilly deeply treasures her reputation because of her reaction towards the situation. On the other hand, Aunt Alexandra has also shown the reader signs that she values her family’s reputation. In chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra did not allow Scout to play with Walter Cunningham because of his poor background. She said, “Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racism In A Raisin In The Sun

    1584 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Help focuses on the story of a upper class writer that tries to find her social identity as well as others. With help from the maids of Jackson, Mississippi, they all overcome stereotypes and discrimination. Aibileen's story was the foundation idea for Skeeter because she had been through so much in her life that she decided to tell her story. The fact that she was black, and a woman the role of a maid for the upper class families were passed down from generations so she saw her fair share of being looked down upon. Being a part of the Black/African African race, there were certain things

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Forgiveness Analysis

    753 Words  | 4 Pages

    Compassion and forgiveness is not something everyone gives but is something you should give to everyone. Even when they don’t deserve it. Compassion and forgiveness is a theme in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee when Atticus tells Scout not to be angry at the people who are against him, when he defends Bob Ewell’s behavior after the Tom Robinson case, and when Scout saw the world in Boo Radley’s shoes. And in real life, when a woman pardoned a man on the gallows, before he was hung, even though he murdered her son, and a woman forgave two boys that pushed a cart over a railing onto her, causing many injuries When word goes around about Atticus’s decision to try to defend Tom Robinson, Scout becomes irked by everyone who mocks Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. Atticus tells her, “It’s different this time [...]

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried, By Zora Neale Hurston

    1746 Words  | 7 Pages

    Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, attests to the hateful and cruel reality that is the life of African Americans in Jackson, Mississippi circa the 1960’s. Stockett writes many anecdotes surrounding the relationship between Constantine, an African American maid, and the child she cares for, Skeeter. Skeeter reflects upon a memory of Constantine and

    Read More

  • Racial Discrimination In The Secret Life Of Bees

    1440 Words  | 6 Pages

    The act of racial discrimination impacts innocent people's lives in numerous, negative ways; hence why multiple people, worldwide can not tolerate racism and discrimination. The novel written by Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees, displays a wide range of scenarios where racism results in suffering. Rosaleen, a black woman, will never forget how three white men negatively impact her life; she will remain scarred unto death. Also, ever since the racial incident involving April and her twin, May, pain is constantly accompanying April; consequently, she commits suicide. Finally, when May loses April, she endures all the various sufferings of the world, including racial discrimination.

    Read More

  • Change In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1089 Words  | 5 Pages

    Its warmth was enough” (230). She continues to control herself and tries to ignore it. She applies the lesson that Atticus teaches her about keeping her head up and facing a difficult situation with

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Revenge In The Crucible

    388 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play The Crucible, character such as Abigail and Thomas Putnam seek revenge from others, so much so that it becomes and recurring theme throughout the play. The theme of revenge can best be shown through the characters Abigail Williams, Thomas Putnam, and Giles Corey. Abigail Williams, one of the main characters in the play, becomes one to the biggest contenders for the theme of revenge. It is revealed in the beginning of the play that Abigail has committed adultery with John Proctor. This becomes the root of the revenge because Abigail now thinks that “there is promise in such sweat.”

    Read More

  • Act Of Vengeance Analysis

    2126 Words  | 9 Pages

    Vengeance has been an ongoing problem for many centuries. In the long run, with the new generation, they have been following the same pattern to get revenge, without knowing the reasons why. If no one is willing to stop and think it over, to evaluate if it’s worth the risk, then the act of vengeance will be ongoing at the cost of many lives. Many people do not realize that having to avenge the death of a loved one will take so much time and patience in their lives. In the short story, “An Act of Vengeance,” by Isabel Allende, the issue involves a young girl who gets raped by Tadeo Cespedes, whom also killed her father on the same day.

    Read More

  • Hilly Holbrook In The Help

    589 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hilly was also very degrading towards others, and manipulative. “‘Like I’d even consider beating my friend Yule May Crookle out a her job. Miss Hilly think everbody just as two-faced as she is (Stockett 398).’” According to this quote, it is clear to see that Ms. Hilly does not have a good reputation in the black community. In the novel, Ms. Hilly is shown to be cruel to those who oppose her.

    Read More

  • Courage In The Help

    696 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Help (2011) directed by Tate Taylor, is an inspirational, courageous and empowering story about Southern women in the 1960s. It's the story of the help: the black maids of Jackson, Mississippi, and the relationship with their white employers. The central theme of the film is courage, and how the characters embrace courage to overcome obstacles and fight for social justice. Whether it is their ability to deviate from in-group norms, or overcome fear, courage is essential throughout the characters' journeys. In this essay, I will analyse the situations endured by the characters, and how they respond to these situations with courage.

    Read More

  • How Does Miss Maudie Use Moral Dilemmas In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1132 Words  | 5 Pages

    In an odd way two different women (Miss Maudie and Calprina) show great moral choices in this novel. Both Atticus and Bob Ewell are different people and in their moral dilemmas. As you can see in this novel, there are so many different characters and deal with their moral dilemmas differently Indeed both girls are different, but you cannot blame them why if choosing to change

    Read More

  • Social Stratification In The Movie The Help

    610 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s. Skeeter, a southern society girl, interviews the black women who have spent their lives being servants for wealthy white Southern families. There are various scenes throughout the film that show social stratification, racial inequalities, gender inequalities, and class inequalities. Massey’s Social Stratification Theory states that humans allocate people to different categories. These categories often lead to inequality which is implemented socially.

    Read More

  • Power Struggle In Kathryn Stockett's The Help

    808 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kathryn Stockett’s novel, The Help, is not just about overcoming racism, but also about overcoming the constant human power struggle. The novel also showed how people treated each others, regardless if they were the same race. Throughout the book, Skeeter is ignored and cut-off by her friends while Minny is abused by her own husband. These two events happened even though each was the same race. Even the woman Minny worked for was being ignored because of who she married.

    Read More

  • The Tortilla Curtain: Racism And Discrimination

    1084 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel The Help, Stockett writes about the lives of the African American women working for the prominent white families and the trial and tribulations that they have encountered. The African American women are the people who are taking care of the white families home and children while being disrespected and unappreciated by their boss. “I’d like to write this showing the point of view of the help. The colored women down here.' I tried to picture Constantine's face, Aibileen's. '

    Read More

More about Revenge In Hilly Holbrook's The Help

Open Document