Book report The Help. It is part of my entire portfolio that I had to submit in 5vwo for my oral. It consists of everything you need for a good book report and good books orally.
The Help is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi, and told primarily from the first-person
perspectives of three women: Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan.
Aibileen is a maid who takes care of children and cleans. Her own 24-year-old son, Treelore,
died from an accident on his job. In the story, she is tending the Leefolt household and caring for
their toddler, Mae Mobley. Minny is Aibileen's friend who frequently tells her employers what she
thinks of them, resulting in her having been fired from nineteen jobs. Minny's most recent
employer was Mrs. Walters, mother of Hilly Holbrook.
Skeeter is the daughter of a white family who owns a cotton farm outside Jackson. Many of the
field hands and household help are African Americans. Skeeter has just returned home after
graduating from the University of Mississippi and wants to become a writer. Skeeter's mother
wants her to get married, and thinks her degree is just a pretty piece of paper. Skeeter is curious
about the disappearance of Constantine, her maid who brought her up and cared for her.
Constantine had written to Skeeter while she was away from home in college saying what a
great surprise she had awaiting her when she came home. Skeeter's mother tells her that
Constantine quit and went to live with relatives in Chicago. Skeeter does not believe that
Constantine would leave her like this; she knows something is wrong and believes that
information will eventually come out. Everyone Skeeter asks about the unexpected
disappearance of Constantine pretends it never happened and avoids giving her any real
answers.
The life Constantine led while being the help to the Phelan family leads Skeeter to the realization
that her friends' maids are treated very differently from the way the white employees are treated.
She decides (with the assistance of a publisher) that she wants to reveal the truth about being a
colored maid in Mississippi. Skeeter struggles to communicate with the maids and gain their
trust. The dangers of writing a book about African Americans speaking out in the South during
the early 1960s hover constantly over the three women.
Eventually Skeeter wins Aibileen’s trust through a friendship which develops while Aibileen helps
Skeeter write a household tips column for the local newspaper. Skeeter accepted the job to write
the column as a stepping stone to becoming a writer/editor, as was suggested by Elaine Stein,
editor at Harper & Row, even though she knows nothing about cleaning or taking care of a
household, since that is the exclusive domain of ‘the help.’ The irony of this is not lost on
Skeeter, and she eventually offers to pay Aibileen for the time and expertise she received from
her.
Elaine Stein had also suggested to Skeeter that she find a subject to write about which she can
be dedicated to and passionate about. Skeeter realizes that she wants to expose to the world in
the form of a book the deplorable conditions the maids in the South endure in order to barely
survive. Unfortunately such an exposé is a dangerous proposition, not just for Skeeter, but for
any maids who agree to help her. Aibileen finally agrees to tell her story. Minny, despite her
distrust of whites, eventually agrees as well, but she and Aibileen are unable to convince others
to tell their stories. Skeeter researches several laws governing what blacks still can and cannot
do in Mississippi, and her growing opposition to the racial order results in her being shunned by
her social circle.
, Yule May, Hilly's maid, is arrested for stealing one of Hilly's rings to pay her twin sons’ college
tuition after Hilly refused to lend the money. The other maids decide that they are willing to take
a chance with their jobs, and their safety, and join the book project.
Thus the thrust of the book is the collaborative project between the white Skeeter and the
struggling, exploited “colored” help, who together are writing a book of true stories about their
experiences as the ‘help’ to the white women of Jackson. Not all the stories are negative, and
some describe beautiful and generous, loving and kind events; while others are cruel and even
brutal. The book, entitled “Help” is finally published, and the final chapters of “The Help” describe
the aftermath of the books’ appearance in Jackson.
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