The Help

    I have decided to combine my choice reading blog posts into a more extensive post, because my points would have been too repetitive, and the intricacies of the connections are better expressed together than apart. For my choice reading, I have been actively reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. In this book, set in the 1960's in Jackson, Mississippi, Stockett delves into the previously unattested for lives of black maids and housekeepers in a time where equality was more of a pipe-dream than a reality, and women worked like slaves even after having gained rights just to feed their families. In "The Help," Skeeter, the protagonist white character struggling to find the balance between marriage (which is expected of her) and a professional career in writing (which is what she expects for herself) approaches all of the black maids in her home town and asks them to be daring enough to share their testimonies with her so that she may compile them into an article so hard-hitting that she might gain notoriety in the publication world. The first maid she interviews is Aibileen Clark, a black maid who is in the process of raising her seventh white child. Due to the fact that she lost her own son, the author implies that Aibileen's obvious love for her "adopted" children stems from a place of replacement, a desire to fill the holes in her heart left by loss with the love of the children she is responsible for. Due to the fact that the child she is raising, Mae Mobley, is the daughter of a mother who is neglectful as a side-effect to severe postpartum depression, Aibileen's love for her is truly that of a mother. Another central character is Minnie Fay, Aibileen's best friend and fellow housekeeper. Her unbridled tongue gets her in trouble and fired frequently, but eventually she ends up in the home of a welcoming (though clueless) woman, Celia, who's bubbly and glowing exterior acts as a mask to the tragedy that fills her life as she repetitively miscarries her children. The rough-and-tumble Minnie Fay is exactly who she needs to provide her with the knowledge and strength that she certainly cannot provide for herself. Finally, the antagonist is Hilly Holbrook, a cruel woman hiding behind a wall of empty religion, who represents everything superficial and judgemental about the segregated time. In all, Stockett crafts a masterful tale of motherhood, family, and courage that should be considered a piece of classic literature by authors and readers, alike.
     I was able to form connections to the maids in the story, as my best friend is the nanny in a home where the parents would rather not come in any sort of contact with their children at all. She feels personally responsible for rearing the children in a love that is nothing short of maternal. The relationship between her and her children reminds me of the relationship between Aibileen and Mae, although Ashley certainly is not as subdues as Aibileen. This connection is only magnified by the fact that Ashley feels that after almost five years, she may soon have to leave her job, as Aibileen is forced to leave Mae. A quote that really moved me emotionally and stood out to me as a main point of the author was the quote that Aibileen repeats to little Mae Mobley on a daily basis, "You is smart, you is kind, and you is important." Aibileen spends the majority of the book embedding this mantra into Mae's mind, as she knows the importance of instilling Mae with a sense of self-worth, especially in the face of the abuse of her mother. Some questions that I would ask would be:
1. What happens to Mae and Aibileen's relationship after Aibileen leaves?
2. Where did Skeeter find a job permanently? Did she take the knowledge she gained from her research with "the help" and instill a greater sense of meaning in her readers?
3. Did Aibileen go on to write many other works, as was her dream?
4. Was Celia ever successful in creating a family of her own?
I find myself placing happy endings on all of the loose ends that the author leaves to simulate real life experience. I suppose I am more of a romantic than a realistic reader. Also, as much as I have never really enjoyed historically based books before, I find myself much more inclined to read historical fiction when there are so many emotionally accessible characters and themes. The focus was more on the people than on the propaganda, and I believe that that is why so many people, including myself, have found this book to be so wonderful. It was easy to formulate a hatred for Hilly, because her cruelty was based out of Christianity, which is the religion I practice as well. In my heart, I dislike her because of the way she manipulates the religion, something I try so hard to project in a genuine fashion. I connect with Minnie Fay's sassiness and her ability to catch people off guard and make them laugh.