The Help

Kathryn Stockett's 'The Help' is based around the early 1960s, focusing on the racial treatment of America's citizens. With the narrative set in Jackson, Mississippi, Stockett describes the height of racial segregation and mistreatment.

The narrative structure of the novel is quite unusual for something around this subject. The novel is narrated by three women, who are all very different from each other. Minny, a black maid known for her confidence and capability to speak her mind; Aibileen, a black maid who's overcoming the loss of her son Treelore; and Miss Skeeter, a white woman who has a dream to become a big-time writer. It's revealed that Skeeter had been brought up by black maids from a young age, as white women didn't bring up their own children, and wants to find her maid Constantine who vanished after she returned from college.

Aibileen is the maid to the Leefolt family, and through her perspective the harsh reality of working for a white family is revealed. Stockett manages to merge fact and fiction together so that we're given an image of what life would have really been like in the height of racism in America. The reader is able to affiliate with Aibileen's character as she's seen a lot of good and bad things throughout her life in work.When looking after Mae Mobley, the Leefolt's daughter, it's explained to us that looking after a child is a lot harder than it's cracked up to be.  Through Aibileen's character, we can witness the lack of emotion Elizabeth Leefolt has for her daughter, expressed through the physical and emotional harm that she puts her daughter through - leaving the black help to clean up their mess.

Aibileen's best friend, Minny, is portrayed to be slightly hot headed when it comes to her white superiors - although we see her vulnerable side through the domestic violence that's revealed throughout the novel. Minny worked for Miss Hilly until she committed the 'terrible awful thing'. Miss Hilly is at the top of the hierarchy in terms of superiority and goes to all lengths to try to make Minny's life hell and ensures that she doesn't find work in Jackson ever again. However, Minny does find employment again, working for Miss Celia Foote. Celia is an odd character that Stockett has decided to use, but she brings out the good side of Minny. Celia's character doesn't understand racism and why it exists and is unsure of how to treat Minny due to the expectations of those around her. 

Miss Skeeter's character is represented as hopeful for the future of America and wants to make a change herself. Wanting to be a published writer, and seeing the way the black community around her are treated, she decides to write a book of interviews from the perspective of the maids. When Skeeter has this idea of a book, she teams up with Aibileen and Minny to help reveal the cruel and dreadful experiences they have come across when working for the people who discriminate against them. A friendship is created between the three women and a sense of female solidarity is formed. However, with her dream of becoming a published writer, she's somewhat held back by the white community and the fear that she will be found out for committing to such an 'awful' thing. Skeeter is combating with the themes of love, illness and societal status in order to achieve her lifelong dream.

Through the themes of love, hate, racism and sisterhood, Stockett is able to convey what life would've been like through the eyes of a white and black woman - therefore giving us an idea of how much society had moved fowards. Stockett explores the different emotions of the women, from happiness to sadness. By educating people on life in the 1960s, through some of her personal experiences with maids herself, Stockett is able to create an image of the segregated society of America that has developed into what we know today. Throughout the novel, the life of these three women is revealed in immense detail that will make you want to laugh, cry and reflect on the way society has changed.