Pages 63 - 104
Chapter 5 - 6
Miss Skeeter has taken over as the narrator of the novel during these chapters. We now get to see her struggle with her overbearing mother, about trying to find a husband. Also we see that Constantine had become her friend during her childhood. She was also the first person who told Miss Skeeter she "actually has a choice in what [she] believed." I think this is what led to the person Skeeter is now, a realist who is interested in making a difference through her work. Constantine helped to form her beliefs that her life could be more than just marriage and children.
Trying to get started in the world of published writing, she takes a job at the local newspaper working as a Dear Abby of sorts, advising housewives on cleaning tips. In order to get her information, she goes to Aibileen. On one of her trips there, Aibileen tells her about Treelore, her son who was killed 2 years ago. He also wanted to be a writer. He had an idea of writing about his experiences working for a white man. This idea I took to mean an allusion to The Help, itself. Since it is about maids working for white women, it's basically the same plot line Treelore was referring to. I'm not sure what it's called, but I'll say self reference. I also took it as a means of foreshadowing, as this could become the very life changing thing, Miss Skeeter writes about.
The conversation between Aibileen and Miss Skeeter also alludes to the novel, Invisible Man. Aibileen remarks that after reading it, Treelore wanted to write, and she also read it too. Having read this book myself, I was aware of one of the themes presented in the novel being self-identity and finding out who one's self really is. I felt as is this foreshadows to a possible theme for The Help. Could Miss Skeeter be on a road to self identity? Does she feel as if who she really is and what she wants is invisible and lost in the society she lives in? Or could the treatment of the help be the thing that is truly "invisible" to society and Aibileen and Minny will be the characters to discover something about themselves?
"Ellison." The Ambassadors Online Magazine. Web. 19 Jul 2011. <http://ambassadors.net/archives/images/ellison.jpg>.
Good questions! This post also ties in a bit to the EC. The idea of two versions of motherhood are presented to Skeeter. The societal pressure mom--for worry or perhaps something else--and the freedom to the child mama--as personified by Constantine. I think you finish on a strong note with the questioning of the use of the "Invisible Man" as a symbol or allusion for more than just Skeeter.
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