Reading Response #4 - The Help by Kathryn Stockett

July 21, 2011

Pages 105 - 143

Chapters 7 - 9

In these chapters Miss Skeeter approaches Aibileen about interviewing her about her thoughts on working for white families. Initially Aibileen says no. After all, a black man in the community was just beaten blind with a tire iron for accidentally using the wrong restroom, imagined if she got caught. But after an encounter with Miss Hilly, Aibileen wants the world to know what kinda of people she's worked for.

I think Aibileen has finally had enough, after Mrs. Leefolt spanks Mae Mobley for using Aibileen's toilet, because she could catch "black people diseases." Aibileen realized nothing is going to change until she does something about it. This goes back to Miss Skeeter's earlier question to Aibileen, "do you wish things would change?" I think after seeing the violence white people inflict as a result from actions by african americans, she's finally had enough, and wants to work toward being treated more fairly. She wants to educate the oh-so-smart white people that, no, you can't catch "black people diseases", nor can you make up lies about help, and get away with it.

The only way to fight ignorance is with knowledge. That's the whole idea behind what Skeeter wants to do. She wants to educate society on the true personalities of society's more elite. It's funny how the help has so much power with their knowledge of prominent families, but they are treated worthlessly. By Aibileen finally standing up, she is symbolically saying that she is using her most powerful weapon. Women in society care about nothing more than their appearance in society, and if their help spoke out, they would lose their standing in society. This is where the help would hold the power in this situation.

Miss Skeeter points out some irony on page 123. She points out that the help raises children, only to be working for them 20 years later. That they love each other, and consider the other their family, but they aren't even allowed to use the same toilet. That just says a lot about society. From a young age we are learned to respect out elders. That goes back to the 10 commandments, "obey thy mother and father." So if someone is like a mother to you, how can you grow into such a mindset that it's ok to boss them around? You think people, like Miss Hilly, would be more respectful to the person who is responsible for potty training them. It's unreal how over time, people's minds seem to reset themselves. Yet not all do. Like Miss Skeeter. I'm beginning to see that's because Constantine had more involvement in letting her decide things for themselves, but her mother was more controlling. Maybe Miss Skeeter's belief are a result of a inner rebellion she has from her mother.