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Roxana asked this question about The Help:
Do any of you remember the exact words said to the little girl: "I is beautiful; I is smart; I is important" .... or something like that?
Gianna The book ¨The Help¨ is a historical fiction novel written by Katheryn Stockett. This book takes place in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi when the pr…mǰThe book ¨The Help¨ is a historical fiction novel written by Katheryn Stockett. This book takes place in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi when the problem of segregation was still very much a part of society. The help goes through three points of view: Aibleen Clark an African American domestic servant, Skeeter Phelan a woman from the south who is a writer for the paper, and Minny Jackson another black domestic servant. Aibleen is a domestic servant to Mrs.Leefolt, she cooks and cleans, and does all the domestic chores around the house. She also becomes a motherlike figure to Mrs. Leefolts's child named Mae Mobley. The junior league is a club to which many of the southern wives belong, the leader of this group is Hilly Holbrooke she is very against and agrees with the majority of Jackson in this day which is segregation. In the junior league, all of the women follow and agree with Hilly because she has a high status due to her husband, except for Skeeter who is the one woman who stands against Hilly and her rules and opinion she tries to push on all the women. An example of one of the Hillys opinions is she believes that African Americans carry disease and they need a separate bathroom built for them, once Hilly builds one all the other women in the group begin to build one, including Mrs.Leefolt. In response to this ridiculous idea, Skeeter puts signs on Hillys lawn to put all not wanted toilets on Hillys lawn. Skeeter is a writer in the Jackson newspaper for the cleaning column, she then asks Mrs.Leefolt if she can get Aibleens input for the column this spirals and Skeeter then begins to write a book of short stories of the loving, humorous, but difficult like these black domestic servants have.


I really enjoyed reading this book because it gives you a very detailed and realistic perspective of what it was like to be a black woman in the south in this time period. Not only that but, you get to experience their life with them from three different points of view and see how these women have built a community that knows segregation is not right. This definitely a very impactful book and does deal with the heavy topic of segregation, also physical abuse from Minny's husband, but also can contradict itself in how the author uses the beautiful communicativeness of these black women and humor on the inside lives of the southern woman. One weakness of the book, I think, is the number of characters. I would recommend writing a list because it is hard to keep track of all of them. I have always been a fan of historical fiction. A strength of how it is from the actual point of view of the servants, but also Skeeter who is a southern woman and was raised in the environment of segregation and the junior league. There are many bitter-sweet moments including the ending. I highly recommend this book.

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by Kathryn Stockett (ŷ Author)
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