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Author: Kathryn Stockett
Title: The Help
Genre: Women's Lives and Relationships,
Historical Fiction
Publication Date: February 10, 2009
Number of Pages: Paperback- 544 pages
Geographical Setting: Jackson,
Mississippi
Time Period: 1960s
Series (if applicable): Not a series
Plot Summary:
The Help takes place in
Jackson Mississippi in 1962 during the Civil Rights Movement.
Through alternating chapters from the viewpoints of the three main
characters, life as an African-American maid in the south during the
1960s is described. Aibileen Clark is one of the main characters who
is an African-American maid, raising her seventeenth white child,
normally she quietly takes orders from her employers, but because of
the way she is continually poorly treated by her employers she is
having trouble staying quiet anymore. Her friend Minny Jackson, who
is also a maid for a wealthy white family, has never been able to
keep quiet about how she is treated. Lastly, is Skeeter Phelan, a
young, wealthy white woman who recently graduated from college, even
though she has accomplished so much, to her mother's dismay she still
hasn't found a husband. Skeeter usually confides in her maid,
Constantine, but she has seemingly disappeared and no one will tell
her where she has gone. These three story lines intertwine and the
women begin to work on writing a tell-all book on how southern
African-American maids are treated by their white employers. Even
though they are aware of the risks involved they continue their work
in hopes of inspiring a change in the world.
Subject Headings:
Civil Rights Movements-Fiction
African American Women-Fiction
Jackson Mississippi-Fiction
Appeal:
This book is heartwarming,
funny and leaves the reader wanting to know more about the wonderful
characters described in the book. The three main characters are
smart, funny, and strong willed, they prove to themselves and to
their community that they deserve a place in the world and deserve to
be treated with respect and dignity. This book is hopeful and readers
will root for their favorite characters and delight in the downfalls
of their least favorite characters. The Help is a must-read.
3 Terms that Best Describe this book:
Historical, Heartwarming, and Humorous
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and
Authors:
Freedom in the Family: A
Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights by
Tananarive Due and Patricia Stephens Due-Mother and Daughter give
alternating view points of the Civil Rights Movement in this book, it
describes the hardships that African-American women faced during the
Civil Rights Movement.
Sisters in the Struggle:
African-American Women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement
by Bettye Collier-Thomas- This book discusses the importance of women
during the Civil Rights Movement, even though their stories were
rarely heard. Various women heroes stories are told throughout the
book.
Women and the Civil Rights
Movement, 1945-1965 by Davis W. Houck- This book discusses the
importance of the roles that women, both black and white, played
during the Civil Rights Movement. This book presents 39 speeches that
women gave during the movement during the most intense times in the
1950s and 1960s.
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue
Monk Kidd- Both books take place in the south, in the 1960s. They
focus on strong African-American women who fight for their rights.
The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose
Gwin- Both books are set in a racially segregated Mississippi during
the 1960s, they focus on how the Civil Rights Movement changed
society during that time.
Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal-
Both books are set in the south in the 1960s, Dollbaby focuses on a
girl who finds a family in the most unexpected place, and she learns
to understand the difference of races for the first time.
