Stockett, K. (2009). The
Help. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
ISBN-13: 978-0425245132
Genre: Racism,
Real Fiction, Crossover, Historical Fiction
Reading level/
interest age: 17+
Plot summary:
Skeeter is the daughter of a wealthy, white family who own a
large cotton plantation. She comes home from college and announces to her
parents that she wants to be a writer. The reaction is not what Skeeter
expected. Women are supposed to become housewives in her town and as Skeeter is
already considered to be a bit old for marriage, her parents are desperate to
find her a match. Which means that Skeeter needs to tone down her rebellious
side and fit in or else she will keep scaring the boys away.
Instead of heeding her parent’s advice, Skeeter dreams up
the perfect story to write that will get her hired at a company in New York.
However, when Skeeter begins to interview for her story, she is quickly turned
away. In a town ruled by segregation, even speaking to African Americans can
get people into trouble. What will everyone say once they find out that Skeeter
actually intends to write about the African American help?
Reader’s annotation:
Skeeter has lived a very privileged life up until she comes
out to her family that she wants to be a journalist. To make things worse, her life
could be in danger when Skeeter starts to write a novel about the lives of
African American women in her town. Is making their story public worth all the
trouble?
Information about the
author:
“I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1969, in a time and
place where no one was saying, ‘Look how far we’ve come,’ because we hadn’t
come very far, to say the least. Although Jackson’s population was half white
and half black, I didn’t have a single black friend or a black neighbor or
even a black person in my school. Evenin the 1970s we were staunchly separated.
Yet one of the closest people to me was Demetrie, our family’s black
housekeeper.
“Demetrie came to wait on my grandmother in 1955 and stayed
for 32 years. It was common, in Mississippi, to have a black domestic cleaning
the kitchen, cooking the meals, looking after the white children. And growing
up, I adored Demetrie as much as my own mother. In some ways, she was better
than our mother, who was always busy (I am one of five). Demetrie played games
with us all day and never got cross. She knew to rock us on our stomachs when
we ached. She knew she needed to go to the doctor with me every time I had an
injection. None of us would sit still for an injection without Demetrie there.
“But her role was more complicated than that of a maid.
Demetrie understood, to the letter, what she was and was not allowed to do as a
black person working for a white family in Mississippi. Rule number one: she
wore a white uniform to work, every day. That white uniform was her ‘pass’ to
get into white places with us – the grocery store, the state fair, the movies.
Even though this was the 70s and the segregation laws had changed, the ‘rules’
had not” (Stockett, 2009).
Curriculum ties: N/A
Booktalking ideas:
1.
What are your thoughts on segregation and
racism?
2.
How do you think African Americans remained
strong throughout all of the oppression they experienced?
Critical evaluation:
The Help is an
amazing work of historical fiction that chronicles the lives of African
American maids living in the segregated South. The female characters of the
book are all strong women who fight against oppression and traditional roles
society forces upon them. Skeeter, the main character, fights against her
parent’s wishes to be a housewife and the maids fight against their abusive
husbands and cruel bosses.
The setting is a town made up of powerful white families
within a very tight nit society. The housewives run their homes in a close
resemblance of mob bosses and do not tolerate anything that may tarnish their
reputation. Far from being the strong women they appear, their African American
help are the ones who actually keep the household together. I almost cried at
the line that mentions that these strong, amazing role models bring up white
children as if they were their own only to have the same white children turn around
and treat them poorly. One maid in particular is cast out permanently as a
martyr and I got the feeling that the author was trying to say that change does
not happen with the most outspoken person, it happens slowly over time and
people must remain strong and patient throughout.
None of the characters end up breaking free of either their
racial or gender roles. Skeeter gets the closest with her job as a columnist but
her relationship with Stuart is everything her parents wanted it to be before
he breaks up with her. One maid gets rid
of her abusive husband but the damage is already done. Another maid is fired
from her job and cast out of town. The more the women fight back, the higher
the price they pay. Though the book has a hopeful ending, none of the
characters end up getting what they wanted out of life.
Challenge issues:
·
Racism
·
Violence
·
Hate crimes
Defensive Maneuvers:
·
Have the library’s collection development policy
memorized and on hand in case a situation arises.
·
Keep positive reviews on hand to refer to or
hand out when needed.
·
If the book has won any awards, mention them to
the patron and briefly explain the award.
·
Listen to the patron and practice good customer
service skills when communicating. Let the customer know where or if he/she can
escalate his/her complaint.
·
When necessary, cite sections of the ALA’s
Library Bill of Rights or refer to the ALA's
Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why included:
I believe that it is important to expose as many people as
possible to racism in a historical context to show how far this country has
come and how far it still needs to go to develop. This is a great book for
possible classroom discussions and a good crossover from teens to adult
fiction.
Reference:
Stockett, K. (2009). This Life: Kathryn Stockett on her childhood
in the Deep South. Retrieved August 29,
2014 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1199603/This-Life-Kathryn-Stockett-childhood-Deep-South.html
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