Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Help by Kathryn Stockett


The Help is set in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi where racial tensions were a significant part of life. The White socialites and their maids were in for some shocking revel elations through the writings of a young white woman, with the help of several African –American maids. Kathryn Stockett starts the reader off with a feeling of what life was like in Jackson for the maids, and for the socialites and their need to keep up appearances.  The story really gives both sides of the picture and shows the reader how difficult it was for women of that time. The maids lived in constant fear, they were disrespected, and segregation was apparent throughout. This book was a great read and I looked forward to reading it each day.  There were many emotions that came out for the characters, some of which we can still feel in today’s world.  I felt that the young white woman,  Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, who wrote the maids stories was portrayed as strong, however, I found her to be weak when it came to her personal life. I felt that a woman with such an apparent strong racial stand should be stronger. The connection between the maid, Aibileen, and the child she takes care of is very heart warming.  The ending seemed a bit anticlimactic, and left me hoping for more. I did enjoy the read and would highly recommend this book.



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