Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

1. Knowing that we are not African American, do we think this was an accurate representation of the life of a Black maid in the South during the 60's?

2. How do the African American women “tell their story” in a world that doesn’t want to hear it? (secret stories, phone calls, interviews).


3. What are the costs/risks of telling this story for each of the characters (Hilly, Elizabeth, Aibileen, Minnie, Skeeter, Stuart) from each of the groups (the help, the white women, the activists, the fathers, the mothers, the boyfriend)?


We all loved this book. The characters were well developed and we could sympathize with all of them, except Hilly (even at the bitter end). Hilly was the “queen bee” and if you crossed her, she made your life miserable. Some of us knew “Hilly’s” and saw who they controlled the people around them to maintain the status quo.

The book extended from racial oppression to oppression of women (right down to the children) and also showed us various relationships between husband and wife. Though, there were no strong male characters, we did adore the husband of the woman who was trying to have a baby (I have terrible name recall).

We thought about what motivated Skeeter to do this work (besides the money and wanting to be published). She could have picked a multitude of topics, but what makes one start to question the status quo? We thought that it was perhaps a major event that changed their life, like Constantine being forced to leave her family (she didn’t even get to say “bye” to her). For Skeeter, this was a way to repay Constantine for “helping” the family.

One major theme was the power (and threat) of “the word.”
  • changing one word in an article put toilets on the lawn
  • writing one’s story can empower a person (and change a town, perhaps a society)
  • writing has power, even when in prison
  • Skeeter could make a living through writing (and so can the author, Kathryn Stockett)

We were truly amazed by a few events.
  • They count the silver! How can the White ladies care more about the silver than the person who is raising their kids (and the fact that they are not doing the child-rearing)?
  • Mo Mabley - How do children know that their parents are their parents, when they are being raised by the help?
  • The scene of toilets on the lawn was hilarious.

There is a lot of sh-t going on in this book! What an interesting theme. We are all human and that’s a basic bodily function whether Black or White, owner of the home or working inside/outside of it. Or maybe it is a metaphor for how people treated other people so badly.
  • Building a toilet in the garage.
  • Expecting work crew to go to the bathroom outside in the yard (woods?).
  • Mo Mobley getting potty trained (and wanting to use Aibeleen’s toilet).
  • The Toilets on the lawn.
  • The pie (of course). 

UPDATE:  THE MOVIE
We thought the movie captured the essence and many details of the book. It was great. The strength of the movies lies in the terrific acting. The actresses brought the characters of Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) to life. One surprise was that Cicely Tyson played Constantine Jefferson, Skeeter’s dismissed maid. Also, Sissy Spacek played Missus Walters, Hilly’s mother. We also loved Jessica Chastain (who played Celia Foote), but were disappointed that her story line was condensed so much. Even so, the bubbly character was captured well by Chastain. And here’s something you might not have known, Hilly Holbrook was played by Ron Howard’s daughter (actor from Happy Days, now director). Her name is Bryce Dallas Howard, her middle name is because she was conceived in Dallas, TX. Emma Stone (Skeeter) was also great.

It came up again in our conversation that the situation was probably worse than the book (or movie) made it out to be since it is written from the perspective of a white person. If the maids had really been free and able to write, we think there would have been even worse descriptions of their treatment. The character of Skeeter was very naïve about racism and oppression, as well as the fear the maids had about talking. This is an aspect of “white privilege” as described by Peggy MacIntosh:

If you don’t HAVE to notice race, then you don’t. The language and behaviors of some of the black women were stereotyped, and yet that is how a white person like Skeeter would have “seen” the people around her. Oppression affects everyone, but not in the same way. While Skeeter risked her social position, the maids risked their lives. Fortunately, the book (and movie) did provide the background of the Civil Rights movement as well as showing how Skeeter educated herself by reading up about the town’s history. In many ways, the story is of a white protagonist rallying all the people of color in order to save them. The “white savior” image is opposite to the Civil Rights Movement which intended to empower people of color. So, let’s be clear, this is not a movie/book about the voice of domestic workers, but of a white woman’s interpretation of their voice.

One thing that this movie is doing is getting people to talk about the “hired help” that cleans and raises kids. It is also getting the men who are domestic workers, chauffeurs, etc. to talk. It is an important part of United States history that has not gotten a loud voice, but now the “maids” are talking. Here are some real life/current stories:

Meet today’s help and learn about domestic workers bill of rights http://www.domesticworkers.org/ca-bill-of-rights:

Transforming the Fondren neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi back to the 1960s for filming of the movie version of Jackson.


“Kitty” Stockett’s hometown reaction (what does the black community think about the book, given that it is written by a white woman):


“Change begins with a whisper” is the tag line for this movie, and I think it represents the book well.


As for the thought questions I sent out ahead of time…
1. Knowing that we are not African American, do we think this was an accurate representation of the life of a Black maid? Is it real? How true do you think this story is?
  • The story might not be exactly true, but it did give us a glimpse into a time period from a perspective that is rarely seen.
  • We thought that things might even have been more terrible for “the help” than portrayed in the book, and then thought that the first foray into uncharted territory is sometimes “softened” so that people can listen. The ending of the book even illustrates how sharing your story can help people change when some of the White women sat down and talked with their Black maids.

2. How do the African American women “tell their story” in a world that doesn’t want to hear it?
  • Back then, the Black women told secret stories to children as a “code” for becoming social activists and questioning the world around them. They phone calls to other Black women from their White lady’s home. They let a White woman interview them, but only when she agreed to change their names when she published what they said.
  • In modern times, we have blogs, specialized news (electronic and print), television, movies, and books. Rarely do people disguise their names anymore.

3. What are the costs/risks of telling this story for the characters (Hilly, Elizabeth, Aibileen, Minnie, Skeeter, Celia, Stuart) from each of the groups (the help, the White women, the activists, the fathers, the mothers, the boyfriend)?
  • There was certainly fear related to sharing stories about your boss (since Whites held most, if not all, the power), yet many of the women had better lives after the book.
  • Skeeter lost everything from her old life (friends, boyfriend, hometown), but she also gained the truth (about Constantine and about the “help”), a good job, and a new location with presumably more open-minded folks. She learned, “We are just two women, not that much separates us.” Once her eyes were opened (and she was ostracized in her hometown), she really couldn’t stay. In a way she was like the “hippie” girlfriend who had to get out of town and move on.
  • Minnie gained the strength to walk away from her husband. Aibileen says Minnie became brave when she put in the pie story.
  • Aibileen lost her job but then became a columnist.
  • Even though things got better for Whites and Blacks after the book was published, the power differentials still remained. The tide rose for folks, but the gap remained. The maids could still not say they were the authors (Skeeter could put her name on her work). The Black community supported Aibileen, but could never say it publicly (Skeeter was rewarded by the news community with a job). The Blacks were mostly still “the help,” doing the same jobs and living in the same neighborhoods.

Interview with author here.

Some Questions:
1. Which characters did you find most likable and sympathetic?
2. To what extent do you think a person's flaws, such as racist attitudes and behaviors, can be forgiven because it is the norm in the surrounding culture?
3. Could you sympathize with Miss Hilly? Do you think it is possible to be a good mother despite deep character flaws?
4. What motivated Aibileen?
5. What did you think about Minny's revenge?
6. How much do you think the dynamics of relationships between Black people and White people have changed?

Author’s Website and Book Group Questions:
1. Who was your favorite character? Why?

2. What do you think motivated Hilly? On the one hand she is terribly cruel to Aibileen and her own help, as well as to Skeeter once she realizes that she can't control her. Yet she's a wonderful mother. Do you think that one can be a good mother but, at the same time, a deeply flawed person?

3. Like Hilly, Skeeter's mother is a prime example of someone deeply flawed yet somewhat sympathetic. She seems to care for Skeeter--and she also seems to have very real feelings for Constantine. Yet the ultimatum she gives to Constantine is untenable; and most of her interaction with Skeeter is critical. Do you think Skeeter's mother is a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why?

4. How much of a person's character would you say is shaped by the times in which they live?

5. Did it bother you that Skeeter is willing to overlook so many of Stuart's faults so that she can get married, and that it's not until he literally gets up and walks away that the engagement falls apart?

6. Do you believe that Minny was justified in her distrust of White people?

7. Do you think that had Aibileen stayed working for Miss Elizabeth, that Mae Mobley would have grown up to be racist like her mother? Do you think racism is inherent, or taught?

8. From the perspective of a twenty-first century reader, the hairshellac system that Skeeter undergoes seems ludicrous. Yet women still alter their looks in rather peculiar ways as the definition of "beauty" changes with the times. Looking back on your past, what's the most ridiculous beauty regimen you ever underwent?

9. The author manages to paint Aibileen with a quiet grace and an aura of wisdom about her. How do you think she does this?

10. Do you think there are still vestiges of racism in relationships where people of color work for people who are White? Have you heard stories of parents who put away their valuable jewelry before their nanny comes? Paradoxically, they trust the person to look after their child but not their diamond rings?

11. What did you think about Minny's pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?

The Help Author Says Criticism Makes Her Cringe
But Stockett has been criticized for trying to cast how a Black maid might feel in a White household — and she says the criticism makes her cringe…

Summary
The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a novel about Black maids in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962. The Black maids work with Skeeter Phelan, a White woman, to create a book depicting their lives. The chapters are narrated through the eyes of three main characters: Aibileen, Minnie, and Skeeter. Descriptions of historical events of the early activities of the civil rights movement are peppered throughout the novel, as are interactions between the maids and their White...

From another website:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step in Kathryn Stockett's New York Times bestselling debut, The Help . . .

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a Black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth White child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can look like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another.

A deeply moving book filled with poignancy, humour, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.