Racism in the Help

The best-selling novel The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett, discusses about racism which prevails in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. Aibileen and Minny are two black maids who work for the White wealthy families as their maids. They discontent with the social norms that the Blacks are inferior and they should be segregated from the Whites. Under the encouragement of Eugenia Skeeter Phelan, a white aspiring writer, Aibileen and Minny decide to put their stories into a book, the Help, which includes the working experience in the Whites’ families with other maids. At the same time, Aibileen teaches and inspires Mae Mobley, a White baby girl she takes care of, the idea of equality as she thinks line should not exist between the Blacks and Whites. In the novel, it suggests racism is taught rather than inherent as children learn different perspectives of racism at home and school, but most of them turn to be racists by the social pressure which reinforces what they have learnt in the childhood.

The novel tells child apprehends the concept of racism at home as Aibileen teaches Mae Mobley not to be a racist by implanting the idea of justice in her mind. Many people believe infant is pure. Their brains are like blank papers as no moral values and social norms have been implanted in their minds. They start to learn and absorb different knowledge surrounding them when they grow up as a child. However, most of them are still lacking of the ability to do critically thinking and value judgment. Child spends most of their time at home before studying at school and they learn from their guidance. By giving love and time, Aibileen tries hard to blur the lines and builds up a sense of equality between races in Mae Mobley’s mind. “She take it real serious, the unwrapping, letting me tell the story bout how it ain’t the color the wrapping that count, it’s what we is inside” (349.) By telling secret stories to Mae Mobley, Aibileen teaches her the importance of