Argumentative Essay On The Help

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is a book about three women, Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter, told from their point of view during a time span of a few years. Aibileen and Minny are best friends, but in the beginning of the book, Skeeter doesn’t either of them very well. As the book progresses, Aibileen and Minny begin to help Skeeter with a novel she is writing about the life of black maids in Jackson, Mississippi. At the end of the book, Skeeter got the job in New York City and Minny, Aibileen and Skeeter all become close friends even though their obvious racial boundaries. Between the front and back cover of this book, many things change through the perseverance of various characters. In the book, the Help, the theme of change doesn’t just happen,
Skeeter wanted to get out of Jackson, so she applied for “an editor position at the Harper & Row publishing house,” a prestigious printing company in New York (59). Harper & Row didn’t give her the job, but Elaine Stein told Skeeter, that in order to have that job she needed “a minimum of five years in the business” (71). Although Skeeter didn’t get the job, Elaine Stein took a special interest in her and told her two things: get a job at a local newspaper and keep writing and write about “what disturbs [her], particularly if it bothers no one else” (71). Skeeter took action on Miss Stein advice by immediately getting a job writing the Miss Myrna letters. She continues writing to Miss Stein about subjects she wants to write about and finally decides to write a book “showing the point of view of the help” (105). Writing about this subject in Jackson during the 1960s is risky. After Skeeter explains her outline, Miss Stein tells her it is definitely original, but follows with “‘what maid in her right mind would ever tell [her] the truth?’” (106). Having lived in Atlanta for six years, Miss Stein knows these risks. After going through many obstacles in order to complete the book, Skeeter “got a job offer…as a copy editor’s assistant” which was what she applied for in the beginning of the book (424). Through being proactive in
This book promotes change because the main idea of Skeeter’s book is to show racism from the point of view from the maids in Jackson. This book caused a change in both positive and negative ways. It caused negative change because while Hilly was reading the book, “she [told] white ladies to fire they [sic] maids,” based solely on guesses (411). Most of the time she wasn’t even guessing the right maids. Hilly told “Miss Sinclair to fire Anabelle,” her maid, which Miss Sinclair did because, in Jackson, everyone listens to Hilly (412). This book also brought positive change by showing white ladies how much they care about their maids. When Skeeter was getting medicine for her mom, she runs into Lou Anne and Miss Leefolt. When Lou Anne saw Skeeter she immediately felt the need to talk to her about her maid, Louvenia. When Louvenia was brought up in conversation Skeeter thought Lou Anne had fired her, but instead, Lou Anne cries and tells Skeeter “I will never fire Louvenia” (418). Lou Anne also admits to Skeeter that Louvenia is the only reason she gets up in the morning and reading what Louvenia wrote in the book about her is the “best [she’d] felt in months” (418). A higher appreciation of maids came from the proactiveness of Skeeter and the maids she interviewed, but not without the risk of being