The Help Discussion

Though I could not attend The Help book discussion, my English course content and literature greatly overlaps with that of the book. Thus, I have contributed to many discussions about servitude and the treatment of blacks and women in the south during the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, my History 152 course has greatly detailed the Civil Rights Movement and this particular time period in which the book takes place. This additional background information, coupled with the other literary works I have experienced that deal with the same subject matter, helped me to better gauge the true intent of Katherine Stockett and her work.

I greatly enjoyed how Skeeter followed her dreams and stood up against racism and domestication rather than seeking her mothers approval. I admired her boldness, as she took on the task of writing about women's domestication in Jackson, Mississippi. After reading a few of the blogs that pertained to the book discussion, I noticed that conversation occurred about whether the race of the author played any role in the overall meaning/impact of the novel. I do not think that the race of the author mattered at all, of the fact that Stockett was white. Every person possesses a different outlook on domestication and race, white or African American, and i believe that each outlook is important when learning about such strong subject matters.