
What is the main idea of the book the help?
The Help, Kathryn Stockett's debut novel, tells the story of black maids working in white Southern homes in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi, and of Miss Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a 22-year-old graduate from Ole Miss, who returns to her family's cotton plantation, Longleaf, to find that her beloved maid and nanny, Constantine, ...
How old is Aibileen Clark in the help Chapter 1?
The Help Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Help, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. It is August 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi and Aibileen Clark, a 53-year-old African American housemaid, narrates her experience working in white households.
What is the setting of the help?
An interactive data visualization of The Help 's plot and themes. As a young girl living in Jackson, Mississippi, Kathryn Stockett loved spending time with her family’s maid Demetrie, an African-American woman who worked for her family since 1955. Demetrie would play games with Stockett, tell her stories, and shower her with affection.
Where is the author of the help litchart now?
Rejected by over fifty publishers, the book, once published, sold over ten million copies and spent more than a hundred weeks on the The New York Times Best Seller list. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Get the entire The Help LitChart as a printable PDF.

Is The Help based off a true story?
Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel told a fictional story. So, The Help is not inspired by a true story of an ambitious writer in the 1960s, who publishes a book with multiple stories of black maids. However, according to reports, an actual person claimed that one character in the movie was based on her.
What happens in chapter 19 of The Help?
The letter explains that Yule May and her husband have been saving money to send their twin boys to Tougaloo College, but only had enough to send one of them. Yule May confesses she stole a ruby ring from Hilly to get the rest of the money.
Was The Help a real book?
The Help is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett and published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s.
What happens in chapter 17 of The Help?
Minny's furious. Her father was a drunk she had to take care of and now her husband is a drunk. She wants to confront Celia, but that would mean she cares about Celia, which would mean she'd be breaking one of her mother's most important rules. In early July, Minny and Celia get in an argument and Celia fires her.
What happens in chapter 20 of the help?
Skeeter learns that Patricia cheated on Stuart with a white civil rights activist. He would have taken her back, but her involvement with an activist could jeopardize Stooley's political aspirations.
What happens in chapter 18 of the help?
Celia was pregnant and she miscarries her baby into the toilet. She asks Minny to take it away before Johnny sees it. Minny decides to wait and let the doctor handle it. Celia reveals that she's been pregnant for five months.
Why is Skeeter called Skeeter in The Help?
Skeeter and Constantine Skeeter gets her nickname from her older brother, Carlton.
Is Aibileen Clark a real person?
The character "Aibileen Clark" in The Help is a fictional character and is not intended to depict Mrs. Cooper.
Does Skeeter get married in The Help?
Stuart and Skeeter eventually reconcile and begin dating again. He asks her to marry him, but when she tells him the truth about the book, he withdraws his proposal and leaves.
How many miscarriages has Celia had?
Celia is shown as not very worldly, but gentle and sweet towards Minny. She tells Minny that she married Johnny because she was pregnant. A month later, she had a miscarriage. She had also lost two other babies.
What does Celia call Minny at the end of chapter 17 that makes Minny annoyed with Celia?
friendMiss Celia joins her for lunch every day at the same table and it unnerves Minny. When Miss Celia calls Minny her "friend," Minny becomes furious and accuses her of being a drunk.
What's on Hilly's lip in the help?
Hilly, who's gained weight and developed a cold sore on her lip, marches up to the porch with a letter accusing Skeeter of writing the book. She plans to give the letter to Charlotte, which worries Skeeter because this info will be a shock to her ailing mother.
What is the help about?
The Help, Kathryn Stockett's debut novel, tells the story of black maids working in white Southern homes in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi, and of Miss Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a 22-year-old graduate from Ole Miss, who returns to her family's cotton plantation, Longleaf, to find that her beloved maid and nanny, Constantine, has left and no one will tell her why. Skeeter tries to behave as a proper Southern lady: She plays bridge with the young married women; edits the newsletter for the Junior League; and endures her mother's constant advice on how to find a man and start a family. However, Skeeter's real dream is to be a writer, but the only job she can find is with the Jackson Journal writing a housekeeping advice column called "Miss Myrna." Skeeter knows little about housekeeping, so she turns to her friend's maid, Aibileen, for answers and finds a lot more.
Why did Minny and Aibileen meet?
They meet clandestinely in the evenings at Aibileen's house to write the book together as the town's struggles with race heat up all around them. Aibileen brings in her best friend, Minny, a sassy maid who is repeatedly fired for speaking her mind, to tell her story, too.
What is the help chapter?
The Help: Chapter 1. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Help, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. It is August 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi and Aibileen Clark, a 53-year-old African American housemaid, narrates her experience working in white households. She has taken care of seventeen white children in ...
What did Miss Leefolt's lack of affection for her daughter show?
Societal conventions in the 1960s dictated that white women should stay at home and raise the children, but Miss Leefolt’s lack of affection for her daughter shows that she is emotionally unsuited for motherhood. Thus, she employs Aibileen as a sort of substitute mother to Mae Mobley. Active Themes.
What does Miss Hilly tell her husband about?
Miss Hilly tells them about a sanitation bill she and her husband are sponsoring. If passed, the bill would require every white household in Mississippi to have a separate bathroom for black housekeepers. Miss Hilly claims black people “carry different kinds of disease than we do.”.
Where is the Help set?
Historical Context of The Help. Set in Jackson, Mississippi during the early days of the 1960s civil rights movement, The Help portrays social life under the Jim Crow-era laws that enforced racial segregation. White and black people had separate hospitals, bathrooms, schools, and even graveyards.
Who played Minny Jackson in The Help?
Made into the 2011 blockbuster hit, the film-adaptation of The Help was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Octavia Spenser , who played the character of Minny Jackson, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Cite This Page.
