Theme

A major picture that is painted in full color is the injustice piece that we see through out the book. Times were hard and segregated in the time period of The Help. This injustice can still be seen in different ways throughout society today. In the book we see if you weren't the same why be treated the same and still this is the thought process of many today. A major theme is the racial segregation throughout. We see how some wanted a change and how these few worked for a change. There are many ways to break silence but, if you think about it writing a book with the Helps  experience can truly open our eyes to they way times were.  The help has  an ongoing theme of injustice, segregation, small change, and the small possibility of how change has to come and how it will help the people succeed.

Ms. Celia's Change

When Miss Celia is first introduced in the book, she opens her door wearing a "flour [covered] tacky pink pantsuit [that is] so tight [it's a] wonder she can breathe" (Stockett 37).  This first description of her captures her character. She always wears tight pink clothing. She uses these clothes and wears a lot of makeup to accentuate what she thinks are the best part of her. I believe this is because she doesn’t feel like she’s worth very much and has to make up her value as a person with the value of her appearance.

A reason for her insecurity could be because she grew up in Sugar Ditch, a place known for being “as low as you can go in Mississippi” and where “white kids [look] like they ha[ven’t] had a meal for a week” (39). The other women, such as Elizabeth and Hilly, already think less of her because of her background, but that isn’t the reason they have such a problem with Miss Celia. Minny tells Miss Celia that the women treat her badly because “they think [she’s] white trash” because she “[got] pregnant . . . and [married] one a their mens” (372). Hilly isn’t over her ex-boyfriend, Johnny Foote, even though he’s already married Celia. This makes Hilly jealous of Celia, and that’s why she’s so mean to her.

Despite how rude and mean they are to her, Miss Celia still wants to try to win Hilly and Elizabeth over at the Benefit. When she confronts Hilly about everything, Miss Celia stands her ground, showing that she still has a tough side to her and isn’t a pushover. It is a step in the direction of Miss Celia believing in her own self worth.

Learnings From The Help

After reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett, I have learned more about racism during the 1960's and what life was like back then. I learned that there had to be separate bathrooms for the help and for the family. Miss Leefolt had a new bathroom installed for Aibileen because her and her friends think they they must have different bathrooms. Before when Miss Leefolt didn't have a separate bathroom her friends said how it was unacceptable so then she had one installed. Another thing I learned was that when Aibileen and Minny were speaking out about how they felt for the book it was actually very risky. If the people they work for find out what they said Minny or Aibileen could get fired and it would be hard for them to get a new job. The book has changed Minny, Aibileen, and Skeeters lives. After Skeeter told Stuart about the book he called of the proposal. Overall the book as taught me more about the history and it's a good way to share more information.

The Help and the Secret Life of Bees

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is very similar to Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. What caught my attention when I read SLoB was the honey the sisters use for everything. It is their lifeline and they use it for cleaning, eating, and curing illnesses, even to soften their hair or use in a bath. This is similar to how Minny describes Crisco in the Help. In this novel, “ladies rub it under [their] eyes and on [their] husbands scaly feet” (Stockett 52). However, this doesn’t stop them from using Crisco to “clean[ing] the goo from a price tag [and] tak[ing] the squeak out of a door” (52). In both books, something as simple as honey or vegetable shortening can have so much importance and so many uses in the characters’ lives.

When I read about Robert Brown, another part of Secret Life of Bees popped into my mind--Zachary Taylor. I see Zach and Robert as very similar characters. Both help out a kind motherly figure, either August or Aibileen. In both the novels, Zach is arrested after a friend of his throws a bottle at a group of white men. The men were waiting for a white movie star and his black girlfriend to come into town with the intention of hurting them. He stood by his friends and did not reveal to the white men which one of his friends threw the bottle. Therefore, Zach and all of his friends are taken to prison. Robert is also involved in an incident relating to segregation and civil rights. However, Robert is killed. This happens after he uses a white bathroom by accident because there was no sign saying it was whites only. This accident cost him his life when “[t]wo white [men] chased him and beat him with a tire iron” (117). Though there may be a few differences between them, both of them were violently discriminated against.

Literature

One of the quotes that I like is: "But miss Celia, the way she stared at me with those big eyes like I'm the best thing since the hair spray can, I almost rather she'd order me around like she's supposed to" (58). The way Minny describes miss Celia interests me because she treats Minny so much differently than anyone else has. Minny is confused about why she is treating her differently, she says that she'd rather have miss Celia treat her like she's supposed to. I think Celia treats her differently because she is new at the whole help thing and she is not rasict. When Celia is asking Minny how much to pay her, she offered a lot more then was expected. When Minny is working for her she doesn't just clean around the house Celia likes to talk to her and ask Minny to teach her how to cook. I think that Celia will end up to be a supporting character. I think she is also different from the rest of the women like Skeeter, because of how they treat the help and the way they talk to others.

Connections

In the novels The Help and the Secret Life of Bees there are are some huge similarities. Both are about girls who are the outcast in society with opinions that differ from everyone else. Both Skeeter and Lily live in times where racism and absent minded thinking is striving in society. Lily and Skeeter are trying to break free from this thinking and find a way to live with everyone not just the people who are seen as workers or maids in their houses or on theirs farms/plantations.  One thing that is quite obvious in both novels is that both girls saw a need for change but the rest of society saw nothing but good living in a place with a strong amount of division.

Hero's Journey

Explore the connections between your text and the classic hero’s journey.

Theme

•    Did any characters change during the course of the book?  How did they change?  What forces caused the change?
•    Did the book end the way you thought it would?  What clues did the author give that made you think that?
•    What is  “big picture” category that the story is about?  Friendship?  Survival?  Injustice?  How does the author convey the theme?

Literature

•    What are your favorite lines or quotes?  Copy them in your blog and explain why you like them.
•    What clues did the author use to help you predict what was going to happen later?
•    What were some of the events that created conflict in the story?
•    Would you like to read more books by this author?  Why or why not?

Learnings

•    What have you learned from reading this book? 
•    How have you changed (possibly your outlook or understanding) from reading this book?
•    Is there an idea in the book that made you stop and think or prompts questions?
•    What do you know now that you didn’t know before?

Connections

•    Are there any connections between this book and your own life?  Explain.
•    Are there any connections between this book and another book you’ve read or story you’ve heard?
•    Is the main character or situation he/she is in similar to you or anyone you know?  Does a character remind you of another you’ve encountered in a different book?
•    What do you think of a particular character’s actions?  Are they right or wrong?  Why?

Blogger Reading Journal

The Literature Circle Blog is a place for you to share your thoughts, insights, reactions, and learnings about a book you are reading with others who are reading the same book.

The Blog entries should be at least two paragraphs long.  Your entries may tell what you felt when you read a book, and why.  They may comment on what you noticed about the author’s style of writing, and why you think he or she wrote that way.  You may observe what you liked or didn’t like about a book, and why.  

In the course of the book you’re reading, you need to post at least two original entries (from two different categories – see below) that include text and page numbers (paraphrase or quote a meaningful passage) and respond at least twice to others’ posts.