There’s no denying that The Help is a white savior movie. While Davis is the leading lady of the film because she’s the one that changes by the time the credits roll, that shift in Aibileen’s life happens due to Skeeter’s book that prompts Hilly to try and accuse Aibileen of stealing, thus Viola Davis’s character leaves with a new outlook on life.
4.4/5 (449 Views . 43 Votes) Aibileen is a wise and weathered black maid who has raised seven white children. Aibileen realizes she has more to offer in life than being a maid and finds the courage to try something new. Throughout the novel Aibileen's character triumphs in the face of adversity, but the growth is a slow, painful process.
What Is Aibileen's Change In The Movie The Help. At the beginning of the film, Skeeter who is a white woman and is an anti-racist, wants to interview Aibileen in order to publish a book about what it is like to be a Black maid working for a white family. But Aibileen rejects Skeeter’s interview by saying in a low quiet careful voice, “You know what’d happen to me if Miss Leefolt …
One of the novel’s three narrators, Aibileen is a wise but reserved middle-aged black maid who takes pride in knowing that she has helped raise seventeen white children in her lifetime. Aibileen cares the most about two people in this world: her best friend Minny Jackson and Mae Mobley, the white girl she raises over the course of novel.
Throughout the novel Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny have all developed and changed a drastic amount. Skeeter has learnt about who her true friends are, Aibileen has taken risks to stand up for what she believes in and Minny has realized that not all people fall under their stereotype. Skeeter has changed …show more content…
On Monday, Aibileen calls Skeeter and agrees to be interviewed. She might even be able to find other women willing to talk about their experiences. They plan to meet at Aibileen's house, since nowhere else is remotely safe for this kind of thing. Aibileen tells Skeeter that she's changed her mind because of Hilly.
The Character that is seen to develop the most throughout the novel is Miss Skeeter Pheelan. Skeeter is seen to develop in two different ways: a young woman who doesn 't have marriage as a first priority anymore and a woman who later sees an injustice to the black help.
The lessons Aibileen tries to give to Mae Mobley revolve around two basic themes: self-love and racial equality. Self-Love: First and foremost, she tries to teach Mae Mobley to love herself.
Personality. Aibileen is a kind woman and very faithful to God, yet can be very shy when taken out of her comfort zone. Her timidity is shown when she first talks with Miss Skeeter, and is afraid to be too open with her. She stands at the kitchen sink and never stops working.
What happened to Aibileen as a result of this? She was depressed, bitter, and stayed in her bedroom for five months. Why do you think Miss Leefolt was terrified of her own child? Miss Leefolt was terrified of her baby because it's the way Leefolt looked.
One of the novel's three narrators, Aibileen is a wise but reserved middle-aged black maid who takes pride in knowing that she has helped raise seventeen white children in her lifetime.
Minny develops an uneasy friendship with her employer, Celia Rae, who becomes devoted to her. Celia and Minny gain strength from each other, leading them to take control of their own lives. In the end, Minny decides to leave her abusive husband and chart an unknown course rather than live with the pain he inflicts.
Minny herself isn't down with this at first. Unlike Aibileen, she doesn't have a problem with white people and black people living separately and differently from one another. She sees Celia's friendliness as something fake, crazy, or just plain stupid.
The film shows that courage is needed to bring about change in people's lives and beliefs. A young aspiring author writes a novel based on true stories that she then publishes. The maids and nannies share their cruel and harsh experiences with others and a maid is brave enough to stand up to her white boss.
Third Person (Omniscient) The Help features three first-person narrators: Aibileen Clark (eleven chapters), Minny Jackson (nine chapters), and Skeeter Phelan (thirteen chapters). Author Kathryn Stockett says, I started writing it the day after Sept. 11.
Jackson, MississippiFilming in Jackson, Mississippi. The story of The Help takes place in 1963 during the Civil Rights struggle in Mississippi. Many scenes are set in downtown Jackson, in the historic Bellhaven neighborhood. Even though the book is a work of fiction, many of the sites mentioned in the book are real.Sep 14, 2011
Minny says that Miss Hilly used her connections to get... (full context) While Aibileen is at work at the Leefolt’s the next day, Hilly and Miss Leefolt call Aibileen ... (full context) Miss Leefolt fires Aibileen but Hilly says it’s not worth pressing charges.
Feeling a small connection develop between them, Aibileen tells Skeeter that it’s wrong that she doesn’t know the truth about why Constantine left.... (full context) Chapter 7. It’s late October and Aibileen finds the bathroom in the carport a cold and isolating place.
Aibileen explains that in Jackson white families live in nice neighborhoods, but the black families have... (full context) Two days after the talk about the bathroom, Aibileen arrives at work where Mister Raleigh Leefolt (Miss Leefolt’s husband) is yelling at Miss Leefolt... (full context)
Aibileen has the uncanny ability to see the good in any person, but the death of her son Treelore causes a “ bitter seed ” to grow inside her that makes her less tolerant of racist housewives like her employer Miss Leefolt and Leefolt’s friend Miss Hilly.
(full context) Aibileen takes out a notebook and starts reading the story she wrote about raising her first... (full context) Chapter 12.
The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Chapter 1. It is August 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi and Aibileen Clark, a 53-year-old African American housemaid, narrates her experience working in white households.
Back at Aibileen’s, Skeeter brings over the whole manuscript to show Minny and Aibileen. As they look over... (full context) In mid-January, 1964, Skeeter meets with Minny and Aibileen at Aibileen’s house and tells them that Elaine Stein just called.
She teaches the children she raises that the color of skin does not matter but love and kindness do; but she often feels that the message is countered by the racism in Jackson. Aibileen realizes she has more to offer in life than being a maid and finds the courage to try something new.
Aibileen. Aibileen is a wise and weathered black maid who has raised seven white children. She works for Elizabeth Leefolt and adores toddler Mae Mobley Leefolt— even though she knows that the loving relationship could hurt them both.
Aibileen thinks about how happy Mae Mobley is with her and how fun it is to tease her like she used to tease Treelore when he was young. Elizabeth comes out after a while and scolds Mae Mobley. When she leaves, Mae Mobley says she's "bad." Aibileen repeats a series of mantras to try to build Mae Mobley's confidence.
A mother's fierce protection of her child exists in the relationship between Aibileen and Treelore. When discussing Treelore's literary interests, Aibileen blanches, fearing she has shared too much with Skeeter. Skeeter recognizes that even though Aibileen's child is dead, "the instinct to be afraid for her son is still there." Each of these examples helps readers understand the constant fear African Americans, particularly mothers, lived in during the 1960s. This cycle of protection and fear contrasts sharply with the white mother-daughter relationships portrayed in Mama/Skeeter and Elizabeth /Mae Mobley. White women feel so secure in their children's safety that they take them for granted.
Hilly's purpose in the novel is to symbolize white supremacy in a way that differs from the standard images of the KKK. Her manipulative ways and racist views motivate the maids to stand up for themselves. Earlier in the novel, Hilly's decision to fund Aibileen 's segregated bathroom motivated Aibileen to connect with Skeeter. Now, Aibileen uses Hilly's initiative to motivate Minny to stick with the project. In their own small way, the maids have joined the civil rights movement. While they aren't attempting to change laws, they hope to change minds by humanizing themselves for white readers. This form of protest is an extension of Aibileen's determination to educate Mae Mobley about race relations. She believes changing minds can be just as powerful as changing laws. In this section, Hilly highlights the hypocrisy of her initiative as she tries to convince Aibileen that segregation is for her own good. She has no interest in hearing how African Americans feel about segregation and treats Aibileen as if she needs to be taught how to feel about her own life. Hilly also insists Aibileen take her hand-me-down clothes as if she's doing Aibileen a favor. The cockroach that darts in and out of the bag symbolizes Aibileen's hatred for Hilly.
After Treelore died, Aibileen began attending Community Concern meetings at her church to fill her time. She laments that lately, the meetings have focused solely on civil rights issues. Since Medgar Evers was shot, people, "especially the younger ones," are feeling frustrated. During the meeting, one young man shouts, "Y'all think prayer's going to keep white people from killing us?" After the meeting, Aibileen looks around for any maids she hasn't already asked to participate in Skeeter's project. She knows she's asked them all and everyone thinks she's crazy for taking part. Yule May, Miss Hilly 's maid, surprises Aibileen by asking if she can talk to her later, privately, about the interviews.
Skeeter shows Aibileen a copy of Hilly's initiative, lamenting that she doesn't want to print it and has no one to talk to about it. Skeeter asks Minny if she and her husband, Leroy, ever talk about the civil rights movement. Minny is offended by this question. She has no desire to share details about her personal life with Skeeter. She storms off, and Aibileen worries she won't come back. Aibileen pushes Hilly's initiative under Minny's nose, and after she reads it, Minny sits back down to talk.#N#On a hot summer day, Aibileen sets up the kiddie pool for Mae Mobley, and Elizabeth invites Hilly and her children over. As she watches the children, Aibileen eavesdrops on the women's conversation—they're talking about segregated bathrooms again. On several occasions, Hilly asks Aibileen questions, fishing for answers about how "colored" people like segregation: "You like having your own toilet, don't you?" and "You wouldn't want to go to a school full of white people, would you?" Aibileen tries to stand up for herself, but Hilly ignores her. In her conversation with Elizabeth, Hilly voices concerns that Skeeter has become a "colored-supporting friend" and worries how this will affect her husband's political aspirations. She references something she read in Skeeter's satchel, which terrifies Aibileen. Later that night, Aibileen tries to call Skeeter while she watches a cockroach running through her kitchen to hide in the bag of clothes Hilly donated to her. She thinks about the terrible ways Hilly could torture her.#N#Skeeter and Aibileen play phone tag and find themselves unable to speak properly when they bump into each other at Elizabeth's home. Finally, they find a moment to connect. Skeeter starts crying, apologizing for accidentally leaving the satchel where Hilly could find it. They decide that since Hilly hasn't said anything about the maids, particularly Minny, whom she hates, it's most likely that she only found the Jim Crow laws, not the interview notes. A few days later on her bus ride home, the bus stops in the middle of the road and all the African American riders are ordered off. Police lights are everywhere, and Aibileen fears for her safety as she runs home through the dark streets and houses. She runs into Minny's house, where she listens to the news that civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated by a white supremacist in front of his children just a few blocks away.