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Civil Disobedience In The Help

1918 Words8 Pages

The Help, a film directed by Tate Taylor, depicts the hardships of African Americans and women in the 1960s. A prominent character in the film, Skeeter returns to her hometown, of Jackson, Mississippi, after college. Upon arriving, she views the racial and gender injustice that faces her hometown. Eventually, she decides to interview black women who regularly take care of white families. In doing this, the maids gain their voice, and Skeeter breaks away from social norms. The film largely emphasizes the segregation that many African Americans faced. These segregation laws were unjustly limited the natural rights of African Americans. The film presents bias laws, and their societal consequences. Additionally, the film demonstrates civil disobedience, …show more content…

According to Henry David Thoreau, civil disobedience is “the right of revolution...to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.” Skeeter and the maids fight for their voice to be heard amongst the individuals who wish to silence them. Thereby, this is allegorized when Skeeter decides to make her own path and chooses not to listen to stereotypes. She decides to put herself first before the customs and traditions of the South. Additionally, the right to civil disobedience is as well depicted in racial terms. This is shown when the maids agree to voice out their stories after Yule May is arrested. The stories told in the novel encourage African Americans to take action. The novel shows the lack of humanity in Jackson segregation laws. These women depict injustice “like a boil, [for it] can never be cured [as] long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness” (King). This solidarity shows their rebellious efforts to voice out their exploitation and injustice; no matter the consequences. The white community receives a culture shock when the book undergoes much attention and praise. As a result, some of the maids receive the after-effects of civil disobedience. Like Aibileen who is fired from her job unjustly because Hilly Holbrook knew she was one of the maids in the novel. Ergo, just as the sun shines after a long storm, the individual's oppressed were finally able to seek out their own

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