Corruption In Kathryn Stockett's The Help

It is sometimes said that there are two methods by which one could propel themselves into success in a corrupt system: money or power. In this way, the cycle of corruption is never broken; in order to earn an impressive place in the tainted system, the candidate themselves must be tainted as well. Once the desire for power is instilled in their hearts, that greed is then rarely sated. And so it begins; as those with influence become intoxicated with their power, they are prepared to ruthlessly silence those who are considered obstacles. However, if one decides to fight against the powerful, the results have the potential to change an entire population. This is seen in Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help, where Stockett describes how Skeeter, a white aspiring writer, was struggling to free herself from the dominating

Aibileen stated that Hilly would likely spend her entire life trying to convince others that she had not eaten the pie, and that she was “in her own jail, but with a lifelong term” (Stockett 522). The great Hilly Holbrook, who had once had the town of Jackson, Mississippi wrapped around her little finger, had crumbled. Throughout Kathryn Stockett’s acclaimed novel, The Help, there existed a distinct power struggle between Hilly and Skeeter, two close friends who had been driven apart by their own opposing viewpoints concerning the black community of Jackson, Mississppi. Hilly was so admired by her peers that they were willing to fully believe most anything she said, giving her the power to besmirch the name of any and all who challenged her; this ability also allowed Hilly to spread her wildly racist beliefs among her devoted followers. Skeeter, however, chose to deviate from the norm, and fought back alongside Aibileen and Minny, the maids who had become her friends. First with toilets and then with a book that exposed one of Hilly’s darkest secrets, the trio began to cripple Hilly’s control on Jackson and paved the way for