Hilly Holbrook In The Help

In the novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, there are many characters that can be identified as an antagonist throughout the story. However, Hilly Holbrook is the most significant of them all. With her attitude towards colored people, her controlling personality, and the methods she uses in order to have her way, it is obvious that Ms. Hilly is a definite villain of this novel. In the novel, many white families, including Ms. Hilly’s, had hired African American maids to help them around the house. Unfortunately, even though Ms. Hilly’s help worked hard and did as they were told, she still did not give them the light of day. To put it simply, Ms. Hilly did not see colored people as equals. For example, “’All these houses they’re building without maid’s quarters? It’s just plain dangerous. Everybody knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do... (Stockett 10) ’” This is proof that Ms. Hilly sees the colored community as something foreign. She feels that they are a danger to her town, and doesn’t even treat them with any level of respect; as if the colored help is beneath her.

Hilly was also very degrading towards others, and manipulative. “‘Like I’d even consider beating my friend Yule May Crookle out a her job. Miss Hilly think everbody just as two-faced as she is (Stockett 398).’” According to this quote, it is clear to see that Ms. Hilly does not have a good reputation in the black community. In the novel, Ms. Hilly is shown to be cruel to those who oppose her. She threatens Minny, Skeeter, and just about anyone who does not go along with her plans, or is associating with the black community For instance, when Yule May was denied of a raise to help her boys get into college from Ms. Hilly, she had no choice but to steal from Ms. Hilly. Consequently, Ms. Hilly found out, and sent Yule May to jail. It was because of Ms. Hilly’s lack of compassion for those with a different skin color than her that Yule May had to resort to