Literary Analysis: The Home Help Sanitation Initiative

Hanna Kadel

Mrs. Bonnie Noel

English III

25 April 2023

“The Help” Literary Analysis

Racism in America very prominent in the 1960s, especially in Jackson, Mississippi. Most African American women were working as maids for white women. They were not allowed to want change because this is what they needed to do to survive. However, one woman started a revelation that sent the city of Jackson into a whirlwind. Miss Skeeter although part of the 144,000 people in Jackson at the time wanted to make a change and she wanted Aibileen to help, although both living completely different lives. They worked together against racism using the power of words on a page with writing, storytelling, and freedom. “The Help” talks about a controversial time in American

The maids getting treated distastefully in some of the homes. One large example that carried through a large portion of the beginning of the book was “The Home Help Sanitation Initiative.” This initiative was put in place to make all homes build a separate bathroom for their help to use so no one had to share the same toilet with them due to “black diseases.” “Hilly Holbrook introduces the Home Help Sanitation Initiative. A disease preventative measure. Low-cost bathroom installation in your garage or shed, for homes without such an important fixture” (Stockett 184). She said this extra bathroom would save people from “permanent disabilities.” This was one of the many racial acts showcased in this book. Some others included KKK murders, an African American man getting beat up for accidentally using the wrong bathroom, and an African American maid getting sentenced wrongly for a small crime. Racism was the largest focal point in this book, as the whole reason Miss Skeeter wrote the book was to help the maids get better lives in the homes that they worked in. She did not like to see how these people were treated in the homes of her past best friends. She eventually got fed up with all the things that Miss Hilly said and she wrote the book. The book fought against everything that these ladies were too scared to stand up against themselves. This book changed the way some of these maids

This book talked about a controversial time in American history and it found a way to bring hope into losing times when discussing the lives of white women, like Miss Skeeter, and African American women, like AIbileen. It shows how writing, storytelling, and freedom can outshine the racial ideation of citizens in Jackson, Mississippi. The book did not stop racism or make everyone’s life dandy and free, but it did help these women. It helped them finally share their stories with the world and especially Jackson. They were able to get out the good and the bad in their writings and storytelling to fight for their freedoms. Miss Skeeter wanted to make a change with Aibileen’s help, even though they lived lives opposite the bridge. They worked together and fought against racism using the power of words coming together with writing, storytelling, and freedom. They fought for each other and Aibileen even says towards the end of the book, “I think about the first time Miss Skeeter came to my house, how awkward we was. Now I feel like we family” (Stockett 512). She found the feeling of family in someone she would have never expected, all because of a