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Stereotypes In The Help By Kathryn Stockett, The Help

1168 Words5 Pages

A novel written by Kathryn Stockett, The Help explains the hardships colored women faced while working for white families during the Civil Rights movement. Throughout the novel, white people think they have stronger identities than colored people just because their white skin color makes them superior to colored people. A person’s identity is the condition where one person acts according to their own will, not influenced by others. People with identities excel in subjects that matter in their life the most, enjoy hobbies, and speak up for others and themselves. People without identities are the complete opposite and may follow people with strong identities. Family, friends, society, ethnicity, time periods, and one’s race can influence a person’s identity in a positive or negative way. Love can influence one’s identity as well, for people who love and care about one give them advice and information that will benefit them in the future. In the novel, colored women’s identities were hidden under the powerful identities of their white employers, mainly because of the color of their skin. …show more content…

One hidden in the crowd or shy at school does not receive an identity from people around them; instead, they receive a lower rating that may hinder them from going to college or having a successful career. Martin Luther King Jr., an African American who fought for equality between colored and white people, proves that fighting for injustice can result in one’s strong identity. In Kathryn Stockett’s novel, The Help, Aibileen and Miss Skeeter convey the claim that in order to have a strong identity, one must speak or fight against injustice. In the modern world, society and the media try to hinder people thoughts and beliefs and pull them to agree with their own. However, people with strong identities survive and succeed in life because they hold true to their beliefs and thoughts and do not follow

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People today could say that stereotypes aren't such a factor in life, but they don’t notice what's really around them. The book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, gives a realistic example of how stereotypes rule society. The Outsiders is about two groups of kids, the Socs, and the greasers. The story takes place in the east side of Tulsa Oklahoma, in the 1960’s. The main character Ponyboy is part of the greaser group, with Johnny, Darry, Dally, Sodapop, Two-Bit, and Steve.

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Stereotyping is a general idea that someone uses to view someone before they actually get to know them. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, Jem, and Dill stereotype people until Scout’s father tells her to stop stereotyping. Harper Lee suggests that in order to fully understand someone, you must learn to see the world from their point of view. Mrs. Dubose is an example of Harper Lee’s idea because at first she acts mean towards the Finch family which cause Jem to destroy her camellia flowers. When Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus tells the kids that the reason she was so mean was because she had a morphine addiction.

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Every type of person struggles with a thing we call, identity. Personal identity come from multiple factors from our race to our own personal beliefs. Some people say we have the choice to choose our own identity, but is that always true? No, in fact other people can affect how we look and essentially identity our self’s. In the article called.

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The Hate U Give is a book by Angie Thomas. The theme of the hate u give is some people get treated and looked at differently because of their skin color. Examples of this happening is when khalil was in the car with starr officer 115 came up to khalil and started questioning him and started assuming he's a drug dealer so then he makes khalil step out and then officer 115 shoots khalil 3 times. Starr goes to a white prep school there she has to talk proper and watch how she acts or she be seen as a stereotype the “loud angry ghetto black girl” she is being stereotyped based of her color and race which ties in to my thesis.

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Throughout literature the constant theme of identity has been explored, with Northrop Frye even suggesting “the story of the loss and regaining of identity is, I think, the framework for all literature.” For characters, true identity isn’t always apparent, it needs to be searched for. Sometimes the inner struggle for identity stems from ones need for belonging. Whether one finds their sense of identity within friends, family, or in a physical “home”. It’s not always a place that defines identity.

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Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, attests to the hateful and cruel reality that is the life of African Americans in Jackson, Mississippi circa the 1960’s. Stockett writes many anecdotes surrounding the relationship between Constantine, an African American maid, and the child she cares for, Skeeter. Skeeter reflects upon a memory of Constantine and

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Stereotypes- The thought that comes into our minds when we think about individuals or plainly, just groups of people. Throughout the decades, women have been expected to be smart homemakers, nurturing mothers, and obedient wives above anything else. In the novel, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, women strived to fit the 1960’s stereotype, the hairdo and all. However, Skeeter, the main character, plays an educated, unmarried, and aspiring writer.

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Self-identity is defined as the recognition of one's potential and qualities as an individual, especially in relation to social context. In other words, self-understanding. Finding self-identity is more more difficult for some people than others. In the autobiography Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker, the author reflects on her identity as a mixed raced individual which is illustrated through Walker’s reflections. People define themselves in many different ways.

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