The first chapters of The Help have introduced us to the three powerful characters that will tell us the story. Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter, with their own different accents, will surely raise different feelings and generate different reactions among us.
For instance, what do you think about what Aibileen did to introduce Minny to Celia Rae Foote?
That was Minny's only hope so, Aibileen did what she had to do...She took a big risk though.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone had the same trouble I had in picturing these ladies in the 60's? I keep imagining them in the late 1800's or beginning of 1900's with long dresses...I think it's maybe because it's hard for me to believe that such level of discrimination against black people was only 50 years ago...
It definitely is hard to imagine this took place so recently. On the one hand, it's incredibly disgusting how badly we treated African Americans less than 50 years ago, but on the other hand, I do feel like we've come a long way in the US since 1962.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else feeling tense as they read? I find that i am nervous, waiting for something bad to happen. But it is an engrossing novel, so even though I'm tense, I can't put it down!
Desperate situations take desperate measures, don´t they? I think here the end justifies the means...
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about the atmosphere? I have never been to Mississippi but from what I have seen in movies, the description seems right, it takes you in. Any thoughts on this? anyone been there? Rocío
I keep picturing Betty Draper from Mad Men. It is interesting to realize how close we are to that time period. And how amazing it is that Obama won for president! What do you think the ladies would say to that?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Monica. I picture the story in my head like a scene out of 'Gone with the wind'. Then, I read they have a/c and diswashers. That's when I realize they are in the 60's! that was the day before yesterday!
ReplyDeleteThe story makes me sad, thinking how much those women must have suffered and, even taking big risks, they are brave enough to do what Aibileen did to help her friend.
The novel makes me feel both tense and sad. It makes me feel annoyed too when I read about the relationships between the white ladies and the help, and also between the little Mae Mobley and her mother.
ReplyDeleteAt one point Aibileen talks with sadness about that moment in which the kids she has raised become like their parents. I feel she says that with defeat, as something unavoidable. However, her work (and the work of women like her) is the seed of the change. As Dana commented, what would the ladies say if they knew that in barely 50 years the White House would become the home of a colored family?
I felt that what Aibileen does to get Minnie the job is somehow a turning point for her; feels like it's the first time she does something she's not supposed to against the (white) order of things, and it feels like this is something that will change her. I wanted to say also that, though I do share the feeling of most of you on "how could these things happen not so long ago", if I think about it it's not a big surprise.. Discrimination is still alive and well, not only in the US but everywhere else including Europe. It is more subtle than what we are reading about, but it is there - and not only against undocumented immigrants.
ReplyDeleteI like the comment about the femininity of the book - and I think men are absent because, in a way, they really were in these women's lives. Women had a whole world without men at home, just like men had a whole world outside. Those that did not necessarily conform (like Skitter) were a bit like black people, weren't they; she's a bit of an outsider too.
I'm also wondering what a black woman that worked as a maid in the sixties would say about this book and how well a white woman has managed to capture how these women felt and thought - isn't it a bold move for the author to use the first person for Aibileen and Minnie? It feels real though, and I suppose that's what makes a good writer.
It would certainly be interesting to know the opinion of black women who were maids at that time. I'll do some Internet research to see if there is something about it… :)
ReplyDeleteHow do you think the novel would have been different if it was told by a third person omniscient narrator? For me, I think the empathy and closeness with the characters wouldn't have felt as strong.
I didn't necessarily think it would be better for the book to be narrated differently; I was just thinking how much insight a person can have who was not in the situation and whether it can be seen in a negative way - someone telling the other group's story in a way. I may have been oversensitive - after all an author doesn't always write of only personal experience!
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. I was reading interviews and comments about the book and I found a little bit of everything, from withe and black people of Mississippi. Some didn't see themselves on the characters; some liked them a lot and could feel the story as theirs; some found it full of stereotypes; some thought it showed the person behind the maid… According to the author, "she herself had an absentee white mother and was raised by a black woman named Demetrie. She loved Demetrie dearly without ever giving much thought to what Demetrie’s life was like, and she says that “The Help” was written to fill in that gap" (The NYT). I agree it might be difficult to put oneself that much on someone else's shoes, specially tackling such a delicate subject. I think there might be flaws and some embroidering, but that still is a good try to talk about that reality. And in any case, it is a novel I cannot put down!
ReplyDelete