The Civil Rights Movement in Kathryn Stockett's The Help - Book Report/Review Example

The Civil Rights Movement Set in Jackson Mississippi in the early 1960s, The Help provides a succinct of the relations between people of different classes and races. The novel centers on a century subsequent to the American Civil War. During this era, African American women did not have job options than to work as oppressed domestic servants for rich, white families. The Help exemplifies the difficulties such women faced as socialites entrusted the care of their children to the African American maid. This was while the latter had no time to care for their own families. This paper will examine the novel The Help, connecting its themes and events to those of the civil rights movement and other relevant issues. The Help offers insight into the provocative subject of racial, gender and class segregation during the civil rights movement era. Stockett’s novel is an intriguing novel that examines the lives of black maids during the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. Stockett shows the relationship between African Americans and the whites as a complex continuum of abuse, mistrust, hate, dependence, attachment and shockingly, love. Notably, Stockett wittingly portrays this array of emotions in a humorous and agile manner. However, her expression at the end of the novel shows that portraying these mixed emotions was not an easy feat. In a personal excerpt at the novel’s conclusion, Stockett notes that there is no trickier subject for a Southern writer than that of love between a white and a black person within the imbalanced world of segregation. Nonetheless, Stockett portrays these emotions with equal degrees of seriousness and humor. However, the absence of reference to one of the most critical mass struggles of the South gives a sense of inaccuracy with regard to the novel. The mass struggle in this case refers to that which shattered the Jim Crow structure in the South during the civil rights movement. The novel also fails to mention the influence, as well as the atmosphere of the mass struggle that forever changed the civil rights movement (Kasher 19). The Jim Crow laws refer to local and state laws enacted between 1876 and 1965, in the US, requiring racial segregation in all public facilities within Southern states. Prior to the year, 1965, African Americans sought to break state disfranchisement but were unsuccessful. However, the motiveless attack of peaceful marchers by state troopers, in Alabama, forced Congress and President Johnson to counter the resistance of Southern legislators to allow African American’s enfranchisement. The Help centers on the lives of three characters. They include: Skeeter, a fresh grandaunt from an affluent white family aiming at a journalist career; Aibileen and Minny, black maids who consented to speak out about the tribulations of African Americans. The three set out on a project to expose the ills of racial segregation in the South. The trio’s project coincides with the upsurge of the second wave of the feminist movement. Although the novel revolves around feminist movement events that preceded the Women’s Liberation Movement and the foundation of the National Organization for Women (NOW) by feminist leaders like Betty Friedman, the novel shows that women, particularly African American women, began seeking freedom from segregation before such movements become public (Maslin 16). While The Help does not provide a perfect description of the events of the 1960s by suppressing the budding feminism of certain characters, the novel still touches on many pertinent issues relevant to 1960s feminism movement and civil rights movement. The Help showcases the role of women’s feminism movements in the larger civil rights movement. Stockett uses different characters to describe the feminist issues at the center of the civil rights movement. Firstly, Skeeter’s independence and rebelliousness towards restrictions enforced by societal norms shows not only a hint of feminism, but also the progress of the civil rights movements with regard to achieving change in the mindset of the oppressive white population. Skeeter represents a group of white folk (and women) who sought changes in societal expectations with regard to the roles of women and blacks in the predominantly white society. Critics often argue that the second wave of feminism movement involved a considerable number of white women who busily organized, protested and advocated women’s rights without inviting other races to join them. Critics are also doubtful of Stockett’s ability to narrate the story of black women (Aibileen and Minny). This is partly because of the manner in which white voices in the US relay the events of the civil rights movement from a limited viewpoint. The Help also centers on the subject of women and civil rights. The novel explores the theme by showing the unfairness black feminist activists experienced. The height of unfairness towards African American activists is the question of which comes first, women’s civil rights as African Americans or their liberation as women (Foweraker and Landman 59). This either/or dichotomy demonstrates the problem faced by black women in the 1960s as they sought their civil rights while at the same time pursuing their liberation from segregation on the basis of their gender. The idea of sisterhood was a highly utilized cry and theme of the feminist movement in the 1960s and 70s. The word came under serious disapproval partly because of the assumptions of racism and classism ascribed to female liberation activists that used the word. The Help lays emphasis on women’s solidarity in different aspects of their lives, often transcending racial boundaries (Jessamy 12). This cry highlights the role of white women liberation activists in the civil rights movement, particularly through their efforts to voice the plight of African American women in the race and gender segregated society. Perhaps one of the novel’s most notable themes is the consideration of people’s, particularly women’s political assertions in the face of the feminist and civil rights movements. The novel’s plot centers on women relaying their stories in a society that denied them their civil rights. Regardless of the flawed nature of the novel in terms of portraying the events of the 1960s, The Help exemplifies the idea of women speaking out as a path to renewed social and civil enlightenment. This enlightenment becomes apparent in the feminist movements, as well as women’s role in the civil rights movement. Therefore, empowering the help, in the novel, is tantamount to women empowerment during the civil rights movement. Ida Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell are among the most notable women who played an integral role in the civil rights movement. As a writer for a local black newspaper, Wells-Barnett wrote scathing articles regarding lynching of African Americans, especially after the fateful Alabama mass parade. During her tours to Europe, Wells-Barnett brought international pressure on the US to get rid of racially segregating laws. Church Terrell also toured Europe before returning to the US to advocate the rights of African Americans. Church Terrell excelled academically to prove that African Americans, particularly African American women had similar abilities as the whites (Ralph 112). African American women portrayed in The Help had to work as maid in the homes of wealthy white families because they had few available alternatives. The relegation of African American women (and men) was one of the chief concerns of the feminist movement, as well as civil rights movement. African Americans had extremely few available job opportunities, and those available were either demeaning or insulting to their abilities. The few job opportunities available to African Americans during the 19th and early to mid 20th century included menial labor jobs. The most notable achievement of the civil rights movement with regard to employment opportunities came 1964. The judicial triumph in the case, Brown v. Board of Education, abolished the concept of “separate but equal” illegalizing segregation. The ratification of the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination in public facilities and employment practices. However, it is critical to note that segregation did not involve only involve whites and blacks, but also within the races. For instance, although female civil rights groups played a critical role in organizing the Washington march for jobs and freedom, the men denied the women a chance to voice their opinions and ultimately relegated to symbolic duties behind the stage. The Washington march, during which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” monumental speech, resulted in a new feminine awakening forcing women to fight for both their civil and feminine rights. These feminine rights also included the right to freedom from domestic violence. In The Help, Minny is the victim of domestic violence as her husband; Leroy beats her constantly (Stockett 129). Ironically, Minny appears to accept Leroy’s beatings while seeking freedom from the abuse of wealthy white folk. Notably, Stockett approaches the issue of domestic violence with a somewhat ironic awareness of the intense public attention that later covered the issue. Feminist rights organizations, for instance, NOW, highlighted the issue of domestic brutality as among the main concerns. In conclusion, The Help provides a lucid depiction of the tribulations of black families in the 1960s. The struggles highlighted in the novel are comparable to those of the lives of black families during the period. For instance, Hilly’s Home Help Sanitation Project advocated the establishment of separate bathrooms for white residents and black helps in white households (Stockett 206). This project is equivalent to the “separate but equal” legal article, which sought the isolation of whites and African Americans in public facilities. The novel showcases the struggles of African Americans in the white dominated society as the blacks sought their emancipation from segregation. Works cited Foweraker, J. and Landman, T. Citizenship Rights and Social Movements: A Comparative and Statistical Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print. Jessamy, C. "The maids tale: Kathryn Stockett examines slavery and racism in Americas Deep South". The Daily Telegraph [London]. 16 July. 2009. Print. Kasher, S. The civil rights movement: A photographic history (1954–1968). New York: Abbeville Publishing Group, 2000. Print. Maslin, J. "Racial insults and quiet bravery in 1960s Mississippi". The New York Times. 20 October. 2009. Print. Ralph, E. W. Ever is a Long Time: A Journey into Mississippis Dark Past. New York: Basic Books, 2003. Print. Stockett, K. The help. New York: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, 2009. Print. 464 pgs Read More