DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE
PEOPLE FOUND IN KATHRYN STOCKETT’S NOVEL
THE
HELP
A PAPER
BY
NELFI OKMITA
REG. NO. 102202036
DIPLOMA-III ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM
FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA
MEDAN
It has been proved by Supervisor,
Dr. Ridwan Hanfiah,S.H., M.A. NIP. 19560705198903 1 002
Submitted to Faculty of Cultural Study, University of North Sumatera
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for DIPLOMA (D-III) in English
Approved by
Head of Diploma III English Study Program,
Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A. NIP. 19521126198112 1 001
Approved by the Diploma III English Study Program Faculty of Cultural Study, University of North Sumatra
Accepted by :
The Board of Examiners in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the D-III Examination of the Diploma III English Study Program, Faculty of
Cultural Studies, University of North Sumatera.
The examination is held on June 2013
Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of North Sumatera Dean,
Dr. Syahron Lubis, M.A. NIP. 19511013197603 1 001
Board of Examiners
Signature
1. Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A. (Head of ESP)
2. Dr. Ridwan Hanafiah, S.H., M.A. (Supervisor)
AUTHOR'S DECLARATION
I NELFI OKMITA declare that I am the sole author of this paper. Except where the reference is made in the text of this paper, this paper contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a paper by which I have qualified for or awarded another degree.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of this paper. This paper has not been submitted for the award of another degree in any tertiary education.
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Name : NELFI OKMITA
Title of Paper : Discrimination between Black snd White people found in Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help
Qualification : D-III / Ahli Madya Study Program : English
I am willing that my paper should be available for reproduction at the discretionof the Librarian of the Diploma III English Department Faculty of Cultural Study USU on the understanding that users are made aware of their obligation under law of the Republic of Indonesia.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAK
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Bismillahirrahmaanirrahiim.
First of all, I would like to thank The Almightly Allah SWT, for blessing and giving me health, strength and ability to accomplish this paper as one of the requirements to get Diploma III certificate from English Department, Faculty of Culture Studies, University of North Sumatera.
Then, I would like to express a deep gratitude, love, and appreciation to:
1. Dr. Syahron Lubis, MA, as the Dean Faculty of Culture Studies University of Sumatera Utara
2. Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A, as the Head of English Diploma Study Program, who gives me a lot of knowledge.
3. Dr. Ridwan Hanafiah,S.H., M.A, as my supervisor. Thank you very much for the valuable time in giving the correction and constructive critics in completing this paper.
4. Drs. Parlindungan Purba, M. Hum as my reader, who has devoted his time to give me some suggestion in completing this paper.
5. My good father, Harmi and My great mother, Emsita who have given me supports, advices, prays, loves, and financial in all my activities. I present this paper for you.
7. All lectures in English Diploma Study Program for Giving me advices and knowledge
8. My Nero Gank; Yati (lobet), Atika (atun), Ivana (udin jala), and Anggie (kakek)
Thank you for being nice friend and supporting me to finish this paper. Keep on our friendship forever! And my special one Sadrakh Anthony thanks for your cares, support, love and other things that help me to complete this paper, you are the only one for me
9. Team Marching band Universitas Sumatera Utara, thank for bringing my joy back.
Finally, I do realize that this paper is still far from being perfect. Therefore, I welcome any constructive critics and suggestions towards this paper.
Medan, July 2013
The writer,
Reg. No. 102202036
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.1 Definition of Racial Discrimination ... 62.2 Types of Discrimination ... 8
3.THE DISCRIMINATION 3.1 Black People as Disease ... 10
3.2 Discrimination in Public Service ... 12
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAK
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of the Study
Klarer, (1999: 1) said that literature comes from the word littera (latin) which is the smallest element of alphabetical writing). This definition looks simple in describing what literature is all about, because not all written works can be considered as literature. He further said that the definition. usually includes additional adjective such as ‘aesthetic’ or ‘artistic’ to distinguish literary works from text of everyday use such as newspaper, legal documents or even scholarly writing.
Literature can be divided into three genres; poetry, prose, and drama. Prose, as a genre of literature tells a story and portrays people in society. As a form of prose, novel can be defined as a long fictional story in book form that express the idea of man’s life experience through the novelist’s skill. Novelist frequently focuses on tensions between individuals and society (Peck, 1984:102). Therefore novel can be considered as work of imagination in prevailing social problem such as gender, race, or class prejudice of a novel.
transportation, hospital, library, education and Justice. That can be the discrimination action could cover all aspect of live, because everybody could discriminate, not only to the minorities but also among the majorities as the well.
Racial discrimination action always done by violence behavior, for example: the Black people get seriously injured or injustice treatment. In the fact this behavior can be a danger treatment and give more disadvantages to people or group who became the aimed from discrimination action, even though the violence will annoy the nation life3 also caused an extraordinary of crimes. In America, the Black unjust treatment and cruelty by the white, just because their race identity. At the moment, the black were insulted, oppressed, and even killed by the white. The white were against to the black as minority group caused the white became dominant and supposed the different race between the black and white as a hostility symbol and a reason for making practice discrimination toward the black. The topic of racial discrimination also appears in literary works, like in novel.
It is not only can happen to the poor and the weak but also can happen to the rich and even powerful people basically, discrimination action could happen to everybody in any parts of the world, no matter who you are and where ever you are.
The novel of The Help is written by Kathryn Stockett in New York, America. This novel is narrated through the point of views of two main characters in rotating chapters that focus on each of their experiences. There are two main characters, namely Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, two middle-aged black maids working for the white families: they experiences racial discrimination as the black people usually have. The novel takes place in Jackson Mississippi, America in 1963, during the dawning of the civil right movements in the United States.
1.2 Problem of the Study
Based on the background of the analysis, the problem of the study may be recognized as follows :
1. What kind of the discrimination that can be found in the novel? 2. The ways of white threating the black
1.3 Scope of the Study
Scope of the study has the important purpose to writing the paper. It used to limit the problem of topic in the paper and be more focused to the explaining the topic. There are many interesting aspects can be discussed about this novel,
1.4 Objective of the Study
nevertheless the writer is interested to focus to describe the discrimination practiced betwen black and white in Jackson Missisipi.
The objective of this paper are to find and to describe what kind of discrimination and which discrimination that happened in this novel as referred in the background of the study above. Therefore, this paper can be functional for the reader in order to enrich our knowledge on literature.
1.5 Significance of the Study
1.6 Method of the Study
2.
DISCRIMINATION
2.1 The Definition of Racial Discrimination
The definition of discrimination is the act of prejudice against a person because they have a certain set of characteristics. Discriminated characteristics ca include disability, age, gender reassignment, religion, race, sex and sexual orientation. Discrimination can take many forms but in many countries around the world there are laws prohibiting any form of discrimination. In the United States, employment laws are very strict regarding discrimination and the laws serve to protect individuals from being discriminated in the workplace. The laws also serve to guide employers on acceptable conduct for its employees with regards to discrimination.
Racial discrimination refers to unequal treatment of persons or group on the basis of their race or ethnicity. Many scholars and legal advocates distinguish between differential treatment and disparate impact, differential treatment occurs when individuals are treated unequally because of their race.
Racial prejudice is an insidious moral and social disease affecting people all over the world. Initially this is referred to making a judgment about a person based on superficial characteristics, before receiving information relevant to the particular issue on which a judgement was being made. Racial prejudice perverts this uniqueness of the races and takes the view that these differences separate individuals further into groups, with one group inferior to the other. Discrimination prejudice are very much telated, because prejudices always construct a rationalization of discrimination, while discrimination brings thr threats of attitude to justify the prejudice N.Daldjoeni,( 1991:85).
Racial discrimination or racism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human qualities and capacities and those racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. As a result, mistreatment of a group people on the basis of race, color, and religion are often found in the name superiority. The statement above also supported by Bowling (2002:21) that stated “Racism is the belief that certain group are innately, biologically, socially morally superior to other groups, based upon what is attributed to be their racial composition.”
difference that gave bad effect and sufferings towards black people. White people cannot accept the existence of black people, as consequence they never treat black people as the true human beings due to the different types of physical characteristics. The black people always become the victim of white people bad treatments.
2.2 Types of Discrimination
There are several types of discrimination that categorized by some experts. However this paper will be using the category declared by Ben Bowling that divided the action of discrimination into two types. Those discrimination types are direct discrimination and indirect discrimination.
Direct discrimination is type of discrimination that is more obvious and destructive. It is involves in treating someone less favorably because of their possession of an attribute (sex, age, race, religion, family status, national origin, military status, sexual orientation, disability, body size/shape), compared with someone without that attribute in the same circumstances.
Furthermore, Bowling (2002:39) explain that “A distinction can be made between direct and indirect discrimination. Among the best examples of direct discrimination are those which have been enshrined by law. The South African apartheid legal system, for example prohibited black people from voting or participating in the political process, created separate ‘white’ residential areas and schools, and also prohibited ‘mixed marriages.”
Another example of direct discrimination from Bowling had mention from the quotation above would be not offering a job a woman because she is likely to take maternity leave where as a man is not, or given a specific job with more high paid salary to a certain ethnic due to the common perception that they will likely to present better output and more efficient than others. Also, direct discrimination usually practice the refusal to offer employment, the fairness and equality in payment, wages, to provide housing and medical treatment or to provide a commercial or social service. In general, it covers almost all aspect of human life.
3. THE DISCRIMINATION
3.1 Black People as disease
The novel shows that almost all the white think the black are dirty who can spread many kinds of diseases. The diseases are caused by the black color of skin. This problem makes the white very worry with the black disease and it becomes a problem for both the white and the black.
Aibileen and Minny as the main characters in the novel, have many bas experiences as black maids. When Aibileen works in Miss Leefolt’s house, she has separate bathroom because her lady worries that she will contaminate diseases. Stockett( 2009: 9) says, “A bill that requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the colored help. I've even notified the surgeon general of Mississippi to see if he'll endorse the idea. I'll pass.”
In the novel, many quotations explain about the diseases of black people. White ladies avoid the risk of the black disease and always forbid their children to near the black maids.
Stockett (2009: 8) says, “All these houses they’re building without maid’s quarters? It’s just plain dangerous. Every body knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do.”
promotes it when the white ladies have a monthly club. The text below is the sanitation hygiene program is designed by Miss Hilly Holbrook and this program will be published in the monthly Magazine of her club.
The sanitation Hygiene as cited from Stockett (2009:158)
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.
Ladies, did you know that:
• 99% of all colored diseases are carried in the urine
• Whites can become permanently disabled by nearly all of these diseases because we lack immunities coloreds carry in their darker pigmentation • Some germs carried by whites can also be harmful to colored too. Protect
yourself. Protect your children. Protect your help. Form the Holbrook, we say, you’re welcome!
In relation to this, the dialog below shows about the use of black maid’s bathroom in the lady house, a white little child Mae Mobley uses a maid’s bathroom (Aibileen’s bathroom) and then Miss Leefolt is very angry: her screams to her daughter and then she drags Mae Mobley in to the room immediately. Miss Leefolt hits the daughter’s leg, and it6 makes her child crying. Aibileen just looks this condition silently, because she can’t intervene it.
Stockett (2009:95-96) says, “I did not raise you to use the colored bathroom!” I hear her hiss-whispering, thinking I can’t hear, and I think, Lady, you didn’t raise your child at all.
I feel that bitter seed growing inside a me, the one planted after treelore died. I want to yell so loud that Baby Girl can hear me that dirty ain’t a color, disease ain’t the Negro side a town. I want to stop that moment from coming-and it come in ever white child’s life-when that start to think that colored folks ain’t as good as whites.
The quotation explains about the moment when Aibileen talks a story to Mae Mobley. She inserts a story how the ways of struggle of discrimination and she always tries to explain the children that there is not different between the white and black people, because dirty is not caused by the skin color and the black doesn’t cause disease. She tries to give this understanding though a white child that all human are the same. So, Aibileen as a maid gets the racial discrimination from the white especially her white ladies. The black as disease people, because black skin is dirty and contaminate diseases.
3.2 Discrimination in Public Services
Based on the novel, the black people in the America become victim of discrimination, because there are “ruled” by white, differentiate in many ways from the white. The racial discrimination of African Americans done by the White in many aspects of life that can be seen in public services. Such as: bus or public transportation, hospital, library, justice, and the others.
1) Housing
Stockett (2009:9) says, “All her white friends live, in a neighborhood call Belhaven. Right next to Belhaven the down and the state. Down road from Belhaven is white Woodland Hills, then Sherwood Forest, which is miles a big live oaks with the moss hanging down. Nobody living in it yet, but it’s there for when the white folks is ready to move some where else new.” “So Jackson’s just one white neighborhood after the next and more springing up down the road. But the colored part a town, we one big anthill, surrounded by state land that ain’t for sale. As our numbers get bigger, we can’t spread out. Our part a town just gets thicker.”
Aibileen and Minny live in the same area of the Black population, a far away from their white’ ladies houses. The black cannot enter the white area, if they do not work. Although the population of the black increases every year, they black area, they feel uncomfortable, because their actions are watched carefully by the black. A little colored boy in overalls watches me, wide-eyed, gripping a red ball. Here, narrow eyes watch me pass by. When my car gets close to him, the little colored boy turns and scats behind a house. (Stockett 2009:207)
The reality in 1960s shows that black people are disproportionately home less and have significantly poorer housing options. Racial residential and segregation contributes to the concentration of poverty in the black. The white and the black people are segregated in the areas in which they live, though the are in place, societal changes are likely to be necessary to eradicate discrimination in this area
2) Bus or Public Transportation
The Black people always get the second facilities compare to the white. They are separated in the public service like in a bus. The white and the black people the same bus, but they have separates seats. The white sit in the front and the black sit in the backside
Stockett (2009:13) says, “Get on the number six bus that afternoon, which goes from Belhaven to farish street. The bus today is nothing but maids heading home in our white uniforms. We all chatting and smiling at each other like we own it-not cause we mind if they’s white people on here, we sit anywhere we want to now thanks to Miss Parks- just cause it’ friendly feeling.”
They have the same the bus, but there is a rule to have a distance, the black sit in the backside even they must stand if the white don’t get sea.
Another example of discrimination in the bus is the bus drivers prefers to take the white passengers and dont’t care with the black passengers. Aibileen and her black friends always get the same bus to go and return from their white ladies aibileen and her black friends get discrimination when there is a riot in the street. There are four passengers, two black me and two white men in the bus. Suddenly, the bus stops in the middle the street and then the white driver asks to the black pasengers to go out from the bus, becuse he just wants to take white passengers. Aibileen is very angry with this. She is left in a road, far from her house. This story shows the racial discriination in the bus. The white driver keeps the white passengers and leave behind the black people.
1, 1995 when one little move she made would bring fame and change her life forever. That day she was sitting in one of the seats on a bus reserved for African American. A white came on, and there were no empty seat left, so the bus driver ordered to stand. But the rule, she was supposed to give up her seat, but being extremely tired and she permanently refused to stand. When she was jailed, the black people boycott of the city’s buses began. The boycott lasted more than a year, demonstrating the unity and determination of black residents and inspiring the black else where.
3) Hospital
The third aspect of racial discrimination also happens in hospital for health service. The black people have a separate hospital from the white. The black can’t come to the white hospital and the other way. The white or the black doctors do not want to help the other skin patients.
Stockett (2009:151) says, “I never seen that much red come out a person and I grab the boy, I grab them four fingers. Tote him to the colored hospital cause I didn’t know where the white one was, but when I got there, a colored man stops me and say, is this boy white?” “And I say, Yessuh and he say, is them his white fingers? And I say, Yessuh and he say, Well, you better tell em he your high yellow cause that colored doctor won’t operate on a white boy in a negro hospital. And then a white police man grab me and he say, Now you look a here—“
doctors reject him, because he is a white boy. Even though Aibileen care and help a white boy, she does not get these things from the white when Treelore, Aibileen’s son gets accident,
a white foreman doesn’t take him to hospital immediately. His broken body is thrown on the back of a pickup car by the white man, and then he is dropped at the death of
Treelore, because he is the black and he does not get immediate help from the white. His is one of many bad experiences of the black, there fore the Black try to turn against the white, because they have bad experiences with the white people due to their discrimination.
4) Library
Another aspect of discrimination is library service. The black and the white people have separated libraries. The black library not only has incomplete collection of books, but also the less of facilities. The black people can’t enter to the white library and the black can’t borrow books from the white libraries.
Stockett (2009:57) says, “Aibileen gives me a dry cough.”You know colored folks ain’t allowed in that library.”
Sit there a second, feeling stupid. “I can’t believe I forgot that.” The colored library must be pretty bad. There was a sit-in at the white library a few years ago and it made the papers. When the colored crowd showed up for the sit-in trial, the police department simply stepped back and turned the German shepherds loose, I look at Aibileen and am reminded, once3 again, the risk she’s taking to me. “I’ll be glad to pick the books up for you,” I say.”
black. In short, the racil discrimination can be seen in library as one of public services that seperates thee Black and the White.
In the reality of that the state librarians is derected to fit up and maintain a seperate place for the use of the colored people who may to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals. Any white person of such county may usse the county free libraries under the rules and regulation prescribed by the commissioners’ court and may be entitled to all the privileges there of. Said court sall make proper provision for the Negroes of said county to be served through a seperated branch or branches of trhe county free library, whih shal be administered by a custodian of the Negro race under the supervision of the county librarian.
5) Education
The next aspect of discrimination is education. The black people get minimum educational services, facilities, and access. The school is also separated for the black and white. They study in different school. The black people only can enter certain schools and the white people don’t allow the black people to be in the same schools
Stockett (2009: 185) says, But Miss Hilly shaking her head. “Aibileen, you wouldn’t want to go to a school full of white people, would you?”
The dialogue above shows a conversation of Miss Hilly and Aibileen about the school. Miss Hilly says that the school for the black and white must be separated, because they are so different. But Aibileen hopes the black and the white can study together in the same schools. Inside the school, the Black students face diverse threats and obstacles because the limited facilities and the teachers treated them as second-class student.
These conditions also happened in the real life America at the time: in 1960s. The black has less education and fewer educational opportunities than the white. The black only can study in some schools and limited facilities and services than what the white got. School segregation and desegregation are among the most controversial topics in the civil rights movement in 19560s. Segregation of black people and white people in public school still happens, the reality have shown that the educational levels of white student and black student remains unequal.
6) Voting
The next aspect of discrimination happens in the voting. Black people don’t allow going in the voting station. This is a serious problem, black people is considered brave struggle to come voting station defiantly. Stockett (2009:103) says, “And my cousin Shinelle in Cauter County? They burn up her car cause she went down to the voting station.”
The quotation explains about minny’s cousin goes to the vote station, the white very angry, for example the white burn car to show the power to discriminate. The black get threat, because the struggle to against the white.
7) Justice
The last aspect is justice there is a law that separates the white and black in a booklet of Compilation of Jims Crow of the South. The booklet rules the colored people including the black can and can not do, in an assortment of southern states.
The laws are neither threatening nor friendly, just citing the facts:
No person shall require any white female to nurse in wards or room in which Negro men are placed
It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person. Any marriage in violation of this section shall be void
No colored barber shall serve as a barber to white women or girls. The officer in charge shall serve as a barber to white women or girls. Books shall not be interchange able between the white and colored School But shall continue to be used by the race first using them.
There are four of the twenty-five pages, mesmerized by how many laws Exist to separate them. Black and white are not allowed to share water Fountains, movie, houses, public restrooms, ballparks, phone booths, circus Shows. Lunch counters, the state fair, pool tables, hospitals. Black cannot use the same pharmacy or buy postage stamps at the same
window (Stockett 2009: 173)
4. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION
4.1 Conclusions
The writers describe about the racial discrimination. This novel is about the African American society in 1960s as the setting of this novel, black pope is considered as lower class that has no power. Their position is different from the white and they become the victim of racial discrimination in many aspects, not only physically but also in their ways.
The black people get the racial discrimination because the are regarded as disease, because they are black and dirty. They get the discrimination in the aspects of life mainly in the public services; such as in housing, black don’t allowed to live near white houses; Bus or public transportation, black people sit in the back while white people sit infront of the bus; hospital, black can’t come to the white hospital and the other way; library, black people’s library has
incomplete collection of books and less of facilites; education, black people get minimum educational services, facilities, and acces; justice, black people don’t have any right for giving their participation for voting. Kathryn Stockett as a writer tries to describe, show and explain theses conditions through her novel, The Help. It describes the life of black people, hope and their struggle to get the civil right in America in 1960s.
collecting the events, she publish it and it creates good impact to he other black people because they see this as their struggle to voice her feelings and thought to get human right in America society. Meanwhile, what is done by Minny is to stand up bravely to speak and express her feelings and thought to get her human right.
4.2 Suggestion
This novel is worth reading. It contains an important lesson for those who have a discerning eyes and observation to see a lot of good lessons about human nature and their existence. The writer would like to give suggestion that reader realize the importance of reading the novels as the source of information, knowledge, and messages
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bowling, Ben and Coretta Philips. 2002. Racism, Crime and Justice. London : Person Education.
Daldjoeni, N. 1981. Ras-Ras Umat Manusia (biogeografis, Kulturhistoris,
sosiopolitis). Bandung : PT. Citra Aditya Bakti.
Klarer, Mario. 1999. An Introduction to Literary Studies. London: Roudledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Mercer, Blaine E. 2007. The American Community. New York: Random House. Peck, John and Martin Coyle. 1984. Literary Term and Criticism. London : Macmillan Press Ltd.
Klineberg, Otto. 1968. Prejudice: The Concept:International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences. New York: Macmillan and Free Press.
Allport, Gordon W. 1958. The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
Shacked, A. Paul.2003. Memory in Black and White. Boston: Rowman Inc. Stockett, Kathryn. 2009. The Help.USA: Penguin Group.
APPENDICES
A. BIOGRAPHY OF KATHRYN STOCKETT
Born in 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi, writer and editor Kathryn Stockett earned her undergraduate degree in English and creative writing from the University of Alabama, then headed to New York City with plans to work in publishing.
She spent nine years there, working both in magazine publishing and in marketing, before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Since moving back to the south, Stockett has been focusing on writing for herself, having shifted her attention to fiction. Her debut novel, The Help, was published by Amy Einhorn Books in 2009, and proved to be one of the hit books of the summer season.
house-cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the white children. That was life in Mississippi. I was young and assumed that’s how most of America lived.” Only after she moved north did Stockett realize that she has grown up in microcosm, and that her memories of her childhood were not of a universal experience. She found herself reminiscing with other southerners she met in New York, trading stories about growing up with black domestic help. Gradually, those memories began to spark an idea and she decide to write a story about her relationship with her family’s maid when she was a child
B. SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL
The Help, Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel, tells the story of black maids working in white southern homes in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi, and of Miss Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a 22-year-old graduate from Ole Miss, who returns to her family’s cotton plantation, Longleaf, to find that her beloved maid and nanny, Constantine, has left and no one will tell her why. Skeeter tries to behave as a proper Southern lady: She plays bridge with the young married women: edits the news letter for the junior league: and endures her mother’s constant advice on how to find a man and start a family. However, Skeeter’s real dream is to be a writer, but the only job she can find is with the Jackson Journal
writing a housekeeping, so she turns to her friend’s maid, Aibileen, for answer and finds a lot more.
Aibileen works tirelessly raising her employer’s child (Aibileen seventh one) and keeps a tidy house, yet none of this distracts her from the recent loss of her own son who died in an accident at work while his white bosses turned away. Two events bring Skeeter and Aibileen even closer: Skeeter is haunted by a copy of Jim Crow laws she found in the library, and receives a letter from a publisher in New York interested in skeeter’s idea of writing the true stories of domestic servants.
up all around them. Aibileen brings in her best friend, Minny, a sassy maid who is repeatedly fired for speaking her mind, to tell her story, too. Hearing their stories changes Skeeter as her eyes open to the true prejudices of her up bringing. Aibileen and Minny also develop a friendship and understanding with Skeeter that neither believed possible.
Along the way, Skeeter learns the truth of what happened to her beloved maid, Constantine. Constantine had given birth, out of wedlock, to Lulabelle who turned out to look white even though both parents were black. Neither the black nor the white community would accept Lulabelle, so Constantine gave her up for adoption when she was four years old. When Skeeter was away at college, Lulabelle, so Constantine gave her up for adoption when she was four year old. When the little girl grew up, she and Constantine were reunited. While Skeeter was away at college, Lulabelle came to visit her mother in Jackson and showed up at party being held in skeeter’s mother’s living room. When Charlotte Phelan discovered who Lullabe was, she kicked her out and fired Constantine. Constantine had now here else to go, so she moved with her daughter to Chicago and an even worse fate. Skeeter never saw Constantine again.
the other white women in the town, reveals to stuart, skeeter’s boyfriend, that she found a copy of the Jim Crow laws in Skeeter’s purse, which further ostracizes Skeeter from their community.
