"The Help" Pgs 166-250: Criticism, criticism...

Criticism. It's healthy. It keeps one's standards high. It prods at flaws that can be improved upon. It can be used to analyze a story. In pointing out what's wrong or "off" with an author's writing, one can probe for a meaning beyond their confusion. I'm about to do just that, so be ready.

It never really occurred to me just how thick Miss Skeeter is in the head until now. I knew she wasn't the one with the most common sense, certainly, but she takes the time to explain just what should have been pretty obvious dozens of pages ago. For example, on page 202, she reads sections of the Jim Crow laws, only to conclude:

"… There's no difference between these government laws and Hilly building Aibileen a bathroom in the garage…" -Pg 203

Obviously they're both being done to segregate African Americans and white people, yet she had to sound that out for herself? I forgave her interactions with Aibileen, considering that she was played as an awkward, book smart but not street-smart person. She understood that black and white people still were immensely segregated despite the supreme court's recent ruling given the time of the story. This was not necessary to get into.

On another note, I think I gagged at the thought of Elizabeth being pregnant. After what she's done with her first kid, she thinks having a second is a good idea? Perhaps one of the more revolting characters of the cast, Elizabeth doesn't deserve the right to be called a mother. I'm not aware of how parents in this time and place treated their kids, and I don't trust the author to know herself, but somehow I don't think that Elizabeth's "parenting" would be acceptable treatment of a child even then.

I can't tell you if these characters are believable. They are obviously written to fit roles, with characters like Miss Hilly being antagonizing general racists and Miss Skeeter being elevated as a heroine. There is not a single redeeming factor about Miss Hilly or Elizabeth in my eyes. Every story needs its hero and conflict, and although I understand the point of not antagonizing the oppressed African American maids, well-written characters could be made to fit said roles without making either of them out to be an ultimate good or ultimate bad. I know I said that I'd focus more on the story this post, but I can't just ignore these points.

(Source re-used from previous post)
Source: https://acriticalreviewofthehelp.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/facts-surrounding-the-help/