The Help, a la Shmoop.
Want some help?
…
…Well, here I am!
I'm a book about people writing a book...pretty “meta”, right?
…But I'm so much more than that.
For one thing, I have three narrators instead of just one, which is boring.
Two of them, budding writer Aibileen and firecracker Minny, are house maids...in
this book, that’s basically a kinder name for “slave.”
The third person telling my story is Skeeter, a white journalist with a great idea for a
book...or dare I say a masterpiece?...about the non-glamorous lives of southern servants.
All right, hang on, because I’m taking you back in time!
It was 1960s Mississippi, and everyone was looking for a change.
Nasty socialite Hilly Holbrook was working on a proposition to require outside bathrooms
for all black servants.
Aw, that’s sweet.
Aibileen was doing her best to keep little Mae Mobley's
mom from crushing her soul.
..
Good luck, Aibileen, but I think Mae Mobley’s name already accomplished that.
Skeeter was pondering the injustice of her world, dating a senator’s son, and trying
to pull her book together for a publisher.
And Minnie was having a hard time finding work after Hilly fired her.
Something about a new pie recipe, but not one you'd ever want to borrow.
Skeeter and Aibileen teamed up to create their dream book, but they struck out big time getting
interview subjects.
Who wants to contribute to a tell-all expose when it can get you fired, or even killed!
…
I might not even have existed if horrible Hilly hadn't sent her maid to the slammer
for stealing a ring.
…
Suddenly, Hilly had a big target on her perfectly coifed head, and everyone wanted
to tell Skeeter their stories.
The only one who wasn’t on Team Skeeter was her boyfriend, the civil rights-phobic
Stuart.
…
Oh well.
I was worth it.
… Minny was instrumental in getting all those
maids to speak up…pretty impressive considering she was dealing with an abusive husband, and
a neurotic new boss, Celia, who tried to hide Minny from her husband John.
I guess Celia thought he wouldn't catch on that, all of a sudden, the house was miraculously
clean and full of fried chicken, instead of a bowl of ramen on the table.
Celia needed all the help she could get, though, and not just with her cooking.
She couldn’t have a baby, and Hilly had made her a social pariah.
Yet another reason not to date Hilly’s exes.
A lot of things were revealed at the big Jackson Junior League fundraiser, and not just Hilly’s
fangs.
Celia tried to mend fences with Hilly by buying her a pie, and ended up tearing Hilly's dress
and barfing on the floor.
Should've gone with flowers and chocolate...
Minnie told Celia why Hilly was out for their collective blood...
…turns out Minnie had previously given Hilly a couple slices of pie with a very special
ingredient...love.
Nahhh, just kidding , it was poop.
Man, just when you thought it was safe to enjoy your pastry!
Turns out, that dump dessert was the key to making Skeeter and Aibileen’s brainchild
a success.
Once that tasty little anecdote was in the book, Hilly didn't dare disclose the identities
of the authors, or the whole town would know she was full of it...literally!
The downside to this little victory was that Hilly set out on a mission to make everyone
else as miserable as she was.
She set off Minny's ticking time bomb of a husband…
…forced Aibileen out of her job, and threatened to sue Skeeter.
But don’t worry.
I have a mostly cheerful ending, with Skeeter and Minny moving on to brand new lives, and
Aibileen planning a future around her writing gift.
All right, I'd better stop, because I'm getting a little choked up, and crying always wrinkles
my pages.
Anybody have a tissue?
A little Help here?