Setting
The Help is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi , in Stocketts hometown The Setting is important for the plot of the book because Jackson is still known as one of the most segregated towns in the U.S"
Main characters
The Help is told from the point of view of 3 different women, namely, Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter. Aibileen is an African-American maid who cleans houses and cares for the children of white families. Minny is also an African-American maid and she is Aibileen's friend. She has frequently given her honest opinion to her employers with the result of having been fired many times. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is the member of a rich white family whose cotton farm employs many African Americans in the fields and in the household. Skeeter has just finished college and comes home with the dream of becoming a writer although her mother rather wants her to get married.
At that time, a "good" woman was supposed to get married, have children and be a good housewife and mother but for Skeeter it is her career that is most important.
Plot summary
When Skeeter has turned back home she wonders where her former maid and nanny Constantine was. As her family always tries to avoid giving her answers about Constantine's disappearance she finally finds out the truth, namely, she was fired for being too old and slow. Due to the injustice and cruelty that Constantine and other colored maids in the South have experienced, Skeeter decides to reveal the truth about being a colored maid in Mississippi and to write a book about it. She tries to connect with a group of black maids in order to gain their trust. A task that turns out to be quite difficult and tricky as...