Right now I'm close to finishing The Help, by Katheryn Stockett. I think it's a great book, and the main characters are very interesting. My other post on The Help focused on the three main characters, Skeeter, Minny, and Abileen, so this time I will write my blog post on some of the less important characters like Mrs. Celia, Elizabeth, and Hilly.
First of all, Mrs. Celia isn't nearly as important as any of the main characters, but I still think that she is important to the book, and an interesting character. Most of the people in Jackson, Mississippi, (the setting of The Help,) are either middle-class/rich white people, or the African American people who work for them (the book takes place a while ago, so most of the white people are very racist.) Mrs. Celia originally comes from a white family possibly poorer than any of the black families in Jackson. She met Mister Johnny though, who is rich and white, and has married him. They live together in Jackson, and Mrs. Celia is different because she doesn't quite understand how things work there. Minny is her maid, yet she insists that she eat at the same table as Minny, and they have conversations all the time. Mrs. Celia was not raised by a black maid, as most of the white girls in Jackson were, Minny is the first maid she has ever had. She does not see the boundaries that separate black and white people. But as Abileen recently realized, those boundaries or lines do not actually exist, they are only imaginary and they are only what many white people want them to believe in. In a way, Mrs. Celia shows how crazy those fake boundaries actually are. She thinks of Minny more as a friend than as a maid. Minny is opposed to this because it's what she has always known, but I think that she is growing to appreciate it.
Hilly Holbrook is another secondary character. I often like Celia, but Hilly is always terrible. She totally racist, and although she may pretend to have good intentions, she is always mean and selfish. She is president of the Jackson, Mississippi branch of a national social organization, and takes huge pride in it. The goal of the organization is to donate food to the Poor Starving Children of Africa. She probably does this for the status, not actually to help people. I like how Skeeter once points out that while she will say that helping the Poor Starving Children of Africa is a cause dear to her heart, she will do anything in her power to ruin any black person she does not like. She likes black people in Africa, just not in the U.S. Of course Hilly fails to see what is wrong in this. Overall, I think Hilly is a pretty terrible person and I do not like her.
My opinion of Elizabeth Leefolt is similar to my opinion of Hilly. Elizabeth would follow Hilly into anything. This might be because of her low economic status compared to Hilly, and because she knows that Hilly would not be very nice to her if she did not act this way. Elizabeth needs to stop doing everything only to get Hilly's approval. On top of having no ideas of her own, Elizabeth is also a horrible parent. As Abileen says in the book, the one good thing about Hilly is her love for her children. Abileen says she hugs them all the time, and makes sure they know that they are loved and special. I strongly doubt that Hilly is teaching her children the right lessons, but at least she cares about them. Elizabeth physically and verbally abuses her daughter Mae Mobley. She does not care about her at all. On Mae Mobley's third birthday Elizabeth was off getting her hair done while Abileen was at home making sure Mae Mobley's birthday was special. Abileen has raised Mae Mobley without Elizabeth to the extent that Mae Mobley thinks of Abileen as her mother, not Elizabeth. Elizabeth is oblivious to this and has been for long enough that Mae Mobley barely even minds that Elizabeth ignores her. Elizabeth only cares that Mae Mobley looks cute, nothing else about Mae Mobley matters to Elizabeth. Elizabeth has been worrying about Mae Mobley being ugly and fat since Mae Mobley was two. What toddler is not kind of chubby?
In conclusion, I really like Mrs. Celia, and I think that she shows an interesting perspective on things in Jackson Mississippi. I don't really like Hilly or Elizabeth, but for different reasons. Hilly is mean, selfish, and manipulative, but at least she is a loving mother. Elizabeth needs to get her priorities straight; raising her daughter should come far before impressing Hilly. In general, I am loving this book and I think that it has many interesting characters.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Help
I am currently in the middle of reading Kathryn Stockett's, The Help. I really like the book and I think that the story is very creative and a great idea. The Help is about Skeeter, Abileen, and Minny. It takes place 1962, Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter is white, Abileen and Minny are black maids, and Skeeter would like to write a book using their stories and perspective to show what it's like to be a black maid in Mississippi at this time. They have to keep it a secret because aside from Skeeter, the town is completely racist, as most white people probably were in states like Mississippi in 1962.
Skeeter is a young, white, socialite, who lives on a large plantation. She has just returned from college. Unlike most of her friends who just went to find a husband and then drop-out, she got a degree and graduated fourth (I think) in her class. In general Skeeter is just different from the other ladies in her town. Her main goal in life is to write a book, or become a journalist. Most of her friends of the same age are already married and have kids. Another thing that differentiates her, is that she understands that racism is wrong. That's why she is writing this book with Abileen and Minny (and hopefully more maids will come.) I think that she understands how messed up things in the South are, and is not afraid of change. I think that this also comes from the fact that her maid Constantine has always been like a combination of a mother, sister, and best friend to her. She taught Skeeter everything, and raised her. When Skeeter returns from college, Constantine is gone. Her mother denies it at first, but she fired Constantine. Skeeter is very sad, and appalled that her mother would do that. I think that that is part of what motivates her to write the book with Abileen and Minny. While she writes the book, Skeeter also changes, as well as learns, a lot.
Abileen has been working as a maid for white people since she was in her early teens and had to drop out of school to be a maid to earn money. She is very smart, and is respected by her whole community. She is also aware of the risks she is taking by telling Skeeter these personal stories. I think she trusts Skeeter, and sees that she is different, but is afraid that someone could find out. Recently, an African American kid in their town was beaten until he was blind for accidentally using the white bathroom. If one bad thing is heard was heard about Abileen, she would be fired and never have another job in that town in her life. But even with the risks, Abileen has chosen to do this. I think it is partially because she is sick of just quietly taking orders and letting things go on as they are. I also think it has to do with the children she raises. She raises all of these white kids better than any of their own mothers ever would, and loves them, but they turn out to be just like their parents in their racism when they get older. Abileen describes it as one day they start thinking that black people are just inferior to themselves, and from then on nothing is the same. Her son, Treelore, was hit by a truck several years ago and killed. The white people driving the truck just threw his dead body in the back of the truck and dumped him onto the ground in front of the hospital. This has left Abileen devastated. She loved him more than anyone else in the world, and was so proud of him. He was smart and kind, and the one who came up with the idea of showing African American perspectives in the South, (Abileen told Skeeter, who decided that they should write the book.) I think that Abileen is sad that while she was raising kids that were not her own at other people’s houses, other’s were raising her own child at home. She is now ready to tell people about these things.
Minny is Abileen’s best friend and tells the stories to Skeeter for the book as well, but does not have the same trust for Skeeter that Abileen does. I’m only half way through the book though, so that could completely change. Minny is also known everywhere for her absolutely amazing cooking. Her pride and love for her own food and food in general come second only to her children. Despite her incredible food, Minny has a problem with talking back to people. Clearly it hurts her sometimes by causing her to get fired; but I kind of respect it. Right now, Minny is in an interesting position: she is working for a newcomer with many secrets, who can be pretty weird, but this Mrs. Celia also doesn’t order Minny around. Mrs. Celia comes from a different type of background than most of the ladies in Jackson, but this poorer background results in her treating African American people better. She wasn’t raised around the principle that white people are superior to black people; she just sees Minny as a person who keeps her company during the day. Mrs. Celia and Minny are more compatible because of this, and Minny is certainly glad to not have orders all day. Minny began working for Mrs. Celia in the first place, because she was fired from her job. Her previous employer had told the rest of the town that Minny had stolen from her. This was a total lie, but Minny also soon realized that she would never get another job in Jackson again. Until she heard of Mrs. Celia. Mrs. Celia is new, and not accepted into the social circle, and other groups for one particular reason. This means that she never heard about the Minny stealing silver rumor. So when she needed a maid, she hired Minny. I don’t think Mrs. Celia would have really cared to much anyway. This whole ordeal has changed Minny and might have played some part in her deciding to tell stories for the book.
In conclusion, I am loving this book and think that the viewpoints are so interesting. Especially when I read an essay the author had written in the back of the book, and it was about her personal connection to this issue. She was pretty much raised by a black maid, in her Southern home. She had experienced first-hand, the complicated relationship that occurred during that time, in the South. She loved her family’s maid Demetrie, and Skeeter loved Constantine in the book. I think her idea of trying to show these perspectives is great. Although Minny, Abileen, and Skeeter are all pretty different (mostly Skeeter from Minny and Abileen,) they all have views that in their small southern town are far ahead of their time.
Skeeter is a young, white, socialite, who lives on a large plantation. She has just returned from college. Unlike most of her friends who just went to find a husband and then drop-out, she got a degree and graduated fourth (I think) in her class. In general Skeeter is just different from the other ladies in her town. Her main goal in life is to write a book, or become a journalist. Most of her friends of the same age are already married and have kids. Another thing that differentiates her, is that she understands that racism is wrong. That's why she is writing this book with Abileen and Minny (and hopefully more maids will come.) I think that she understands how messed up things in the South are, and is not afraid of change. I think that this also comes from the fact that her maid Constantine has always been like a combination of a mother, sister, and best friend to her. She taught Skeeter everything, and raised her. When Skeeter returns from college, Constantine is gone. Her mother denies it at first, but she fired Constantine. Skeeter is very sad, and appalled that her mother would do that. I think that that is part of what motivates her to write the book with Abileen and Minny. While she writes the book, Skeeter also changes, as well as learns, a lot.
Abileen has been working as a maid for white people since she was in her early teens and had to drop out of school to be a maid to earn money. She is very smart, and is respected by her whole community. She is also aware of the risks she is taking by telling Skeeter these personal stories. I think she trusts Skeeter, and sees that she is different, but is afraid that someone could find out. Recently, an African American kid in their town was beaten until he was blind for accidentally using the white bathroom. If one bad thing is heard was heard about Abileen, she would be fired and never have another job in that town in her life. But even with the risks, Abileen has chosen to do this. I think it is partially because she is sick of just quietly taking orders and letting things go on as they are. I also think it has to do with the children she raises. She raises all of these white kids better than any of their own mothers ever would, and loves them, but they turn out to be just like their parents in their racism when they get older. Abileen describes it as one day they start thinking that black people are just inferior to themselves, and from then on nothing is the same. Her son, Treelore, was hit by a truck several years ago and killed. The white people driving the truck just threw his dead body in the back of the truck and dumped him onto the ground in front of the hospital. This has left Abileen devastated. She loved him more than anyone else in the world, and was so proud of him. He was smart and kind, and the one who came up with the idea of showing African American perspectives in the South, (Abileen told Skeeter, who decided that they should write the book.) I think that Abileen is sad that while she was raising kids that were not her own at other people’s houses, other’s were raising her own child at home. She is now ready to tell people about these things.
Minny is Abileen’s best friend and tells the stories to Skeeter for the book as well, but does not have the same trust for Skeeter that Abileen does. I’m only half way through the book though, so that could completely change. Minny is also known everywhere for her absolutely amazing cooking. Her pride and love for her own food and food in general come second only to her children. Despite her incredible food, Minny has a problem with talking back to people. Clearly it hurts her sometimes by causing her to get fired; but I kind of respect it. Right now, Minny is in an interesting position: she is working for a newcomer with many secrets, who can be pretty weird, but this Mrs. Celia also doesn’t order Minny around. Mrs. Celia comes from a different type of background than most of the ladies in Jackson, but this poorer background results in her treating African American people better. She wasn’t raised around the principle that white people are superior to black people; she just sees Minny as a person who keeps her company during the day. Mrs. Celia and Minny are more compatible because of this, and Minny is certainly glad to not have orders all day. Minny began working for Mrs. Celia in the first place, because she was fired from her job. Her previous employer had told the rest of the town that Minny had stolen from her. This was a total lie, but Minny also soon realized that she would never get another job in Jackson again. Until she heard of Mrs. Celia. Mrs. Celia is new, and not accepted into the social circle, and other groups for one particular reason. This means that she never heard about the Minny stealing silver rumor. So when she needed a maid, she hired Minny. I don’t think Mrs. Celia would have really cared to much anyway. This whole ordeal has changed Minny and might have played some part in her deciding to tell stories for the book.
In conclusion, I am loving this book and think that the viewpoints are so interesting. Especially when I read an essay the author had written in the back of the book, and it was about her personal connection to this issue. She was pretty much raised by a black maid, in her Southern home. She had experienced first-hand, the complicated relationship that occurred during that time, in the South. She loved her family’s maid Demetrie, and Skeeter loved Constantine in the book. I think her idea of trying to show these perspectives is great. Although Minny, Abileen, and Skeeter are all pretty different (mostly Skeeter from Minny and Abileen,) they all have views that in their small southern town are far ahead of their time.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Lovely Bones: Appreciation
Yesterday, I finished The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. The book is about how George Harvey rapes and murders Susie Salmon. He has been murdering and raping girls ranging from ages eight to about fifty throughout his life. He has never been caught, and when he does this to Susie Salmon, she is just another girl on his list. Sadly, he still never gets caught, partially because after years of outsmarting the police about his various murders, he is a master. He pretends to be a sad man whose wife died many years ago (he killed her,) who is all alone, and when they search his house, they repeatedly find nothing due to his expertise at hiding the evidence. The whole town mostly thinks that although he is a little weird, he's far from being a murderer. For the majority of the first half of the book, Susie's father, Jack Salmon knows that it was Mr. Harvey. He has since the first time he saw Mr. Harvey after the murder. Sadly no one believes Jack until Mr. Harvey is long gone, and unfortunately, Mr. Harvey never is caught.
When I first read the blurb of this book, I expected it to not be that great, and to be incredibly sad. Once I started reading though, I realized that the book is incredibly well written, and the author makes what could have been a very boring story, into a great one. I loved the book. After reading the book, I looked through the "special features" type things it contained, and when I read the about the author and other stuff I realized that Alice Sebold, the author, had actually had an experience similar to her character Susie's, at around the same time, except for the fact that it occurred while the author was attending college. Her first book was a memoir about the horrific experience, and what happened was she was raped, and they caught the guy afterwards. The man, like George Harvey, had killed and raped many girls before. The author was told that she was lucky she had not been killed as some of the other victims of this man had been. I think think that is very sad, and that she definitely got the idea for The Lovely Bones from her own experience. Maybe it was even meant to represent what she thinks could have happened to her if she had been killed.
I think that the book is actually more about what happens on earth after Susie is gone. In the end of the book, she mentions the lovely bones that grew after her death. The connections and relationships that were formed and changed by her death, and what grew around her death. Obviously, things change in a huge way for everyone who knew her. The whole time, Susie is up in Heaven, and she has the ability to watch and listen to everything that goes on on earth. She sees the different affects her death had. Obviously, her family is affected. Her mother goes and tries to find comfort in secretly being with Len Fenerman, the policeman appointed to solve Susie's murder. Eventually, her mother just leaves for California because she can't endure what is happening at home after Susie dies. This really hurts everyone else in the family, especially Susie's father. After Susie's mom left, Jack really tried to talk to his kids about it (Buckley, the youngest, and Lindsey, slightly younger than Susie,) but unlike him, they were slightly more closed off about the issue at first. Jack also carries the burden, for a while, of being 100 percent sure that George Harvey is guilty, when the police don't even suspect him. Few people believe Jack. Jack is most hurt in my opinion by Susie's mother leaving. I thought it was interesting that Susie's mom thought herself the stronger one on their relationship for her ability to leave their house, but later she realizes what I think is definitely the truth, that Jack is the stronger one for having the ability to stay. At the time of Lindsey's death, Buckley is too young to even get the concept of murder. But when he's older, he has a great relationship with his dad, but he hasn't seen his mother is many, many years and he is rightfully mad at her when she returns at the end of the book. From heaven, Susie describes Buckley's heart as freezing up, and melting again and I think this is a very accurate comparison. His mother leaving has seriously hurt him. Lindsey, on the other hand, is definitely old enough to fully realize Susie's death right from the start. She hates always being indentified as the dead girl's sister, and is even afraid to look in the mirror at herself because she knows that in her eyes, she like everyone else sees Susie's eyes. Lindsey has great support from two other characters. One of them is Samuel, who she starts dating at age thirteen or fourteen and eventually marries. He's a great person and I think that to some extent, he actually understands Susie's death and how it affected Lindsey. He had known her pretty much during it. Another character, who I really liked, was Susie's grandmother; her mom's mom. She acts as a mother for Lindsey in a way that Lindsey's real mother was not able to after Susie's death at home, or in California. She teaches Lindsey how to put on make-up, and is the first to realize that Lindsey has a boyfriend. Their grandmother seems to realize far before the rest of them that they can't dwell on Susie's death forever and she really helps the whole family a lot with just that. (She moves in right after Susie's death.)
There are also two character's greatly affected by Susie's death that are not in her family, and don't really even know them well. Ray Singh loved Susie and was her first kiss. Without her death, they probably would have gotten married. The other character is Ruth. Ruth also loved Susie, and always felt connected to her in some way. They never really knew each other, but both realized afterwards their connection. When Susie dies, Ray and Ruth really find comfort in each other. They were the two people who loved Susie, but were not family members. They eventually become great friends. Their friendship develops from being only about Susie, to being a real friendship where they discuss and think about many things besides Susie; although they both always are aware of how much they miss her. I think that this is one of the relationships that grew from Susie's death, from the lovely bones. They would have both known Susie, but maybe not each other quite as well. Another one of these relationships is the one that forms between Susie's whole family and Susie's grandmother. I don't think they would have gotten to know each other as well as they do if Susie had not died. Susie's grandmother has the ability (maybe because she is new to living with the family and not completely familiar with their ways of coping with their issues,) to see all of the problems, and have a greater understanding of their family. She really connects with Jack, Susie's mom, Lindsey, and Buckley each and forms a special relationship with each individual.
In conclusion, I thought The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, was a fantastic book that includes many interesting relationships. I also think that's it's an interesting idea to write about how the death of someone affects others long-term, but from the dead person's point of view. What also makes it interesting is how since Susie can see everything from her heaven, her point of view also includes all kinds of opinions and thoughts of others.
When I first read the blurb of this book, I expected it to not be that great, and to be incredibly sad. Once I started reading though, I realized that the book is incredibly well written, and the author makes what could have been a very boring story, into a great one. I loved the book. After reading the book, I looked through the "special features" type things it contained, and when I read the about the author and other stuff I realized that Alice Sebold, the author, had actually had an experience similar to her character Susie's, at around the same time, except for the fact that it occurred while the author was attending college. Her first book was a memoir about the horrific experience, and what happened was she was raped, and they caught the guy afterwards. The man, like George Harvey, had killed and raped many girls before. The author was told that she was lucky she had not been killed as some of the other victims of this man had been. I think think that is very sad, and that she definitely got the idea for The Lovely Bones from her own experience. Maybe it was even meant to represent what she thinks could have happened to her if she had been killed.
I think that the book is actually more about what happens on earth after Susie is gone. In the end of the book, she mentions the lovely bones that grew after her death. The connections and relationships that were formed and changed by her death, and what grew around her death. Obviously, things change in a huge way for everyone who knew her. The whole time, Susie is up in Heaven, and she has the ability to watch and listen to everything that goes on on earth. She sees the different affects her death had. Obviously, her family is affected. Her mother goes and tries to find comfort in secretly being with Len Fenerman, the policeman appointed to solve Susie's murder. Eventually, her mother just leaves for California because she can't endure what is happening at home after Susie dies. This really hurts everyone else in the family, especially Susie's father. After Susie's mom left, Jack really tried to talk to his kids about it (Buckley, the youngest, and Lindsey, slightly younger than Susie,) but unlike him, they were slightly more closed off about the issue at first. Jack also carries the burden, for a while, of being 100 percent sure that George Harvey is guilty, when the police don't even suspect him. Few people believe Jack. Jack is most hurt in my opinion by Susie's mother leaving. I thought it was interesting that Susie's mom thought herself the stronger one on their relationship for her ability to leave their house, but later she realizes what I think is definitely the truth, that Jack is the stronger one for having the ability to stay. At the time of Lindsey's death, Buckley is too young to even get the concept of murder. But when he's older, he has a great relationship with his dad, but he hasn't seen his mother is many, many years and he is rightfully mad at her when she returns at the end of the book. From heaven, Susie describes Buckley's heart as freezing up, and melting again and I think this is a very accurate comparison. His mother leaving has seriously hurt him. Lindsey, on the other hand, is definitely old enough to fully realize Susie's death right from the start. She hates always being indentified as the dead girl's sister, and is even afraid to look in the mirror at herself because she knows that in her eyes, she like everyone else sees Susie's eyes. Lindsey has great support from two other characters. One of them is Samuel, who she starts dating at age thirteen or fourteen and eventually marries. He's a great person and I think that to some extent, he actually understands Susie's death and how it affected Lindsey. He had known her pretty much during it. Another character, who I really liked, was Susie's grandmother; her mom's mom. She acts as a mother for Lindsey in a way that Lindsey's real mother was not able to after Susie's death at home, or in California. She teaches Lindsey how to put on make-up, and is the first to realize that Lindsey has a boyfriend. Their grandmother seems to realize far before the rest of them that they can't dwell on Susie's death forever and she really helps the whole family a lot with just that. (She moves in right after Susie's death.)
There are also two character's greatly affected by Susie's death that are not in her family, and don't really even know them well. Ray Singh loved Susie and was her first kiss. Without her death, they probably would have gotten married. The other character is Ruth. Ruth also loved Susie, and always felt connected to her in some way. They never really knew each other, but both realized afterwards their connection. When Susie dies, Ray and Ruth really find comfort in each other. They were the two people who loved Susie, but were not family members. They eventually become great friends. Their friendship develops from being only about Susie, to being a real friendship where they discuss and think about many things besides Susie; although they both always are aware of how much they miss her. I think that this is one of the relationships that grew from Susie's death, from the lovely bones. They would have both known Susie, but maybe not each other quite as well. Another one of these relationships is the one that forms between Susie's whole family and Susie's grandmother. I don't think they would have gotten to know each other as well as they do if Susie had not died. Susie's grandmother has the ability (maybe because she is new to living with the family and not completely familiar with their ways of coping with their issues,) to see all of the problems, and have a greater understanding of their family. She really connects with Jack, Susie's mom, Lindsey, and Buckley each and forms a special relationship with each individual.
In conclusion, I thought The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, was a fantastic book that includes many interesting relationships. I also think that's it's an interesting idea to write about how the death of someone affects others long-term, but from the dead person's point of view. What also makes it interesting is how since Susie can see everything from her heaven, her point of view also includes all kinds of opinions and thoughts of others.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Blog Review on Kara Gurls blogpost: Whose Perspective is Missing in Fallout?
I just finished reading Kara's blogpost called Whose Perspective is Missing in Fallout?. It is based on the book Fallout, by Ellen Hopkins. Although I have read some other books by this author, I haven't read this one. I like how she goes more deeply into why one important perspective is missing (Kristina’s perspective) and the effect it has on the book, compared to the other books in the trilogy which only have Kristina’s perspective. She also makes the post engaging by giving plenty of examples and backing up all of the points she makes.
I liked how Kara talked about how Kristina's perspective was left out to make her seem worse to people. Then anything she might be doing to reconnect with her kids or end her drug addiction is not shown, and therefore, the reader does not sympathize with her at all. She also talks about how the author only shows her kids perspectives. Kristina left her children very early on. They barely know each other and it sounds like she has been an absolutely terrible mother overall. By only showing the kids perspectives, people who she has been terrible to, it seems like the reader would dislike her even more. This sends a strong message to the reader showing what drugs can do to your life.
Although we cannot see Kristina's perspective and whether or not she has been trying to help her children, is what she has done to her kids really forgivable? Kara mentions that they are now teenagers, so she has had plenty of time. Although it is sad for her that she is totally addicted, she has clearly really hurt her kids for life and would probably have to do a lot to even get them to consider forgiving her.
She also points out the kids perspectives were not shown in the earlier books of the trilogy (Fallout is the third,) because the children were too young. That is a good point but I would like to know if there are other reasons for the kids perspectives only being shown in this one book.
I also liked Kara's other blogpost on Fallout, Tearing Apart Families, One at a Time. The perspective post of hers didn't really explain the story much, but this post did a great job of that, which helped me write about and understand both posts. I also liked how she began it with a meaningful quote. It seemed to very relevant to the post. She showed the effects that drug addictions have on families. This other post also reminded me of her social action picture book, which seemed to also be about the affect drugs have on families.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading both of Kara's blogposts on Fallout, by Ellen Hopkins, especially the one on perspective. I haven't read the book, but the post makes me want to. It also brings up some important, meaningful points, while using details to make it engaging.
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