As I have read more of The Help, it has become very clear to me that these black maids who are willing to talk to Miss. Skeeter about their experiences are very brave for doing so. They are putting their lives at risk by sharing their stories about white women. At first, it made me angry that so many maids were turning down Skeeter’s offer to be interviewed. I felt as if they weren't thinking straight, because if they truly wanted to make a difference, they had to start somewhere. It seemed to me like that start could come from Skeeter’s book, which was not possible without the participation of these maids. However, after reading one part of the novel, it has become clear as to why these women are so hesitant to talk with Skeeter. On page 255, the maids who have agreed to be interviewed are discussing what may happen to them if they get caught. One maid responds by saying, “My husband cousin…they took her tongue out. For talking to some Washington people about the Klan. You think they gone take our tongues? For talking to you?” It is evident that these black women feel a sense of fear every time they get interviewed by Skeeter. I find it very brave and noble of them to be doing something like this. They are putting their lives in serious danger in order to help make a difference for black maids all across the country. This part really showed me that it takes true strength and bravery in order to stand up for something you believe in and make a difference. I admire these maids, especially Aibileen and Minny, for being able to brush aside their fear in order to do what they believe is right.
The further I get along in The Help, the more upset I feel towards the way our country used to be. It makes me angry that Americans were so ignorant and selfish back in the 1960s, that they allowed this type of discrimination to happen. One part that stood out to me in these few chapters I just read was when Yule May—a black maid who works for Hilly—got sent to jail for four years. She had two sons who desperately wanted to go to college to get an education, but Yule May did not have enough money to send them, because she wasn’t making enough as a maid. She begged Hilly for a loan and promised that she would may her back; she just needed the money at the time in order for her boys to go to college. However, Hilly turned down her offer, which made Yule May desperate. She stole a semi-expensive ring from Hilly that Hilly never wore or even touched. When Hilly caught her stealing, she brought her to court and fined her, causing Yule May to lose all the money she had saved up. She was only seventy-five dollars short of the tuition money, but after the fine, she had absolutely nothing. Even more upsetting, Skeeter noted that “a regular sentence be six months for petty stealing, but [Hilly] got it pushed up to four years.” It makes me angry that Hilly was so selfish and only thinking about herself, while Yule May really needed the money to help her sons. Instead, Hilly believed that this ring that she never wore was more important that an African American’s college education. It is infuriating that whites were so ignorant and self-centered. It seems like they purposely set out to ruin a black person’s life whenever they got the chance. It is no wonder that blacks always felt a sense of fear as they lived their lives. As I read about more of these circumstances in the book, it makes me wish that there were more people in Mississippi at the time who were like Miss. Skeeter, because she seems to be the only selfless and genuine white woman in this story.
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