The Help - Kathryn Stockett

 

'The Help', written by Kathryn Stockett in 2009, is a novel set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 that tells the different stories of african-american maids, working in white households. This is a world where the segregation of black and white citizens is the norm, where black maids raise white children but cannot even use the same bathroom as their white employers.

 

The novel is told in the voices of the three main characters; Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter.

 

Miss Skeeter is a white woman, who has just graduated from Ole' Miss, and has returned home to take care of her seriously ill mother. In contrast to her friends, Skeeter is not married and has never dated, focusing only on her career as a writer. However, in a desperate attempt to make her mothor proud of her, she attempts to act like a normal, southern lady, playing bridge with the other white ladies in the area, and allowing her sanctimonious friend, Hilly, set her up on dates with various 'suitable' men. In Skeeter's social circle, the family servants, called "the help", are exclusively black. The female servants do the cooking and cleaning, but their priority is to raise the child (or children) of their employers. The servants get passed down within families from generation to generation, so the child that they raised will eventually become their employer.

 

Aibileen  is a 53 year old black maid, who is raising her seventeenth white child, Mae Mobley, and working for the Leefolt family whilst trying to overcome the hurt caused by the senseless death of her son, Treelore, a few months earlier. She works tirelessly to maintain a clean home for her employers, while also taking care of Mae Mobley, who is abused and neglected by her mother. Throughout the novel, Aibileen refers to Mae Mobley as her 'special baby', and tries to make certain that Mae Mobley doesn't turn out like her mother, Elizabeth Leefolt, or her friend, Miss Hilly. She raises Mae Mobleys self esteem and tries to teach her about civil rights.

 

36 year old Minny Jackson is also an African-American maid, who works for Miss Hillys mother, Miss Walter. However, when Miss Walter is forced into a nursing home, Minny is made to work for her racist daughter, Hilly Holbrook. She is widely known as a fantastic cook, but her sassy tongue and inability to keep her thoughts to herself means that it is hard for her to stay in the job. Later in the novel, due to various circumstances Minny looses her job, and Aibileen is forced to listen on the phone as Minnys husband, Leeroy, beats her.

 

The novel is centered around an idea that Skeeter has to write a book containing a compilation of stories from the lives of various maids in the area, a book that will both start off her career and raise awareness of the black civil rights movement. This idea is sparked off when Miss Hilly tells Skeeter about her plan to have a law passed that will make it mandatory for white families to build an outdoor bathroom for the help, to "stop the spread of disease". In addition to this, Skeeter stumbles across a copy of Jim Crow Laws in the library, which are a number of segregation laws that were put into use in the Deep South between 1876 and 1965. Skeeter is horrified and starts to talk to Aibileen, who is her friend, Elizabeths, maid, asking her to put forward some stories for a book and try to get other maids involved. Aibileen originally refuses, but a string of events, among them a racist shooting of a young boy, causes her, and Minny, to reluctantly agree to the idea, and between them they get a group of twelve maids to submit their stories. Hearing their stories changes Skeeter as her eyes open to the true prejudices of her upbringing. Aibileen and Minny also develop a friendship and understanding with Skeeter that neither believed would have ever been possible.

 

As they continue with the book, Skeeter learns the truth of what happened to her beloved maid, Constantine, who had, as Aibileen does with Mae Mobley, always supported Skeeter throughout her childhood and adolescence. After Skeeter returned from college, Constantine had disappeared without giving a reason why. However, Skeeter finds out that Constantine had given birth, out of wedlock, to a girl named Lulabelle, who turned out to look white even though both parents were black. Neither the black nor the white community would accept Lulabelle, so Constantine was forced to give her up for adoption when she was four years old. She and Constantine were reunited when Lulabelle grew up, and while Skeeter was away at college, Lulabelle came to visit her mother in Jackson and showed up at a party being held in Skeeter's mother's living room. When Charlotte Phelan discovered who Lulabelle was, she kicked her out and fired Constantine. Constantine had nowhere else to go, so she moved with her daughter to Chicago, where she fell ill and passed away within three days. Skeeters mother-daughter relationship with Constantine, her black maid, in contrast to the cold relationship with her mother, may have been what caused her to go against the social norms in her area and emphasise with the black community around her.

Of course the major theme of the book is racial prejudice and the hatred directed at the black citizens of Jackson because of their race. The fact that racial beliefs were completely normal is highlighted by the fact that every single white character in the novel, with the exception of Skeeter, are racist, even if they don't realise it. It is simply believed to be common knowledge that being black immediately made you stupid and inferior, which is mad clear buy the fact that the help and other balck citizens are often referred to is terms that are usually applied to animals. It is also made clear that the racism, which is so prominent in a southern town like Jackson, can often lead to violence and means that much of the black community live in fear of saying or doing the wrong things, most of which were extremely trivial, that could lead to them or their families being hurt; "they blew up his carport last night. For talking." The fact that racial inequality is so entrenched is emphasised by the fact that many of the maids do not even aspire to be treated as equals to their white employers, as they have come to accept being treated as inferiors to be a part of their lifestyle, and are more concerned with the chaos that would be caused by even trying to be seen as equals, and don't believe it'd be worth it.

 

The repeated reference to segregated bathrooms throughout the novel also symbolises the twisted, racist society that was the 1960's deep south, as it implies that white people whole heartedly believe that black people carry disease and are dirty, and that one of the most effective ways to make sure you didn't catch these germs was to not share a bathroom with a black person. This idea is used to justify building separate bathrooms for the help in garages etc, which eventually becomes a huge issue in the novel. Stockett uses toilets and bathrooms to symbolise how appalling and disgusting the tactics used to maintain a racism and segregation in Mississippi during the early 1960s were.

 

Skeeter’s book is published and becomes a national best seller. However, the women in Jackson begin to recognise themselves in the characters in the book. Hilly Holbrook, in particular, is set on finding out who the author and maids were that were involved in the book. Although Hilly and Skeeter grew up as best friends, their very different views on race and integration are highlighted throughout the book, and they represent the two extreme views on racial segregation at that time. Hilly is only kept silent by a secret revealed by Minny at the end of the book.

Overall, whereas most history books focus on the more public part of segregation in the south, like the Jim Crow Laws and the separation of whites and blacks in public places, 'The Help' is an extremely powerful insight into the more private lives, thoughts and feelings of black citizens in southern America during the early 1960's. It provides a account of what life was like for a black maid in a white household, and, in this way, could be viewed as more helpful than many history books. However, one criticism of the book is that it implies that white people liberated black people, instead of black people freeing themselves from the racial prejudice they were forced to suffer.

Tara

Ranger’s Apprentice; The Ruins of Gorlan

The Ruins of Gorlan is the first novel in the Ranger's Apprentice series written by Australian author John Flanagan. It was first released in Australia on 1st November 2004. Flanagan first regarded the world of the novel in a form of short stories he wrote for his son to motivate his interest in reading in order to inspire him and convince, that the hero isn’t always necessarily big, tall, strong and handsome-looking. Ten years later, he decided to turn them into The Ruins of Gorlan, the first part of the Ranger’s Apprentice series.

I personally, seeked an inspiration and a bit more understanding about significant things in life. The book is perhaps more of a story for younger generations to persuade about today’s heroes. Although I am possibly not that small of a child, I believe that a simple book might become far more powerful than more complex writings, where the author tries to astonish us and confuse. The Ruins of Gorlan is not something of a ‘Headmaid’s Tale’, where Margaret Atwood pretends to show the extreme difficulty in comprehending the society in her novel. She regularly interrupts the narrative flow of the text to consider the meaning of certain words and phrases. ‘Ranger’s Apprentice’ is different in my eyes. Sometimes, though You have to create an image in your head to be able to visualize what the author means.

It all begins when Halt, a skilled Ranger agrees to train Will, a boy whose father was killed in war. Will learns how to fight enemies effectively, either by shooting them down with his powerful bow, or by engaging with them in close combat. Morgarath, a Baron who was exiled long ago, wants his revenge upon the kingdom of Araulen. He unleashes two very strong beasts; the Kalkara, which Will, Halt and Gilan (Halt's first apprentice) are assigned to defeat. On the Choosing Day all the wards gather in The Castle Redmont's halls and are each interviewed by the craftmasters. Each of the divisions gets the apprenticeship they wanted until Will's turn comes. Will asks to become a battleschool member. In the end, he was not accepted into Battleschool or his second choice, Horseschool; leaving him very disappointed, he is then rejected by each of the other craftmasters.

However, Halt, the Ranger, came in and raised Will’s hopes slightly by simply handing Baron Arald a paper, which caused the Baron to tell Will to wait until morning for the Baron’s decision. But the unpatient Will couldn’t wait and decided to sneak into the Baron’s office by using his agility and speed to sneak past the Baron’s guards, and then climb up the Baron’s study. This maneuver was unsuccessful, as Halt expected this and was waiting for him. However, Will’s fears as he was caught were groundless, as he was not punished, but appointed to be Halt’s apprentice to train as a Ranger. Gradually, Will becomes acknowledged by many, and as a result of his heroic actions and masterful mind he meets new friends.

I started reading the book simply to pass time while in the tube. It was that much exciting, that I wouldn’t be able to get off my seat and walk out of the train. It was unbelievable. By the cover, though, I was convinced, that it is something not worth a try. Everything is. That said, after I begun reading it I lost all apprehension and throughly enjoyed this great read.  It is a book like millions of others in this world. I am no more influenced to talk about it as being the supreme. Thus, I express how powerful a modest book can be.

A light read is a great way to lose yourself for a spare time in a world of swords, shields, bows and heroic actions. I am unquestionably reading the following parts, which are thrillingly unpredictable, and within each go, are more fascinating and miraculous. The reason also for me writing about this precise book is the influence of English language. It is like a throw of totally new things you would aspire. I unconditionally love English language and its books’ authors. Reading is also the way I became more familiar with such ‘art’. When I came to England, I was disappointed by my vocabulary thus I started from a terrifically difficult book, which would lead me nowhere but confussion, thus I challenged it and read to the very end. Ironically, just at the end of the story I had realized all the mistakings that took me over.

Anyone, who would desire a light and easy read, I would definitely advise this book to. In the modern world, too often are we made to feel inadequate and as such we end up thinking that we're too small, too weak and unwanted to be able to affect change. John Flanagan, therefore, demonstrates wonderfully that you don't have to be the biggest guy to help make a difference. This is a wonderful story that takes the reader on a fantasy journey as an apprentice Ranger discovers friendships can last. It got great courage and fully supports the positive attitude that we all wish we could inspire.

 

Zaneta

Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

After my relationship with the thrillingly raw and mythical ‘Game Of Thrones’ came to an end, I immediately experienced major withdrawal symptoms, resulting in a desperate search for a worthy rebound. It was then that an advert displaying gore, sex, blood and testosterone graced my TV-I now believe in love at first sight. I sacrificed asking for seconds of my dinner that night and ran up to my room to download the first season.

 The show is set in ancient Rome, 73B.C. It follows the key protagonist who was given the name Spartacus. This man is shown from the very first episode to have an issue with authority, as he leads a mutiny against his selected general. This resulted in brutal fight scenes and slashes of Tarantino-style blood filling the reflection in my glasses, as I gazed at my computer screen. To top it all off, the reason for this mutiny and bloodshed was of course for the manliest reason possible, love. His longing to rescue his wife Sura drove away his fear and fueled his rage and determination. Unfortunately, bad luck and heroes tend to come as a pair. In this case, the hero Spartacus is captured and sentenced to death via the infamous Gladiator arena. Spartacus against all odds slays four fully trained Gladiators and becomes an instant celebrity. His original sentencing of death commutes to slavery in the form of forced enrollment into a Gladiator training camp. The sheer intensity of these first few episodes gave me no choice but to continue this TV series affair while my beloved ‘Game Of Thrones’ was away. 

Spartacus: Blood and Sand left its mark on me and I became a different person while following the series. I spent every night pretending to go to sleep then tip toeing my way to the computer to watch just one more episode. A week later, I had completed the first season and was left extremely satisfied. Following the journey of Spartacus as he rose from a mere slave to a gladiator and then finally a leader of a rebellion was enthralling. However, the entire atmosphere the show created was my guilty pleasure. I become certain that Spartacus truly must be good when I remember hopelessly attempting push ups in my room with the idea that I would end up as muscular as the Gladiators after one night. I am a lazy person, the fact Spartacus was able to get me out of my chair was proof enough it is a great show. 

Despite the testosterone overload of men and murder, it is interesting to discover that the women in the series should definitely not be overlooked. Their devious ways and use of seduction allows some characters to get anything they want. The curves under a dress replaced that of a Gladiators shield and razor sharp whispers from the tongue replaced the edge of any sword. Many would argue that the women have more power than the men. At the ear of every general, was a woman with an ulterior motive and the reason for every Gladiator to survive was the longing for a woman. In a way, I compare the title Blood and Sand not to the spilling of blood onto the sands of the arena, but of the two different threats on the show. The sand represents the men: gritty, dry, and hard and the blood represents the women, as it is required as a ‘fuel’ for men to live, the silky smooth texture and the colour of deep lustful red add to my justification of this comparison.

The finale left me wanting more as it ended with Spartacus vowing to make ‘Rome tremble’. Now to prevent giving too much away, I will conclude by saying that I strongly recommend this show to anyone who favours intense drama. If you are wondering how a slave ends up with Rome at his feet then I suggest you download the first season ASAP. 

Harjan.

Breaking Bad

For months I had many people rave to me about the Netflix series Breaking Bad, and for months I really couldn't care less. Until the day I ran out of things to watch and found myself deep inside the Breaking Bad world.

Walter White aka Heisenberg, a chemistry teacher who has recently been diagnosed with cancer and has three years to live decides that his duty is to make sure his family have a stable and bright future ahead of them. To do so Walter starts a career in drugs and crime. After pairing up with former student Jesse Pinkman the two make their way to the top of the meth ladder.

I grew to love Breaking Bad due to the witty humour and dark story line. As the series draws to an end your initial thoughts on each character slowly changes as their true intentions become more apparent. My favourite character by far is Jesse Pinkman because despite the dark nature of Breaking Bad his simple innocence gives a lighthearted feel to the programme. Due to Pinkman's innocence he becomes a vulnerable character which creates empathy and in my opinion this can create a bond between the audience and character. In my opinion Pinkman is one of the most complex characters in Breaking Bad, whilst on their journey up the meth ladder the pair make huge sacrifices which leaves Jesse with a huge amount of guilt, questioning if this really is the life for him. Throughout the series we follow Jesse and come to understand why he did the things he did aswell as follow him on his ups and downs whilst juggling crime and guilt. On the other hand as the story line becomes more serious and risky Walter finds it hard to think about anything but money and power which forces the audience to question their love for the once family man.

I believe that love is a major theme in Breaking Bad. The show gives us insight to the extents that love can make us go to. For example, the simple fact that Walter was willing to put himself in danger in order to see that his family would be alright once he had gone. But on the other hand as the series comes to an end we learn that money can sometimes over ride the amount of love people have, as Walter becomes more than willing to kill his beloved DEA brother-in-law to save himself. Furthermore he was well aware of the guilt which over run his close partner Jesse but again was willing to sacrifice him over himself.

The series as a whole is extremely powerful as it makes the audience sympathise and relate to Walter and you find yourself agreeing with his actions but at the same time knowing that what he is doing is totally wrong. However as he changes and becomes more powerful his morals go down the drain along with his once close knit family. As the years go on we follow Walter on his self-destructive path as he finally realises that his meth empire is slowly falling in on him, and he is left with no option but to give up. The once loving man starts to shine through the hard shell of Heisenberg in the last episode as he puts himself to the side and saves Pinkman's life, therefore absolving himself.

Overall I would highly recommend anyone to watch Breaking Bad and if you're anything like me you will have finished watching it within a few weeks. Breaking Bad is a cleverly written show with fantastic acting from all of the cast and I can't think of anything in which they could improve on. Having been based on such serious and controversial subjects I was surprised to find that in parts it was very humorous . The major subject of Breaking Bad is 'cooking' crystal meth which is an extremely addictive drug very much like the series itself!

Hannah

Catching Fire

Catching Fire

By far my personal favourite, Suzanne Collins’ sequel to the Hunger Games and the second book in the trilogy, Catching Fire provides as a follow up on the previous instalment, developing and improving on the popular dystopian, post-apocalyptic novel. It is impressive in its treatment of such important themes such as revolution, love and oppression.

Drawing influenes from ancient Rome, and presenting them in a futuristic setting, Collins’ imagination runs creatively wild in order to bring the fictional world to life.

Unfortunately, this instalment is criticised by many as being only a bridge between the first and third instalments, and does not stand up as an individual book in its own right. While I agree that it may be difficult to appreciate the book fully without reading the others, it in no way makes it a bad book, as the writing and execution, makes it a successful and well made piece of work.

The story once again follows the main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, an unsociable and unhappy girl, who managed to survive the Hunger Games, while also saving Peeta Mellark, a confident and clever young man, who has been heartbroken, by Katniss.

The book feels like it is divided into two sections. The first can be described as thought provoking and political. It focuses on, and develops the ideas first hinted at in the previous book. Katniss is forced to pretend that she is madly in love with Peeta in order to convince the citizens of Panem (the fictional, dystopian nation set in the remains of North America), that when she threatened that Peeta and herself would commit suicide, unless they could both live, it was an act of desperation to be together, and not an act of defiance and rebellion, against the all-powerful and oppressive dictatorship known as the Captiol. Or does she? This book focuses on the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale. At a first glance, the concept seems unoriginal, but is pulled off very well as the characters all have their own values, which makes the idea not only understandable, but also very engaging, with the audience guessing who will end up with who. The story shows brutal imagery, with punishments becoming more common and public, demonstrating the ruthlessness of their society. 

The second half takes place in another annual Hunger Games, the 75^th anniversary of the Games, known as the third Quarter Quell. An action packed completion to fight to the death until a lone victor remains occurs, with the stakes much higher than before, as the contestants are all previous winners (“victors”) of the Games, in a cruel twist as an attempt to quash the approaching revolution and killing Katniss, 'the girl on fire', in the process, which ultimately fails.

The fact that the book appears divided is a big disadvantage, as it means that some sections seem more re-readable than others. It also makes the book seem longer than it is, though it is difficult to become bored, as the quality of writing is extremely powerful and impressive.

It is also difficult to classify the book in a particular genre, as the action and political themes run in parallel.

Forcing you to read on to discover the true ending, Catching Fire is an outstanding read for anyone who wishes to submerge themselves in a story full of empathetic characters, intelligent concepts and perfectly choreographed action.

Tristan

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Jeanette Winterson once wrote that Invisible Cities by Italian writer, Italo Calvino, is the ‘book I would choose as pillow and plate, alone on a desert island’, and while I wouldn’t recommend eating off this book (it’s quite small) or using it to rest your head upon (again, it’s quite small – and hard), I would definitely recommend reading it.

Published in 1972, the novel takes the form of a conversation between the 13^th century explorer Marco Polo and the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan (also immortalised in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s virtually indecipherable, opium-fuelled poem Kubla Khan, but that’s another story), during which Marco Polo describes a number of cities he has supposedly visited on his travels. These descriptions become increasingly imaginative and imaginary as the novel progresses. For example, take this description of the city of Argia:

What makes Argia different from other cities is that it has earth instead of air. The streets are completely filled with dirt, clay packs the rooms to the ceiling…We do not know if the inhabitants can move about the city, widening the worm tunnels and the crevices where roots twist…everyone is better off remaining still, prone; anyway it is dark.

From up here, nothing of Argia can be seen; some say, “It’s down below there,” and we can only believe them…At night, putting your ear to the ground, you can sometimes hear a door slam.

Or this one of Eutropia:

On the day when Eutropia’s inhabitants feel the grip of weariness and no one can bear any longer his job, his relatives, his house and his life, debts, the people he must greet or who greet him, then the whole citizenry decides to move to the next city, which is there waiting for them, empty and good as new; there each will take up a new job, a different wife, will see another landscape on opening his window, and will spend his time with different pastimes, friends, gossip.

Calvino’s fictional Polo goes on to describe a city built on a cosmic plan, a city built on stilts, a city that never ends, a city constructed entirely of water pipes, a city divided between the living and the dead, a city divided between work and play, and many more (including Octavia, ‘the spider-web city’). In these descriptions history, fantasy and reality are inextricably intermingled; they are, in the words of Kublai Khan, ‘consolatory fables’.

This is the second novel by Calvino that I have read (the other being If on a winter’s night a traveller – which consists of the opening chapters of ten different novels!) and there are definite similarities between the two books. Both are incredibly original, imaginative and inventive, and both dispense with a traditional narrative structure in favour of an episodic approach with the different elements of the novel held together by the themes and ideas that Calvino is exploring. In the case of Invisible Cities, it seems to me that it is the nature of cities and the importance of travel and consequently of home that is being explored; Polo has travelled extensively across the world, but it is his home, Venice which seems to be always on his mind as he tells Khan that ‘Every time I describe a city I am saying something about Venice.’ It is the schizophrenic nature of cities, in all their multifarious splendour that interests Calvino (as well as Polo, Khan and the reader); it is their duality, their insatiability, their unlimited capacity for expansion, their horror and their delight.

Cities, Polo contends, are the ‘inferno of the living…the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together.’ What could be a more appropriate description of London in 2014? There are, Polo tells Khan, ‘two ways to escape suffering it’, but you’ll have to read the novel to find out!

Mr. R