The Help

The book  The Help by Kathryn Stockett takes place in the early 1960’s in Jacksonville Mississippi in the perspective of two black maids, Minny Jackson and Aibileen Clark as well as a young white woman, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan. The maids work with Skeeter to develop a book depicting the lives of maids in Jacksonville. By doing this, they are risking both their jobs and the saftey of them and their families. Throughout the book, the setting is extremely important to the story.

  One example of how the setting contributes to the story is that it can affect the overall plot of the story. For example, the author states, “ So Jacksonville’s just one white neighborhood after the next and more springing up down the road. But the colored part a town, we one big anthill, surrounded by state land that ain’t for sale. As our numbers get bigger, we can't spread out. Our part a town just gets thicker.” This quote shows how because the book takes place in the heart of the south, there is clearly more racism there, than there would be in other places. This helps show how there was a huge separation between whites and blacks in Jacksonville Mississippi at the time.

            Another example of how the setting affects the story is how the setting changes the mood of the scene. For example the author states, “ For the next two weeks, the three of us arrange ourselves in the same seats in Aibileen’s small warm living room.” This quote shows how the setting of the scene can help to display the tone. In this quote, Aibileen’s familiar living room helps the characters slowly connect to each other.

            One more example of how the setting can have a large impact on the story is how it can help display emotions. For example the author states,“ ‘Dad,’ Stuart says through gritted teeth, banging his fork against his plate” This quote shows how the setting of the scene can affect the emotions that are conveyed at the time. In this quote, the Phelans are having dinner with the Whitworths and it isn't going as planned.

            Overall, I love this book because it uses setting to set the tone of the book. Setting has an extremely large effect on mood, emotion, and the overall plot of the story in this book.  I think the author did a great job incorporating setting both subtly and noticeably into the book. I think that by doing this, the author made the story more relatable and interesting.