The Help by Kathryn Stockett: Discussion Questions {CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS}

[[deleted user]]

****DO NOT REPLY TO THIS POST****Please post responses in the discussion boards for the appropriate chapters.

Hi guys,
There are some discussion questions located in the back of the book and for those of you who are listening on audio or may have a different copy, I wanted to post them to give you something to think about as you read and something to discuss on the boards.

Amy

Please do not post your responses to the questions in this thread, but in the discussion thread for the corresponding chapters.

1. Who was your favorite character? Why?

2. What do you think motivated Hilly? On one hand she is terribly cruel to Aibileen and her own help, as well as to Skeeter once she realizes that she can't control her. Yet she's a wonderful mother. Do you think that one can be a good mother and at the same time, a deeply flawed person?

3. Like Hilly, Skeeter's mother is a prime example o someone deeply flawed yet somewhat sympathetic. She seems to care for Skeeter - and she also seems to have very real feelings for Constantine. Yet the ultimatum she gives Constantine is untenable, and most of her interaction with Skeeter is critical. Do you think Skeeter's mother is a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why?

4.How much of a person's character would you say is shaped by the times in which he or she lives?

5. Did it bother you that Skeeter was willing to overlook so many of Stuart's faults so that she could get married, and that it wasn't until he literally got up and walked away that the engagement fell apart?

6. Do you believe that Minny was justified in her distrust of white people?

7. Do you think that had Aibileen stayed working for Miss Elizabeth, Mae Mobley would have grown up to be racist like her mother? Do you think racism is inherent or taught?

8. From the perspective of a twenty-first century reader, the hair shellac system that Skeeter undergoes seems ludicrous. Yet women still alter their looks in rather peculiar ways as the definition of "beauty" changes with the times. Looking back on your past, what's the most ridiculous beauty regimen you ever underwent?

9. The author manages to paint Aibileen with a quiet grace and an aura of wisdom about her. How do you think she does this?

10. Do you think there are still vestiges of racism in relationships in which people of color work for people who are white?

11. What did you think about Minny's pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?