I really loved getting to know more about Skeeter! I had some very personal connections with these chapters so the questions are somewhat more reflective than literary. Don't feel like you have to respond to everything. Happy Reading!
I was also wondering if you all wanted to do 3 chapters next week as chapter 7 is Abileen's and 8 and 9 are Skeeter's. I thought it might make more sense to do Skeeter's together rather than wait a week between. But really whatever is fine with me.
Here are this weeks Questions:
Now that we’ve gotten to know Skeeter better, how do you react/relate to her character?
What was your reaction of Skeeter going to visit Constantine for an hour on Fridays during her childhood? Why do you think her parents let her go? Why did her father give Constantine extra money?
Why do you think Skeeter’s mother fired Constantine?
At the end of chapter 6 Elaine, the editor in NYC tells Skeeter to find some ideas that actually have punch to them. If you were living Skeeter’s life what would your great idea be? Do you think you would be brave enough to write about it?
Hilly and Elizabeth’s relationship with Skeeter is really developed in these chapters in a way that surprised me. On page 88 Skeeter says “I look in their smiling faces, at their hope for me. It’s not like Mother’s meddling, but a clean hope, without strings or hurt.” What are your thoughts about Skeeter’s friendship with those women and what direction do you think their relationship is going?
Were there any literary devices or special touches you found? (I thought we could keep this as a running question through the club, if that’s alright with you guys)
6 comments:
Now that we’ve gotten to know Skeeter better, how do you react/relate to her character?
I have to admit I really identified with Skeeter’s character. My junior year of college my mom asked me if I was a lesbian (in the same awkward, beat around the bush way that Skeeter’s mom did… haha) because I hadn’t dated and I didn’t talk about boys much. And I think a lot of girls have some hysical feature their mother criticized that they now over react to. At least I do… I also see her as someone who is incredibly capable but afraid of her own potential. For example, she didn’t want to tell anyone that she wanted to be a writer but she wrote to the most prestigious editing house in the country for a job. She almost has some real gumption. It seems that if she could get the confidence to that she could change everything about her community. I’m excited to see her story unfold.
What was your reaction of Skeeter going to visit Constantine for an hour on Fridays during her childhood? Why do you think her parents let her go?
I was pretty surprised that Skeeter went to Constantine’s home. If Skeeter is 23, she would have been visiting Constantine 13-15 years prior when things in the South were even more volatile. I think that Skeeter’s father is probably more reasonable than his wife and others at that time. Maybe because he’s a farmer rather than a office man? At any rate, these visits seemed to be the beginning of Skeeter seeing the world through different eyes than Hilly and Elizabeth. While they were in town playing with other white girls their age, Skeeter was seeing “the other side of the tracks” and perhaps this is where her transformation starts.
Why do you think Skeeter’s mother fired Constantine?
I initially thought that Skeeter’s mom had read all of Skeeter’s letter to Constantine and got jealous. Maybe Constantine’s daughter came to visit her and Skeeter’s mom thought Constantine had slept with a white man. I’m not sure though.
If you were living Skeeter’s life what would your great idea be? Do you think you would be brave enough to write about it?
I think I would want to write about the Home Sanitation Inititave but I’m pretty positive I wouldn’t be brave enough to write about it. If I were Skeeter I also might like to write about mothers and daughters, although again I don’t think I would have the heart to, as her mother would have been broken hearted/ mortified/too angry for words if Skeeter ever wrote anything negative about her mother. I also might be inclined to write about women, particularly women in the South and their lifestyle and what happens when you don’t fit the mold. I think I might have been willing to write about that, especially since everyone would already know that I finished college and didn’t get married and that most people weren’t happy about those facts.
What are your thoughts about Skeeter’s friendship with those women and what direction do you think their relationship is going?
This chapter helped me to see why Skeeter was even hanging around with Hilly and Elizabeth. I was especially touched by Hilly telling Skeeter that she was good enough for the guy even though her mother always tried to make her feel differently. I like the way Stockett put the hope Hilly and Elizabeth have for Skeeter: “clean,” “without strings or hurt.” In some ways I think that is a good description of how friends out to feel towards each other. What I mean is you can only be genuinely excited for someone and the tosses and turns their life may take when you don’t put strings on them to act the way you think they should or when you write them off as someone to be pitied. To have clean hope is to really respect who they are. While I can see these women’s ties run deep, I still think their relationship is about to erupt over the toilet issue.
Shannon! Fabulous questions! To answer your question about reading three chapters this week—that sounds good to me. I agree that it makes the most sense to read Skeeter’s chapters together.
Now that we’ve gotten to know Skeeter better, how do you react/relate to her character? I can really relate to Skeeter. She just graduated from college and is a single woman that feels pressure to be successful and married. I really relate to that right now!!! I also see how she has a spirit that wants to do her own thing, but she still seems to struggle with what everyone else tells her she should think/feel/do.
What was your reaction of Skeeter going to visit Constantine for an hour on Fridays during her childhood? Why do you think her parents let her go? Why did her father give Constantine extra money? I thought it was really interesting that she got to do that. To me that just shows how bad of a mother her mom was—I think her mom’s motivation was probably selfish: she didn’t want to have to watch Skeeter. I think her father is just more sympathetic to Constatine’s plight, and also I think he probably views her taking Skeeter for an hour each Friday as extra work, so he may just see that as the fair thing to do. I agree Shan—he seems much more reasonable than Skeeter’s mom.
Why do you think Skeeter’s mother fired Constantine? I think that Skeeter’s mother is jealous, now that Skeeter is older, of the relationship Skeeter and Constantine had. They have a relationship like mother and daughter should. I think Skeeter’s mom saw this as the time to cut that tie. Her mom may have also found out about Constantine’s daughter and thought that Skeeter’s dad was the father.
At the end of chapter 6 Elaine, the editor in NYC tells Skeeter to find some ideas that actually have punch to them. If you were living Skeeter’s life what would your great idea be? Do you think you would be brave enough to write about it? Wow, I’m pretty sure I would not have had the guts at all to write about what I would have really wanted to write about back then—I think the most volatile thing Skeeter could do would be to blast the Home Health Sanitation Initiative.
Hilly and Elizabeth’s relationship with Skeeter is really developed in these chapters in a way that surprised me. On page 88 Skeeter says “I look in their smiling faces, at their hope for me. It’s not like Mother’s meddling, but a clean hope, without strings or hurt.” What are your thoughts about Skeeter’s friendship with those women and what direction do you think their relationship is going? Reading this part of Skeeter’s chapters just really went to show that Stockett developed real characters with real complexities. One the one hand Skeeter wants to smack Hilly for threatening to kick her out of the Ladies’ League, but then we see this scene, where Skeeter can find Hilly and Elizabeth endearing because they just want the best for her. I think that they are all going to have big and very ugly falling out because I think in the long run, Skeeter will stand up for what she believes in, and I don’t think the other two will stay loyal to her after that. But I think that is probably how it really was back then—the race issue I’m sure ended up dividing the closes of friends and families.
Were there any literary devices or special touches you found? (I thought we could keep this as a running question through the club, if that’s alright with you guys) Oh yes let’s please do keep this a running question! Although I don’t have an answer to it this time around. :-)
Now that we’ve gotten to know Skeeter better, how do you react/relate to her character?
I really liked her. Who can help but like a strong, smart, capable, though still imperfect, woman? We should probably all ask ourselves this question periodically. That's what we are after all, and the only ones who really dislike that kind of woman are those who are threatened by her. I loved how she bucked the status quo in multiple ways. If she had been small and pretty she may never have been inclined to think differently than those around her. I envy her confidence. I would never apply to the best publishing house, probably not even one in the top ten. That's balsy.
What was your reaction of Skeeter going to visit Constantin during her childhood? Why do you think her parents let her go? Why did her father give Constantine extra money?
I was surprised that her uptight mother let her go to the black side of town to visit Constantine ever, much less on a regular basis. I agree with Robyn. I think her mother liked having Skeeter out of her hair those Friday evenings. I also think her dad had to be really laid back for that time period and I think he must have had a lot of confidence in Constantine. I think he paid her extra for the extra work and because he appreciated all of the special attention she gave his daughter who didn't quite fit in.
Why do you think Skeeter’s mother fired Constantine?
I think it has something to do with a clash caused by Constantine's daughter. Maybe she came to visit and Skeeter's mom assumed the worst, an affair between her husband and Constantine had taken place.
At the end of chapter 6 Elaine tells Skeeter to find some ideas that actually have punch to them. If you were living Skeeter’s life what would your great idea be? Do you think you would be brave enough to write about it?
I would want to write about all kinds of inequalities between whites and blacks and their implications. The Home Help Initiative would be one of many such subjects. I think I would also want to write about the dichotomy of having the help raise your children and then teaching your children to completely disrespect their personhood because they're black. How does that even make sense?
I don't think I would have the guts to write and submit my ideas for publication without using a fake name.
What are your thoughts about Skeeter’s friendship with Hilly and Elizabeth and what direction do you think their relationship is going?
I understand Skeeter's relationship with Hilly and Elizabeth but it makes me kind of sad. It's too bad Skeeter only has these women to lean on for " a clean hope" in her, when they don't really know (or even want to know) the secrets of her heart. I think their relationship is more selfish than she feels at this time and I think that disagreements about racial issues are going to tear them apart eventually. Unless of course, Skeeter conforms.
Were there any literary devices or special touches you found?
I don't know that this counts, but I loved the way Stockett described the cotton smell and the yellow dust that got all over Skeeter's Mexican shoes. It made me feel like I was there in that hot sticky field standing by the mailbox with Skeeter. It's very cool that Stockett was raised in Jackson. She has great perspective.
Jenna and Shan - I really loved both your responses. Definitely got my wheels turning!
Jenna - something you said in particular is something that has been on my mind this whole time. These mother's allow the help to completely raise their children, but in the end teach the children that the help aren't equal to them. It is interesting to me that they could believe on one hand that these people carry diseases they can catch from using the same restroom, but they let the help change their babies' diapers. It makes you wonder if deep down inside they knew what they were really doing when they dumbed down the help and acted as if they weren't equal.
Robyn great response. I've also been thinkng about Jenna's comment. It strikes me that these women putting down the help is a defense mechanism. Essentially these women are unable to present themselves adequately to the world without thier help. They have domestically bitten off more than they can chew by trying to raise children who are well behaved and out together, keep a house that is 2-3x bigger than is needed, keep social engagments like the DAR and church banquets and ladies teas all while trying to make it look easy. They need the help to keep up this false persona, but that is a huge knock to thier pride. So instead of acting like Celia Foote (eternally grateful) they put them down as to minimize their value.
I love the comments and I completely agree. Why would you let someone inferior watch your kids and care for them so intimately? It's a huge risk. You either don't believe in the risk, or you're completely desperate, or both! These women are all about keeping up appearances. They expect others to handle their dirty work while they do the "more important" or prestigious work. However, they still take credit for raising their children even though they know that's not true. Maybe it's easier to pass off this lie because they are the ones responsible for teaching their kids about the inferiority of the help and other such prejudices. Truly every parent's responsibility. (Note the sarcasm.) I think jealousy must have played a big part in all of this and it's still playing a part for families with help, nannies, or even daycare. Mom's, wives and women in general feel guilty that they can't do it all. Too bad we can't just accept that and get on with life in an honest or authentic reality. (I'm not really sure which word I prefer here.)
And now, on chapters 7,8&9!
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