The help

Aibileen's bitter seed(symbol)

After the tragic death of her son Treelore, Aibileen says, "A bitter seed was planted inside a me. And I just didn't feel so accepting anymore" (pg. 3). Later on, when Miss Leefolt gleefully tells her about the home's new segregated bathrooms, and Aibileen notes "I [...] feel that bitter seed grow in my chest, the one planted after Treelore died (pg. 14). Treelore's death destabilized Aibileen's life, and affected her views on all matters of justice. Though it began with her son's death, this bitterness eventually grew in response to the many other types of injustice and tragedy that Aibileen faces every day. This sense of justice is particular attuned to racial inequalities; Aibileen feels the seed grow after Miss Leefolt tells Mae Mobley that Aibileen is dirty and diseased. As Aibileen assists Skeeter with the book about the maids, she stops mentioning her bitter seed. This symbol is an example of the way that personal suffering can grow into a desire to prevent the pain of others.

"She like one a them baby chickens that get confused and follow the ducks around instead" (pg. 106) (Simile)

Aibileen describes Mae Mobley this way when she notices that she is more affectionate with the colored help than with her own mother. The simile highlights Mae's attachment to Aibileen, which is as odd as a baby chicken following around a duck. It also emphasizes Mae's young and vulnerable nature by comparing her to a helpless baby animal.

"Mississippi is like my mother. I am allowed to complain about her all I want, but God help the person who raises an ill word about her around me, unless she is their mother too" (pg. 528) (Simile)

Author Kathryn Stockett writes this in her epilogue to The Help. Whenever remarks to Stockett about the loveliness of her state, she points out the violence in its history. Whenever someone comments on how awful Mississippi is, she points outs its beauty. Despite how dear the state is to her, she recognizes that it is not perfect. In this way, Mississippi is comparable to a parent.

Bathroom (Motif)

Bathrooms are one of the recurring motifs in the novel. This begins with Hilly's Home Help Sanitation Initiative, which requires all white families to have a second bathroom for the use of their black maids. This policy creates a number of difficulties for Aibileen and other maids, and prompts Skeeter to start her work on the book about black maids. The bathroom motif highlights the down-to-earth focus of the novel; everyone uses bathrooms every day, but few of us think very much about it. In the same way, the novel focuses on the daily lives of maids rather than major historical actors. The history of the period informs this motif: segregated bathrooms and public facilities were major sites of contestation during the Civil Rights movements.

Celia's Mimosa Tree (symbol)

Celia despises the mimosa tree that stands outside her house, and early in the novel she often stares at it with an axe in her hand. It is only after the disaster at the Benefit that Celia chops down the mimosa tree during a rainstorm. Chopping down the mimosa tree symbolizes the control that Celia takes over her own life. Celia hates the tree and finds it ugly, but she leaves it up for appearance's sake. In a similar way, she tries to ingratiate herself to Jackson society by smoothing over the rough edges in her own personality. In both cases, Celia is more concerned with what other people think than with her own opinions. After the Benefit, she realizes that Hilly will always hate her and Jackson society will never accept her. There is no longer any reason to keep up such appearances, so she chops down the ugly tree. Rather than being a victim of her circumstances, she takes control and removes what she hates from her life.

The Dove

Featured on the cover of the book written by Skeeter and the maids, the dove is described in the book as "a sign of better times to come" (pg. 462). It connects the book with the progressive elements of the sixties, which focused on peace and equality. It also demonstrates how the book itself is a messenger of peace, meant to bridge the great divide between black and white women.

"[Her] smile is a fat child's at the Seale-Lily Ice Cream window. The button on her red suit coat bulges" (pg. 206) (Metaphor)

Hilly is planning a double date with Skeeter and Stuart. Peculiarly, she seems most interested in getting her husband William to spend time with Stuart, which may be related to the fact that William is running for office and Stuart comes from an influential family. When Skeeter agrees to this double date, Hilly says "Good," and her smile is described as a fat child's (p. 206). Hilly is clearly no child - she rules the Junior League with an iron first, and she manages every aspect of social life among white women in Jackson. However, she is often self-centered, and lacks an understanding of the needs and feelings of others. Like a child at an ice cream shop, she thinks only of ways to satisfy her own desires.

Foreshadowing

In the early parts of the novel, Minny makes frequent reference to the "Terrible Awful" that she did to Hilly. On page 53, shortly after she starts working for Celia Foote, Minny worries that Hilly will try to have her fired for "the Terrible Awful Thing" she did. Later, Minny refuses to make a chocolate pie for Celia, promising herself that she will never make one again after Hilly (pg. 146). This foreshadows the moment after the Benefit when Minny finally reveals to Celia that she baked her own feces into a pie and fed it to Hilly

Paradox

Minny includes the "Terrible Awful" in her narrative as a type of insurance, a way to protect the other women. Hilly will likely recognize the events and people described in the book and plot revenge against the maids, but she will also be motivated to hide the fact that the book is about Jackson so that people do not realize she was the one to eat the feces pie. Hilly is caught in a paradox, torn between her desire to harm those who offend her and her wish to keep the Terrible Awful a secret.

Pies (Motif)

Minny is famous for her great skill at cooking, and particularly for her delicious pies. The recurring motif of pies shows the significance of household chores in the novel, as well as the services rendered to white households by the black maids. But the "Terrible Awful," as well as the stories that the maids put into the book, indicate that shocking things might be hidden in sweet and homey treats.

"[She] says her family pattern is Chantilly, but she'll be picking out her own new pattern when she gets married. 'Since I consider myself an independent thinker and all.' Carlton pets her on the head and she nudges against his hand like a cat. They both look up and smile" (pg. 134) (Simile)

Shortly before she rushes out to her first, ill-fated date with Stuart, Skeeter meets her brother's girlfriend, whom she refers to as Ponytail Girl. She describes her in the above way, a self-proclaimed independent thinker. By comparing Carlton's girlfriend to a cat, this simile emphasizes the dehumanizing nature of white southern femininity. She might consider herself an independent thinker, but the only real choice she has is between the patterns on her silverware. Even this small exercise in choice is only significant as a way to make her boyfriend's family like her.

Allusions

The book alludes to the real-life vigilante violence perpetuated against black people by organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. In describing her fears about the consequences for writing the book about the maid, Aibileen describes the following scenario: "[...] That knock on the door, late at night. That there are white men out there hungry to hear about a colored person crossing whites, ready with they wooden bats, matchsticks. Any little thing'll do" (pg. 224).

Climax

The climax occurs when "Help" is finally published; the consequent conclusion of the plot is the various characters and Jackson at large dealing with the fallout from the publication.

Major conflict

The overarching conflict is that of human beings versus social norms - more specifically, versus racism and sexism. Each of the primary characters brings a distinct set of conflicts. Aibileen is trying to cope with her son's untimely death, support Mae Mobley despite her mother's neglectful ways, and deal with the oppressive social norms for people of color in her community. Minny is trying to hold down a job so that she can provide for her family, and find ways to deal with the violence committed against her by her husband; later, she tries to unravel the mystery of Celia's life.

"If chocolate was a sound, it would've been Constantine's voice singing. If singing was a color, it would've been the color of that chocolate" (pg. 78) (Metaphor)

This metaphor that Skeeter uses when recalling Constantine's singing shows the mutually reinforced connections between music, color (the brown color of Constantine's skin), and the sweetness of chocolate. It vividly depicts the deep, lovely quality of Constantine's voice.

"And there be Miss Skeeter in a red dress and red shoes, setting on my front steps like a bullhorn" (pg. 118) (Simile)

This quote references the bright colors Skeeter is wearing on her tall frame, but also emphasizes that her appearance on Aibileen's doorstep is as unexpected as a loud noise.

Personification

While Minny cleans Celia's home, she takes special care to clean a giant taxidermied bear, and imagines that this object is glaring at her. "I dust the shelves in the hunting room, vacuum the bear while he stares at me like I'm a snack. 'Just you and me today,' I tell him" (pg. 159). This demonstrates Minny's feeling that she is constantly being watched as she goes about her work.