It seems to me then that this discussion has turned into a debate. Either people like the book or they do not. Yet, those who have commented have strayed pretty far from Ms. Teele’s initial question concerning who gets to tell “the story.” This is a question that one of my professors used to ask (mostly white) education students as they went into urban (mostly black) schools to conduct research. Sure, on the surface, it seems that stories do not belong to anyone. Whoever feels moved to write should write the thinking goes. Yet, I think we miss the point that in the past and, I would argue, even today, a structure existed which provided unequal access to publication. So long as this is the case, people of certain groups will always have a better chance of framing and telling the stories to a large audience and, just as importantly, they will continually benefit financially from this greater access. In Stockett’s novel, all of the black women interviewed received a share of the proceeds from the book. In real life, this is hardly ever the case (and I haven’t heard that Stockett has given back financially to Hot Stack or its real-life equivalent. Who knows? Perhaps she has, but if so, the fact has not been publicized.) So, Ms. Teele’s question raises not simply the issue of who has the right to speak but who in reality gets to speak most often, what structures underlie the privilege of voice, and, I would add, whether most of us are so used to invisible structures of privilege that even when one hints at them today, we turn our minds in less troubling, more sentimental, directions. Probably the single greatest thing that I got from reading this book was how a culture of privilege could be so blind to the oppression of others. So, this is an eye opener that encourages me to look around, even at the Northern city in which I live today and ask who gets to speak and what are the social and economic implications of that power.

I do not see this book as a book club selection. Unless it is a racially mixed book club, I would not waste my time attending a discussion of the book.
Most book clubs I encounter are pretty homogenous, and I can just see a room full of white women my age bragging about how wonderful their family was to the black help, which I doubt. Most were paid with old clothes, old food, and too little money.

Stockett has nailed the privileged white women’s personalities, and the “colored” women with their dialects as well. I have not had the opportunity to hear the recorded book, but plan to do so before Thursday. I thoroughly enjoyed Stockett’s first effort and look forward to her next one with great anticipation.

Oh, and by the way, we were taught that “alright” was a fully acceptable compound word!

Having grown up in the rural south in the 1960’s, it is my experience that, for the most part, the dialect is dead on.

My mother’s “domestic help” was a sweet woman named “Listine”. As much as we knew she cared about us, we always knew that her own family was her priority. My brother and I were never “her charges”, so I cannot compare that aspect of “THE HELP” to any personal experience.

I read to learn and to be entertained or enlightened. Stockett’s first novel was a success in all of the above. To say a white woman cannot write from a black woman’s perspective is like saying a man can’t write from a woman’s perspective…….What fun would that be if we pigeon-holed our authors with that criteria?

Remember that the South is not monolithic–all we Southerners have some common experiences and all of us have unique experiences. There are many elements of the book that ring true enough for me that I can believe the language, dialect, and experiences could have existed somewhere to someone south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Stereotypes exist because they do represent some commonalities.

I found the book enjoyable and thought provoking–isn’t that why we read?

Incidentally, while listening to the audiobook (which I loved) I wondered how the accents of Minny and Aibileen were portrayed on the page. I can see how it might be more jarring to read the accent than to hear it read.

I’ll be sharing some of your comments tonight.
Thanks for the lively perspectives and thoughts!

wholehearted

I was not born in the 60s but I lived a few hours from Jackson. My grandmother was a maid and ALL of her children are college educated and ALL of her grandchildren (of age) are college educated. Not once have I heard from my parents, aunts or uncles that my grandmother wanted her children to follow in her footsteps. She and my grandfather worked hard so they would have a better life. It was TIME for a better life.

I so hated the dialect in this novel. It is truly unbelieveable. I am an eduacator in a small southern town where most of the people are under educated and poor. Yes, I hear broken English constantly but never to this extent. The language was too generic for my taste especially from Aibileen who had a few years of education.

If the book gets people reading and not sitting on the couch watching tv or surfing the internet, then it has done a great job. The discussion of the book is great as well because I hope it makes people really think.

All I can say is THANK YOU.

The book’s authenticity from a black perspective was non-existent

I had a very difficult time getting through it and would throw it down from time to time because the authenticity just wasn’t there. It made me gag to think that the author actually “thought” she knew enough about how black women thought and felt (even back in those times) that she could actually concoct a whole book about it! Please!

The fact that she had the gall to even attempt to write a book from a black maid’s prespective proves her ignorance. And also proves that the “help” in her time were way ahead of the game because,trust me, my mama and many others cleaned the white women houses and raised their bad kids but not a day would go buy that she did not remind us that she never, ever, wanted us to clean up behind lazy white women!

The “help” showed the face that they had to show to survive, but believe me, even back in the 60’s, the help sang a whole different tune at home! But the white folk never ever got to see the “real” face of the “help” because if they did, they probably would not have had any help!

When I finally finished the book, I thought what a waste! At the end, the writer fell back on that “happy ever after”
ending for the white girl and left the “help” holding the bag! Typical!