The Role of Friendship in Life Essay Example

friendship knows no boundaries and helps to positively change the lives of the characters.

Even though in the 1960s racism is at its worst, three friends with racial differences form a very strong friendship aimed at changing the way the society sees black people and especially women. The two black women, Aibileen and Minny are serving as maids for wealthy white families and they are being treated as half humans. From the book this is evident especially when Miss Leefolt installs a second bathroom for the colored people because the racist society does not allow for the whites to share things or facilities with the blacks. Aibileen says, “I use my colored bathroom from now on. And then I go on and Clorox the white bathroom again real good” (14). This serves to show the paradoxical as well as contradictory nature of race relationships during this time especially because the whites are accepting the blacks to take care of their children but they cannot accept the fact that they can share the same facilities with them. However, Skeeter does not want to treat the blacks in the same way other white people are doing. Skeeter receives a piece of advice from Elaine Stein who tells her “Write about what disturbs you, particularly if it bothers no one else” (83). Skeeter takes this advice to heart because she is being bothered with the way the blacks are being treated especially the ugly harassment she sees everyday on black maids. She then decides to write about the plight of the maids in attempt to try and change the way the society perceives them. By writing the book and

allowing Aibileen and Minny to participate in it, shows that friendship can grow in any environment and in whichever situation.

Skeeter wants to use her social privilege in the 1960s society in order to try and give voice to the black women in the society. In addition to her social privilege, Skeeter is driven by more altruistic reasons to write her book and show the plight of the black women and especially those who serve as maids for the white women. Skeeter explains to Elaine Stein her deep interest in writing a book especially about what it is to be a maid in Mississippi and she says, “‘I’d like to write this showing the point of view of the help. The colored women down here.' I tried to picture Constantine's face, Aibileen's…….'We don't even allow them to use the toilet in the house’” (125). In this phone conversation between Skeeter and Elaine, Skeeter is being troubled because her black maid Constantine has disappeared. However, she has started developing a very close relationship with Aibileen another black maid and every day she sees their pain as they being treated like strangers. Skeeter manages to convince black maids like Aibileen and Minny to contribute in the book she is writing by telling their stories so that she can try and change their lives in a positive way. Aibileen sees the real point behind the book Skeeter and writing and she is willing to contribute especially when she says, “Thirty-five maids done said no and I feel like I'm selling something nobody want to buy….I'm proud a what I'm selling. I can't help it. We telling stories that need

to be told” (244). At first Aibileen had started to be suspicious when she was told by Skeeter to contribute to the book but at last she is convinced that Skeeter’s intentions are good and for the best and despite thirty five black women having refused to contribute, she is willing to contribute her story and try to change the fate of the black women.

In the 1960s the United States is making enormous technological advances but still race relations and traditions remain unchanged until a friendship that starts and grows gradually between the two races begin to change things. The contradicting life in the 1960s United States is clearly seen when Skeeter writes, “It is 1963. The Space Age they're calling it. A man has circled the earth in a rocketship….Yet my parents’ house is still as hot as it was in 1899, the year my Great-grandfather built it” (280). Skeeter is fighting to try and change the way the society has been treating black women since ages and this is especially because she realizes that things are not going to change any soon. Skeeter’s book develops from the friendship she has with the black women as well as the thing she observes in the society and she is more determined to change the lives of her friends in a positive way. The point of her book is “For women to realize we are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought” (492). This serves to show the real purpose of Skeeter’s book and the true intentions of writing her book. It also shows that her friendship to

the black women like Aibileen and Minny was true. Friendship can really change things for positive and with lots of friends like Skeeter things in the world can change for the better.

Works Cited

• Stockett,Kathryn. The Help. Penguin Books Limited, 2011. Print.