The Help

Kathryn Stockett’s   The Help is told in a format different from most traditional novels. It bounces back from the first person perspectives of three central characters, Aibileen, Minny, and Miss Skeeter. For one small chapter, Stockett abandons that, and goes into a third party view.   Stockett does an excellent job in creating these characters and identifying them through her different styles throughout the novel. Stockett also uses major themes like religious ties to further develop her characters, specifically Aibileen.
As it would be expected, the chapters vary significantly in terms of sentence structure, language, and length, based upon the characters past history. Aibileen, while not receiving a formal college education, still attended middle school, and the teacher claimed she was the smartest in the class. Furthermore, she often writes, even opting to put her prayers down on paper before saying them. The result of this is visible in her chapters, where she uses vernacular that would be expected from such a lack of higher education. Still, due to being colored and growing up in Mississipi, she has developed some non-professional jargon.   This is seen when Aibileen uses terms such as “real quiet,” or “My legs is.” Even though slang is a habit of hers, it shines in comparison to Minny, who not only lacked the education she did, but was also far from a star pupil.
Furthermore Stockett uses to aid her style and characterization is the theme of prayer. Aibileen specifically seems to embody this, and constantly uses the Lord’s name (Law) in her own thoughts and in her sentences. By doing this, Stockett helps further develop and portray Aibileen as a kind soul, even one of a godly nature, due to the fact that her prayers often seem to receive the best response from God.
Minny is “every white woman’s nightmare” as her character in the book is described by the book editors.   This can be seen in the scene where she helps Miss Celia, and she is portrayed as a woman...