ShmoopTube

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Anybody have a tissue A little Help here

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The Help a la Shmoop.

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Want some help Well here I am I'm a book about people writing a book...pretty

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meta right But I'm so much more than that.

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For one thing I have three narrators instead of just one which is boring.

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Two of them budding writer Aibileen and firecracker Minny are house maids...in

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this book thats basically a kinder name for slave.

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The third person telling my story is Skeeter a white journalist with a great idea

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for a book...or

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dare I say a masterpiece...about

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the non-glamorous lives of southern servants.

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All right hang on because Im taking you back in time It was 1960s Mississippi

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and everyone was looking for a change.

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Nasty socialite Hilly Holbrook was working on a proposition to require outside bathrooms for all black servants.

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Aw thats sweet.

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Aibileen was doing her best to keep little Mae Mobley's mom from crushing her soul. ..

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Good luck Aibileen but I think Mae Mobleys name already accomplished that.

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Skeeter was pondering the injustice of her world dating a senators son and trying to

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pull her book together for a publisher.

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And Minnie was having a hard time finding work after Hilly fired her.

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Something about a new pie recipe but not one you'd ever want to borrow.

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Skeeter and Aibileen teamed up to create their dream book but they struck out big

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time getting interview subjects.

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Who wants to contribute to a tell-all expose when it can get you fired or

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even killed I might not even have existed if horrible Hilly hadn't sent her maid

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to the slammer for stealing a ring.

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Suddenly Hilly had a big target on her perfectly coifed head and everyone wanted to

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tell Skeeter their stories.

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The only one who wasnt on Team Skeeter was her boyfriend the civil rights-phobic Stuart. Oh well.

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I was worth it.

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Minny was instrumental in getting all those maids to speak uppretty impressive considering she was

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dealing with an abusive husband and a neurotic new boss Celia who tried to hide

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Minny from her husband John.

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I guess Celia thought he wouldn't catch on that all of a sudden the house

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was miraculously clean and full of fried chicken instead of a bowl of ramen on the table.

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Celia needed all the help she could get though and not just with her cooking.

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She couldnt have a baby and Hilly had made her a social pariah.

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Yet another reason not to date Hillys exes.

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A lot of things were revealed at the big Jackson Junior League fundraiser and not

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just Hillys fangs.

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Celia tried to mend fences with Hilly by buying her a pie and ended up

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tearing Hilly's dress and barfing on the floor.

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Should've gone with flowers and chocolate...

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Minnie told Celia why Hilly was out for their collective blood...

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turns out Minnie had previously given Hilly a couple slices of pie with a very special ingredient...love.

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Nahhh just kidding it was poop.

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Man just when you thought it was safe to enjoy your pastry Turns out that

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dump dessert was the key to making Skeeter and Aibileens brainchild a success.

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Once that tasty little anecdote was in the book Hilly didn't dare disclose the identities

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of the authors or the whole town would know she was full of it...literally

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The downside to this little victory was that Hilly set out on a mission to

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make everyone else as miserable as she was.

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She set off Minny's ticking time bomb of a husband forced Aibileen out of her

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job and threatened to sue Skeeter.

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But dont worry.

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I have a mostly cheerful ending with Skeeter and Minny moving on to brand new

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lives and Aibileen planning a future around her writing gift.

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All right I'd better stop because I'm getting a little choked up and crying always

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wrinkles my pages. NOTE end of file

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