41
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter discusses the meanings of racism issues that become crucial issues happened in Mississippi, early 1960s, as seen through the three main
characters of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. The discussion is divided into two parts. The first part is the character analysis of Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson,
and Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan, the three main characters of the novel, including their physical appearance and personality analysis. The second part discusses the
meanings of racism issues experienced by Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan. The meanings of racism issues are analyzed with
theories discussed in Chapter Two.
A. The Description of The Three Main Characters
In line with the theory presented in Chapter Two, a character is a person presented in narration Abrams, 1981. The characters are made by the author and
interpreted by the readers as people who are presented by moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities as seen in the dialogues and actions. There are some
characters presented in the novel. Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter play the most important role in Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. The description of the three main
characters in The Help are discussed to understand the three main characters’ motivation in dealing with the crucial problems happened in their society.
1. Physical Description of the Three Main Characters
The physical description of the three main characters in Kathryn Stockett’s The Help has to be discussed further because it plays an important role as the
trigger of the problems they face. Moreover, a person’s physical appearance has a relation with the development of that person’s personality Hurlock, 1974. In this
novel, the three main characters are facing some crucial issues and they want to fight against those issues. Two of the three main characters are colored women,
Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson. They work as maids for white families in Jackson, Mississippi. The third main character is a well-educated white lady
named Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan. The followings are their physical descriptions:
a. Aibileen Clark
Aibileen is a middle-age woman. She has a plump body with dark brown skin. Her hair is black, but her eyebrows are gray. When she works, she always
wears her white uniform and black shoes. Aibileen’s physical appearance can be seen through Skeeter’s comment when she meets Aibileen in Elizabeth’s kitchen.
p. 92: I walk into the kitchen, my notebook and papers under my arm. Aibileen
smiles at me from the sink, her gold tooth shining. She’s a little plump in the middle, but it is a friendly softness. And she’s much shorter than me,
because who isn’t? Her skin is dark brown and shiny against her starchy white uniform. Her eyebrows are gray even though her hair is black.
43 From Skeeter’s comment, Aibileen possesses a very soft personality. She is
polite and hospitable, just like the other maids in general. Aibileen’s physical appearance can also be seen through Minny’s comment, as follows p. 148:
She’s got her hair smoothed back, a little roll of pencil curls around her neck. She’s wearing a blue dress with big white buttons that I’ve never
seen before. Aibileen has white lady clothes out the wazoo. White ladies love giving her their old stuff. As usual, she looks plump and respectable,
but for all her prim and proper, Aibileen can still tell a dirty joke that’ll make you tinkle in your pants.
The comment occurs when both Minny and Aibileen are attending the Community Concerns Meeting at the church on Wednesday night. Aibileen looks
more relaxed in her church outfit. From Minny’s description, Aibileen shows her maturity from the way she wears her dress. It also shows that Aibileen is a
respectable woman in the colored neighborhood p. 148.
b. Minny Jackson
The other colored main character, Minny Jackson, also has plump body with dark skin like Aibileen does. She is short and big, and has curly hair. She is
depicted as a bright and strong woman. Like Aibileen, Minny also wears her white uniform and a pair of black shoes when she is working. Minny’s physical
appearance can be seen through Skeeter’s personal opinion when she meets her in Aibileen’s kitchen. “I clear my throat, produce a nervous smile. Minny doesn’t
smile back. She is fat and short and strong. Her skin is blacker than Aibileen’s by ten shades, and shiny and taut, like a pair of new patent shoes” p. 191.
From Skeeter’s personal opinion, Minny is described as a solemn person. From Minny’s body built and skin color, Skeeter gets an image that Minny is a
Kategori