24 approach helps to reveal the clear depiction of the life events of African American
community especially those people who work as maids in Jackson, Mississippi at that time. To gain deeper understanding on the discrimination against African
American community in Jackson, Mississippi, this approach would be the most suitable one.
C. Method of the Study
I used library research method in conducting the study. Library research was conducted in order to identify the sources that provide important information
for this study. The sources for this study were divided into two; those were primary source and secondary source. The novel entitled The Help was used as the
primary source of this study. Regarding the secondary sources of this study, the writer used some reviews of socio-cultural-historical approach, racial
discrimination, sociology, and history of African-American. Those reviews were compiled from library books as well as journals which I retrieved from internet.
The first step in this study was to read and analyze the novel thoroughly for several times in order to gain a better comprehension of the development of
each character and the discrimination against African American women which were depicted in the novel. In this step, I analyzed the quotations from the novels
by using approaches, theories, and reviews which were appropriate for this study. By analyzing those quotations, I obtained the depiction of discrimination against
African American women in the novel.
25 The second step was to read the theories and reviews applied to this study.
I read theories and reviews of the history of African American, and discrimination. After reading the theories, I noted down the important quotations
which really supported my study. This step really helped me in gaining a better understanding on the discrimination which was practiced against African
American community. The third step was to compare the result of analyzing the quotations in the
novel and the appropriate theories and reviews in this study. This step was useful for me to reveal the differences and similarities between them. I could find how
The Help and related theories depicted the discrimination against African
American women. The result of comparing them, in fact, was also useful for me to answer the research problem of the study. The answer to the research problem of
this study would be presented in the analysis. After analyzing, I drew the conclusion of the analysis. Then, I proposed
suggestions for teachers and the future researchers. I also proposed the way of implementing The Help for teaching and learning activity.
26
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
