2. Exposition Aibileen
Aibileen:
• Black maid in the American South
• Always does what she's told, very cautious
• Maid for Miss Elizabeth, Aibileen does not like her
but loves her daughter, May
• Wisest in the group, always asked for advice
• Oldest, son died in a car crash
3. Exposition Minny
Minny:
• Talks back to people, Fiery temper
• Maid for Miss Celia
• Has a husband and six children
• Enemy’s with Miss Hilly
• Loses every job she can find, running out of money
4. Exposition Miss Skeeter
Skeeter:
• Skeeter is a nickname
• Has a controlling mother
• Has lost all her friends
• Wants to write a book about what its like to be a maid
in the South
• Pulls everybody together
5. Rising Action
The all decide to work with Miss Skeeter on the book
Everybody is very nervous, if they are caught they will
be killed
Start telling their stories
Get other maids to help
Publishers in the North agree to publish it but the
deadline is near
Miss Hilly is causing trouble
6. Climax
When Miss Skeeter sends in the story on the day of the
deadline but does not know if they read it or not
They do not know if it will be published or not
The book is published
Life continues on
The day of the Benefit
Miss Hilly is embarrassed in front of everybody, she get
very mad
7. Falling Action
Miss Hilly tries to get all the maids to loose their jobs
Not of the employers that are Miss Hilly’s friends fire
their maids
Miss Hilly does not get back at them
8. Resolution
Miss Skeeter goes off to be a writer in New York, she
completes her life long dream
Aibileen retires after May grows up
Minny continues working, she finally leaves her husband
who is abusing her
9. Conflict
There is constant conflict between white and black
people all over the country
There is conflict between Miss Hilly and the maids
Miss Hilly experiences conflict with Miss Skeeter and her
mother Miss Walters
Miss Skeeter experiences conflict with her mother and
her boyfriend Stuart
10. Theme
The theme of this book is captured in the passage: “We
are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not
nearly as much as I’d thought.” This tells us that people
should be treated equally and they are not actually very
different. They are only separated by the boundaries
that they put up themselves, both physical and mental.
If these boundaries are torn down, people will be
treated equally and be given the same opportunities.