Saturday, July 10, 2010

TH ~ first set of questions

1.  When Minny was 14 years old, her Mama gave her some advice (pp. 38-39). Using my highly condensed version here, do you think (so far) that Minny is following Mama's advice?
Rule Number One ... white people are not your friends. ...
Rule Number Two ... don't you ever let that White Lady find you sitting on her toilet. ...
Rule Number Three ... when you're cooking white people's food, you taste it with a different spoon. ...
Rule Number Four ... use the same cup, same fork, same plate every day. ...
Rule Number Five ... you eat in the kitchen.
Rule Number Six ... you don't hit on her children. ...
Rule Number Seven ... No sass-mouthing.
2.  Did you pick up on all the ways Crisco can be used?  We could learn a thing or two from Minny, who, early in the book, tried to teach Miss Celia to cook.  Share something you learned from Minny's list of ways to use Crisco (pp. 43-44).

3.  Why did Skeeter's mother object to her college degree (pp. 55-56)?

4.  Newspaper want ads used to seperate Help Wanted: Female from Help Wanted: Male.  Skeeter read under the "female" ads:  "Trim, young secretary wanted.  Typing not nec.  Call Mr. Sanders" (p. 58).  Skeeter wonders, "Jesus, if he doesn't want her to type, what does he want her to do?"  Under the "male" column, Skeeter notices that "Percy & Gray, LP, is offering Jr. Stenographers fifty cents more an hour" (p. 59).  Do you remember those days?  Or have you heard an older person talk about what it was like?

2 comments:

Bonnie Jacobs said...

The first questions for The Help have been posted.

Shirley said...

Although I can't remember enough of the details from when I listened to The Help a few months ago, I do well remember when the want ads were gender segregated. It is a fantastic change that many young women don't realize to not only have the ads no longer gender specific, but to be in a work force in which a good percentage of the people in management people are women. In fact, on our accounting/audit staff, men are in the minority.

Off topic--Are any of you using Kindles? I'm considering getting one as I am being asked what I'd like for my birthday and just wonder what the experiences have been of others.