Chapter 17+18+19

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Chapter 17

1.Compare and contrast Minny and her husband Leroy. 

• Minny: outspoken, bold, but also compassionate & caring; demanding of her family
• Leroy: outspoken + final authority in the household; not caring, frightens his children and Minny
  
• Leroy would never take the kind of risk Minny is taking by participating in the book project (dangerous)
  

2. Infer and elaborate on Minny’s reasons for choosing to participate in the book project instead of the civil right marches, voting rallies, and sit-ins going on in Mississippi. 

• wants to get respected
• She & her children are human beings, not simply a skin colour
  
• => She doesn't feel marches and sit-ins will achieve this. (falsely accused of stealing and implicitly accused of carrying disease by Hilly’s initiative) 

3. What does Minny find in the room upstairs at the Foote house? How does she react?

• numerous small bottles (alcohol?)
• Minny's father was an alcoholic -> starts to dislike Celia because of this.  
  

4. What is the result of the discussion when Minny threatens to destroy what she has discovered upstairs and tell Mister Johnny?

• Celia: angry, tells her to leave the house
• Minny threatens to pour the bottles down the drain and tell Johnny
  
• Celia: then I will fire you!
• Minny: no one else would be willing to work for her => asked to leave.
  

5. How does Aibileen convince Minny to try to get her job back with Celia? What does she suggest Minny do?

• Aibileen compares Celia to Minny's former employers. 
• Aibileen points out the benefits of working in the Foote house:                                   - No children
             - No houseguests
             - The pay is double

Chapter 18

Aibileen

1. Summarize the events of the day Minny returns to work at Celia’s house. 

• Minny drives to Celia -> Celia is ill in the bedroom.
• She doesn't get a chance to apologize and decides to do her job as usual. 
• Afternoon: enters the bedroom to clean -> finds Celia in the bathroom. She has had a miscarriage and is bleeding heavily. 
• Celia admits she doesn't drink. She drinks "molasses and water" (sweetener believed to have health benefits). 
• Minny calls a doctor and saves Celia's life. 

2. How is Celia’s past strange behaviour explained by the events of this day?

• tried to keep very still to prevent another miscarriage
• Johnny wants children. Celia feels that she is failing him
  
• Celia hired Minny in order to keep the household up to standards and allowing herself to rest.  
• p50: wants to cut down the mimosa tree (looks like baby hair)

3. Examples friendship Celia/Minny

• “Can I bring you a cold drink?” Celia asks Minny the first time they meet. “Set down and I’ll bring you something.” And Minny gets her first clue that something funny is going on (Pg 31)
• “Look how pretty it is. . . like white cake frosting.” (Pg 43)
• Any other woman I’ve worked for, I would’ve loved to have had just one hour of bossing them around, see how they like it. But Miss Celia, the way she stares at me with those big eyes like I’m the best thing since hairspray in the can, I almost rather she’d order me around like she’s supposed to. . . (Pg 49)
• cares about her (stayed with Celia after the miscarriage)
  
• relieved after Celia tells her the bottles did not contain alcohol

Chapter 19

Miss Skeeter

1. What does Stuart refuse to share with Skeeter, despite her insistence?

• Why he broke up with his former fiancé. 
• He says something terrible happened but doesn't share details. 
  
• Skeeter wants to know because she doesn't want to make the same mistakes Patricia made. 
  

2. Skeeter receives a disappointing letter. Who has sent the letter, and what does it say?

• Skeeter was supposed to interview Yule May -> in prison, caught stealing. 
• => She could only afford one of her twin sons to go to college. 
• Yule May stole a ring from Hilly to help one of her sons to get to college.  

3. How does Hilly inadvertently influence more maids to agree to be interviewed for the book project? 

• Hilly pressed charges against Yule May. 
• Usual charges for theft are 6 months. 
• Hilly influenced the judge to sentence her to four years. 
• Neither of the sons can go to college. 
  
• => After this many maids are coming forward with similar cases of abuse of justice. 

4. Suggest some reasons Minny may have had for influencing her friends to speak to Skeeter. 

• Hilly's unfair treatment of Yule May
  
• Similar to her own story: unfair treatment, accused of stealing, inappropriate measures followed.

5. What is surprising about the story Louvenia tells about Lou Anne Templeton? 

• Louvenia works for Lou Anne Templeton (a friend of Hilly's). 
• After Robert (Louvenia's grandson) was hospitalized and blinded Lou Anne was surprisingly compassionate and generous. 
• Lou Anne stayed with Louvenia in hospital, gave her two weeks off with pay and cooked casseroles for her. 

6. Describe and characterize the content of the interviews. Are they positive, negative, neutral, or mixed? Explain.

Mixed. 

• Positive --> Louvenia's story about Lou Anne. 
• Negative --> stories of rape, mistreatment, rudeness. 
• Mixed --> working conditions varied - some were horrible, some were better.