Chelsea Davis
Compare and Contrast Essay- TKAM
Block D
An Essential Connection

 

Relationships are not only beneficial, but an essential key to human life. Both stories To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, and The Help directed by Tate Taylor explore the same question: how do relationships help us grow? During the civil rights era, the isolated town of Maycomb is a living conflict between races. Their “code” of how humanity ought to be is soon disrupted by Atticus Finch, who takes the drastic decision to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, in court. A similar type of lifestyle is shown in Mississippi, the setting of The Help. Racism meets reality in this small community and friendships are ruined and betrayed all in the name of stereotypes. Head of the pack, Miss Hilly Holbrook takes action alongside her tight knit group of ladies to control the town and spread cruel words toward nearly everyone. Mockingbird and The Help both follow fictional stories of characters who display the idea of how relationships help us grow, yet Harper Lee’s novel highlights the knowledge we can gain from others, resulting in moral growth, whereas The Help points out how one can help another to overcome obstacles and tragedy through relationships.

The plots that outline both of these stories compare the similar idea of friendships acting as the main point of support to overcome struggle, although still vary in the maturity and development of relationship. In The Help, after Aibileen loses her son, she finds that her best friend Minny is a huge help in supporting her in many ways through the tragedy, as they always mutually take care of each other. The empathy that Minny gives her to pull through the crisis helps her build and grow in her character. It is visible that a tragedy in a friendship can make it even stronger. Aibileen states, “There were two things that got me through that, God and Minny,” (Taylor, The Help). Their relationship is so strong that they depend on each other in the darkest of times, as it reveals the idea of human connection that we need. In contrast, Mockingbird introduces Dill, a young boy who visits in Maycomb for the summer and quickly forms a bond and unique relationship with Scout. As they are both young, their relationship is mainly focused on amusement and games, such as attempts to discover more about their secret neighbour, Boo Radley. Despite their age, similar to Aibileen, Dill depends on Scout and Jem as a source of companionship after his escape from home with the idea that his parents were ignoring him. Scout cares and longs to be with Dill as her friend during the winter months: “Summer came, and that meant Dill,” (Lee, pg. 136). As they spend more and more time together, they grow to have a deeper meaning to their friendship. Still, in contrast to The Help, this relationship is shallow and meant to show the innocence of children.

There are many moments to see within the progress of the stories how one can gain traits and become more like another through relationships. Skeeter learns from Constantine, similarly to the way Atticus influences Jem. During the film The Help, scenes are shown of Skeeter in her youth consulting with her maid Constantine as her mother figure about the boys at her school. As her real mother was rarely there, this friendship was a perfect opportunity for Skeeter to learn her morals. Within their mother-daughter like chats, she realized empathy towards the African American community. Constantine also taught Skeeter through lessons growing up how to love herself and ways to avoid racial prejudices. Skeeter admires her honesty and pride: “Constantine’s the only woman I’ve ever had to look up to, to look her straight in the eye,” (Taylor, The Help). She feels that Constantine has morals of equality, which are passed on to Skeeter as she grows up to become a young woman. The same idea is shown in Mockingbird at a much different level. As Jem’s father, Atticus influences his son by the morals he lives by. Throughout the novel, there are many evident moments when Jem shows almost a mirror image of his father. Through their conversations, Jem is keen to learn more about the ways of Atticus: equality and justice. Still being his own person, just like Skeeter, he picks up certain traits from Atticus. When referring to the failed court case of Tom Robinson, Jem questions, “How could they do it, how could they?” (Lee, pg. 289). .

A third difference is the the contrast between a mutual friendship and a mentored friendship. A unique connection is shared by Minny and Miss Celia in The Help. Although the usual relationship between the maid and the wife of the household is strictly professional, Minny is persistent to help Miss Celia during the loss of her baby. When her cries are heard from outside the bathroom door, Minny is first to start knocking, with full intention of helping her without considering the fact that she has no business in her personal affairs. Miss Celia is very hesitant, as she doesn’t want to reveal her secret, but soon realizes after that they can both offer each other good things: help and support through hard times, which ultimately strengthens their friendship. On the other hand, Mockingbird shows how Miss Maudie takes young Scout under her wing and mentors her. Similar to a parent, Scout learns lessons from this wise character about the world around her. After Maudie’s house burns down, Scout questions her attitude. She responds and states, “Grieving child? Why I hated that old cow barn…” (Lee, pg. 143). Unlike the other ladies in Maycomb, Miss Maudie continues to treat Scout with respect while teaching her. Like the relationship seen in The Help, this one compares as they both are unique and odd in the eyes of society.

In conclusion, the relationships shown in both stories demonstrate the benefit of gaining positive traits from others, although the friendships still contrast in separate ways. Mockingbird captures the transition between a child and an adult, and how relations with others influence the process and outcome, whereas The Help reveals the special role a friend plays when one goes through tragedy or loss. Lee highlights moral growth as a topic in her novel through the lives of the children: Jem and Scout. On the other hand, Stockett takes characters like Aibileen in the midst of the loss of her son, and shows the role of Minny who helps her tremendously. The countless benefits meaningful relationships have prove that a friendship is one of many essentials to human life.

CandC, Bk D, Chelsea Davis