How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"A bill that requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the colored help. I've even notified the surgeon general of Mississippi to see if he'll endorse the idea. I'll pass." (1.32)
Much of the racism in The Help is institutional. Laws like the one Hilly wants passed, which is shown endorsed by the Surgeon General, legalize discriminatory practices and reinforce racist opinions.
Quote #2
I knew he wasn't married to Constantine's mother, because that was against the law. (5.121)
Skeeter remembers when Constantine told her that her father was a white man. From at least 1630 until the mid 1960s, many states in the U.S. forbade interracial marriages (source).
Quote #3
I want to yell so loud that Baby Girl can hear me that dirty ain't a color, disease ain't the n***o side of town. I want to stop that moment from coming – and it come in every white child's life – when they start to think that colored folks are not as good as whites. (7.80)
This passage points out that kids are born with racial prejudices, it's something they're taught from the older generation. Aibileen works hard to keep Mae Mobley's mind from being polluted.
Quote #4
"You know colored folks ain't allowed in that library." (11.21)
Before the novel ends, the library in question will open its doors to black people. Finally, a bit of progress.
Quote #5
"These is white rules. I don't know which ones you following and which ones you ain't. (11.81)
We look at each other for a second. "I'm tired of rules," I say. (12.82)
In Aibileen and Skeeter's early interviews, Aibileen is terrified of saying the wrong thing. In her experience, the friendliest white person can snap and change in a moment's notice if the wrong rule is broken.
Quote #6
Hilly raises her voice about three octaves when talking to black people. Elizabeth smiles like she's talking to a child, although certainly not her own. I'm starting to notice things. (12.57)
Hilly and Elizabeth's belief that black people are of lesser intelligence is apparent in their manner of speaking. Skeeter only notices it once she begins hearing the maids' stories.
Quote #7
[…] I'm proud a what I'm selling. I can't help it. We all telling stories that need to be told. (16.3)
Aibileen believes that revealing her perspective, and encouraging the other maids to reveal theirs, will help dissipate some of the racial tension in the town.
Quote #8
"What am I doing? I must be crazy, giving a white woman the sworn secrets of the colored race to a white lady. […] Feel like I'm talking behind my own back." (17.50)
Minny is afraid that if she tells her secrets, they will only be used against her.
Quote #9
Is this really happening? Is a white woman really beating up a white man to save me? Or did he shake my brain pan loose and I'm over there dead on the ground… (24.95)
Minny begins to understand that Celia Rae Foote is more than just a white lady – she's a tough, big-hearted woman who will do just about anything for Minny.