The Help
█ Discussion Questions
- Who was your favorite character? Why?
- What do you think motivated Hilly? On one hand she’s so unpleasant to Aibileen and her own help, as well as to Skeeter once she realizes she can’t control her. But she’s a wonderful mother. Do you think you can be a good mother but at the same time a deeply flawed person?
- Like Hilly, Skeeter’s mother is a prime example of someone deeply flawed yet somewhat sympathetic. She seems to care for Skeeter – and she also seems to have very real feelings for Constantine. Yet the ultimatum she gives to Constantine is untenable. And most of her interaction with Skeeter is critical. Do you think Skeeter’s mother is a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why?
- How much of a person’s character do you think is shaped by the times in which they live?
- Did it bother you that Skeeter is willing to overlook so many of Stuart’s faults so that she can get married, and it’s not until he literally gets up and walks away that the engagement falls apart?
- Do you think Minny was justified in her distrust of white people?
- Do you think that had Aibileen stayed working for Miss Elizabeth, that Mae Mobley would have grown up to be racist like her mother? Do you think racism is inherent, or taught?
- From the perspective of a 21st century reader, the hair shellac system that Skeeter undergoes seems ludicrous. Yet women still alter their looks in rather peculiar ways as the definition of “beauty” changes with the times. Looking back on your past, what’s the most ridiculous beauty regimen you ever underwent?
- The author manages to paint Aibileen with a quiet grace and an aura of wisdom about her. How do you think she does this?
- Do you think there are still vestiges of racism in relationships where people of color work for people who are white? Have you heard stories of someone who put away their valuable jewelry before their nanny comes – so they trust this person to look after their child, but not their diamond rings?
- What did you think about Minny’s pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?
The Forgotten Garden
█ Discussion Questions
- On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell's father, Hugh, tells her a secret that shatters her sense of self. How important is a strong sense of identity to a person's life? Was Hugh right to tell her about her past? How might Nell's life have turned out differently had she not discovered the truth?
- Did Hugh and Lil make the right decision when they kept Nell?
- How might Nell's choice of occupation have been related to her fractured identity?
- Is it possible to escape the past, or does one's history always find a way to revisit the present?
- Eliza, Nell and Cassandra all lose their birth mothers when they are still children. How are their lives affected differently by this loss? How might their lives have evolved had they not had this experience?
- Nell believes that she comes from a tradition of 'bad mothers'. Does this belief become a self-fulfilling prophesy? How does Nell's relationship with her granddaughter, Cassandra, allow her to revisit this perception of herself as a 'bad mother'?
- Is The Forgotten Garden a love story? If so, in what way/s?
- Tragedy has been described as “the conflict between desire and possibility.” Following this definition, is The Forgotten Garden a tragedy? If so, in what way/s?
- A 'plait' motif threads through The Forgotten Garden. What significance might plaits have for the story?
- In what ways do Eliza's fairy tales underline and develop other themes within the novel?
- In what ways do the settings in The Forgotten Garden represent or reflect the characters' experiences?
Unbroken
█ Discussion Questions
