Evangeline frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Her course curls stuck out in every direction, and no amount of smoothing or hair oil seemed to calm them down. “Ughhhhh!” she groaned. “I’m no Beyonce, that’s for sure.” She sighed, threw her backpack over her shoulder and headed out the door to school, feeling unbeautiful. It was already a wild ride being a teenage girl, but it was even harder being a mixed race teenage girl and accepting that she did not look like the girls on the magazine covers and movies her friends admired. Evangeline’s struggle is simple, but it serves as a microcosm of a much larger struggle—living as a black woman in the United States has historically come with a plethora of challenges. The novel “The Help” by Kathryn…show more content… By analyzing “The Help” through feminist and critical race theories, college students will be more prepared to respond to modern issues because they will understand that the struggle of womanhood is compounded by race, identity is complex, constructing an “other” group fuels oppression, and connection is a powerful antidote for prejudice. “The Help” argues that the struggle of womanhood is compounded by race. The book Black Feminist Consciousness: A Theoretical Context explains, “Black women faced the same struggles as white women; however, they had to face issues of diversity on top of inequality” (41). In “The Help”, maid Minny Jackson experienced this struggle firsthand. Like any other woman in the 1960s, Minny was subject to her husband’s authority and had no voice of her own at home. She shared, “They think big strong Minny, she sure can stand up for herself. But they don’t know what a pathetic mess I turn into when Leroy’s beating on me. I’m afraid to hit back” (Stockett 413). Minny could not speak up for herself at home, but instead
