WHITE PEOPLE’S RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN KATHRYN STOCKETT’S THE HELP

AriranitaPutri El Vristiana
English Literature Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, State University of Surabaya
ariranitavristiana@mhs.unesa.ac.id

Dr. Ali Mustofa S.S, M.Pd

English Literature Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, State University of Surabaya
ali.mustofa08007@gmail.com

Abstract

Racial discrimination occurs almost every day in the world. Generally, it can cause conflict and destroy the
reconciliation of human beings. Racial discrimination can be defined as a different treatment given to certain
individual or group. This action tends to differentiate human beings based on their races. Discrimination always has
negative connotative issues in African America life and history. The discrimination towards African Americans
happens when white people resist against black people. Moreover, the discrimination of the African Americans
happens in many aspects of life.The purpose this study is to analyze how racial discrimination happened in the
African American society; the racial discrimination upon black people by white people and how black people resist
the racial discrimination in Kathryn Stockett’sThe Help.The racial discrimination which had been done by white
people is the main topic for this research. It is based on the phenomenon of discrimination which happened in the
society. The racial discrimination in the story shows how white people underestimate black people in terms of
housework chores, education, and issues on racism or skin colors.
Keywords : Racial Discrimination, African American

Abstrak

Diskriminasirasialhampirterjadisetiaphari di dunia.Padaumumnya,
halitudapatmenyebabkankonflikdanpermusuhanantarmanusia.Diskriminasirasialdapatdiartikansebagaiperlakuanmen
yimpang yang
diberikansuatuindividuataukelompokkepadasuatukaumtertentu.Perlakuaniniditujukankepadasukuataurastertentu.Dis
kriminasiselalumemilikicitraburukdalamsejarahkehidupanbangsaAfrikaAmerika.Diskriminasirasialselaluterjadiketik
abangsakulitputihmenindasbangsakulithitam.Hal
itusendiriterjadidalambeberapaaspekkehidupan.Tujuandariskripsiiniadalahuntukmengalaisabagaimanafenomenadisk
riminasirasialterjadidalamkehidupanbangsaAfrikaAmerika :Diskriminasirasial yang
dilakuhkanolehbangsakulitputihkepadakulithitamdalam novel The Helpkarya Kathryn
Stockett.Diskriminasirasialmerupakantopikutamadalamperbahasan. Analisis yang
dilakuhkanberdasarkanfenomenadiskriminasi yang terjadi di masyarakat.Diskriminasirasial yang dilakuhkan di
masyarakatadalahsepertidalambidangkehidupandirumah, pendidikansertaisu negative tentangsukuataurastertentu.
Kata Kunci :DiskriminasiRasial, AfrikaAmerika

INTRODUCTION that their region had no ability to overpower racial

In the past, the black people were always being problems. This case has been on and on since then.
inferior in society. South White Americans thought According to Marger (1994:27) “as a belief of

1
ideology, racism is structured around three basic
ideas. First, humans are divided into different
physical types. Second, such physical traits as they
display are intrinsically related to their culture,
personality, and intelligence. Third, on the basis of
their genetic inheritance, some groups are innately
superior to others.”
In America, black people became victims of
discrimination from the white people. The Black
people were discriminated because their race
stratification and social stratification make them
different from the white people. Discrimination
always has negative connotative issues in African
America life and history.The discrimination towards
African Americans happens when white people resist
against black people. Moreover, the discrimination of
the African Americans happens in many aspects of
life.The phenomenon can be seen as racial
discrimination. The word “race” in biology means as
one of human race. It does not divide people into
different “races”. Therefore, when people resist one
and another according to their races, it is known as
racism. Racial discrimination occurs almost every
day in the world. Generally, it can cause conflict and
destroy the reconciliation of human beings. Racial
discrimination can be defined as a different treatment
given to certain individual or group. This action tends
to differentiate human beings based on their races.
Racial discrimination is always done by violence
behavior, for example: the black people get seriously
injured or injustice treatment.It became a hostility
symbol and a major reason to make white people
discriminate the black people.
The concept of racial discrimination inspires
many authors to write it into their literary works.The
Helpis an interesting work of this kind of issue.The
fact comes from Kathryn Stockett’s experiences of
living with black people, and the fiction side is
illustrated in 1960’s discrimination in Jackson,
Mississipi. The main problem ofThe Help is the
relationship between white families and the domestic
servants. Black people were employed in the whites'
houses during the 1960s.Since the novel is based on
the real experience, particularly the one related to
white-black relationship, this study would like to find
out how the whites discriminate the blacks.
Furthermore, it will try to reveal how the blacks as
the group of victims by the whites view themselves in
such a situation. The novel actually describes the
experiences and expresses the voices of black
helpers.
After looking up to the background that has been
written before, the question which related to the
analysis in White People’s Racial Discrimination in
Kathryn Stockett’sThe Help might emerge. This
question as follow still engaged to race and racism in
terms of discrimination;How is the white people’s
racial discrimination upon black people depicted in
The Help. The objective of the study is to reveal
white people’s racial discrimination upon black
people in Kathryn Stockett’sThe Help. The scope of
this study is about racial discrimination of white
people which influences the black
perspective.Meanwhile, the study is limited on the
white people’s characters and black people’s
characters in The Help. For more specifics, there are
theories about discrimination from some experts in
Liliweri’s book and Doob’s book that are going to be
used to examine the data analysis.
METHOD
This study uses a literary research. The source
of the data is mainly from Kathryn Stockett’sThe
Help. From the source of the data, the writer gains
the data in form of texts. This data are used as the
main data to run the research. The references are used
to support the theoretical foundation of analysis. The
discourse of racial discrimination is added to
comprehend Kathryn Stockett’sThe Help novel.
The writer's methods for this thesis were to first
read and to analyze the issues that deal with Kathryn
Stockett’sThe Help novel. After reading the issues,
racial discrimination will be analyzed through the
way the major characters occupy white people roles
toward black people. To examine the problems, this
thesis needs supportive theories. There are theories
about discrimination from some experts in Liliweri’s
book and Doob’s book that are going to be applied to
examine research questions. To support this analysis
into a good reliable thesis, it applies theory of racial
discrimination.
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
This part covers the review Of theoretical
framework of the study. It covers the theories about
discrimination from some experts in Liliweri’s book
and Doob’s book that are going to be used to
examine the problem. Essentially, racial
2
discrimination theory is used to examine problem,
how is the white people’s racial discrimination
depicted in Kathryn Stockett’sThe Help.
Theory of Race, Ethnicity, and Racism
The complication of racial is based on human’s
concept related to their racial. The word racial came
from French and Italian razza which means; first,
differentiate the existence of human beings based on:
1. Appearance like hair, eye, skin color, and body
shape; 2. Generation class; 3. Generation pattern; 4.
Unique habit which differentiate with the origin
people. Second, reveals identity based on: 1.
Behavior; 2. Current habit qualities from society; 3.
Clarify the existent of society based on current
geography; 4. Clarify the activities of society based
on their habit and their mindset; 5. Group of people
who that has the same generation family and clan; 6.
Biological sense which shows subspecies and
varieties, birth. (Liliweri, 2005:19) Basically, the
concept of race refers to the idea which divides
human beings into their phenotype (appearance, skin
color, and hair) and genotype (genetic differences).
Moreover, from the biological similarity, there are
current behaviors which build a social construction in
society. According to Daldjoni in Liliweri (2005:25)
there are four methods for race classification which
were introduced to classify human beings: a.
Biological method that consider anatomy
characteristics; b. Geographic method, common
characteristic of human beings investigated based on
the observation for current region; c. Historic method
that have been studied in nation migration history; d.
Cultural method that is related to cultural condition.
The term ethnicity comes from Greek; ethnos
which has close meaning to people. Furthermore,
ethnos can be defined as every social group
determined by races, customs, languages, values, and
cultural norms. Ethnicity classifies people into
particular categories based on cultural or national
qualities. According to Doob (2004:07) ethnic groups
are differed based on “such issues as values,
language, religion, food habits, sexual behavior,
recreational patterns, outlook on work, and the
culture of an ethnic group creates a sense of identify
among members.” In American society, it is often
synonymous with national-group membership. They
are Chinese-Americans, Italian-Americans, Mexican-
Americans, Haitian-Americans, Polish-Americans,
and many other groups. Doob (2004:7) stated that
“some ethnic groups are racially homogenous, and
others decidedly are not.”
According to Doob (2004:17), there are two
terms which are related to race and ethnicity. They
are majority group and minority group. Majority
group is a category of people within a society who
posses distinct physical or cultural characteristic and
maintain superior power and sources. Moreover,
minority group is a category of people who are
recognizable by physical or cultural traits that place it
in position restricted by power and inferior status. It
shows that its members suffer by limited
opportunities and rewards. Sometimes the minority
group is somewhat larger than the majority group in
society.
As same as prejudice, racism has been defined as
a believe that alleged differences between racial
groups that asserted as the superiority of one racial
group. Eduarto Bonilla in Doob (2004:122) has
reduced the study of racism to focus on individual
act: “The idea of racism entails a person’s prejudice
toward minority groups, inducing him or her to
engage in discriminatory act against those groups.”
Marger (1994:242) stated that “fear and
humiliation are integral parts of everyday life for
blacks in South.” He also explains that racism is
about an ideology or system’s belief designed to
justify and rationalize racial and ethnic inequality.
Moreover, Liliweri (2005:29) defined racism as
discrimination toward individual of people based on
their race. However, this concept sometimes judges
certain race is better than the others.
Theory of Discrimination
Discrimination is an action of accepting or
refusing people (at least influencing by) based on
group membership. Inside the group, there are some
differencee, exceptions, restrictions, or choices which
are based on ethnicity, racial, nationality, that have
purpose or influence to destroy confession, pleasure
for implement a turn on the basic similarity, freedom
in politic, cultural, socialized, economic activities,
and any other field that exist in society. (Sears, 1994:
149)
The word discrimination can be defined as an
unfairly act. Commonly, it existed because the
society gives different treatment toward one another.
It is in line with Fulthoni, et.al (2009:8), he defined
discrimination as an unfair and unequal treatment,
that is given by someone in order to discriminate a
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person or a group. It discriminates based on some
things such as race, nation, religion, and social status.
The term of discrimination can be used to describe an
action from majority group toward minority group.
As a result, their action can be claimed as an
immorality and undemocratic thing.
Doob in Liliweri (2005:218) confessed that
discrimination is an action aimed to prevent a group,
or to restrict another group which try to get sources.
Theoretically, discrimination is used to reduce,
destroy, conquer, displace, protect legally, create
cultural pluralism, and assimilate another group.
Moreover, Pettigrew in Liliweri (2005:221)
classified discrimination in two types. The first type
is direct discrimination. It deals with an action which
restricts current district such as, living area, works’
types, public facilities, and others. Furthermore, it
also restricts a group in order to make choices. The
second type is indirect discrimination. It is held by
creating some wisdom which block current race and
ethnic to have relationship freely with another race
and ethnic.
Theory of Racial Discrimination
According to Liliweri (2005:219) discrimination
is “an unfriendly attitude from majority group or its
member to minority group.” Therefore, racial
discrimination can be defined as an attitude for
certain race of people or group of people which
comes from another race. Furthermore, The
International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination adopted in 1965
defined “racial discrimination broadly and in
practical terms includes any distinction, exclusion,
restriction or preference based on race, color, descent
or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or
effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human
rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural or any other field of public
life.http://www.allbusiness.com/laboremployment/lab
or-sector-performance/7781428-1.html
Carmichael and Hamilton in Liliweri (2005:67)
stated that racial discrimination is divided into two
types. There are individual and institutional
discrimination. First, individual discrimination
happens when an individual from a certain race
creates rules and has bad attitude toward another
race. It is because the individual has power. Second,
institutional discrimination refers to the action from
majority group toward minority group.
According to McConnochie in Liliweri
(2005:221) institutional discrimination can eliminate
a certain race rule based on skin color: discrimination
in school, transportation, restaurant, hotel, and event
in church. Liliweri (2005:221) stated that “institution
discrimination will separate or avoid authority in
marriage institution, education, politic, economic,
and religion.”
ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the writer presents the analysis of
the story of The Help, which focuse on racial
discrimination process between white people and
black people. This chapter is divided intothe white
people’s racial discrimination depicted in the
novel.Racial discrimination of white people which is
done toward black people will be discussed further in
this part; white women as boss have big power to do
everything in their house like to discriminate black
people in white area. Although white and black
people live in different area, the whites still have
power to control black people. Most of all maids in
whites' house are black people. Jackson Mississippi is
a region where white people live. White women in
Jackson make a group and they also have some rules
to treat black people. The rules are used to show that
they have different status based on their race. In this
area, the main characters in this story are four black
maids and four white women. Moreover, white
represented by the house owners are in higher status
and black as maids are in lower status.
White People’s Racial Discrimination
This novel consists of some written works by the
main characters of the story. Each story is written
from each main character’s point of view. Every
character has her own perspective about racial
discrimination by white people toward black people.
One of discrimination that can be considered as racial
discrimination is how white people treat and have
some rules for black people.
1. Housework Chores
In housework chores racial discrimination
divided into two parts like rules and separate
bathroom.
““Rule Number One for working for a
white lady, Minny: it is nobody’s
4
 business. You keep your nose out of
your White Lady’s problems, you don’t
go crying to her with yours—you can’t
pay the light bill? Your feet are too
sore? Remember one thing: white
people are not your friends.”
“Rule Number Three: when you’re
cooking white people’s food, you taste
it with a different spoon. You put that
spoon to your mouth, think nobody’s
looking, put it back in the pot, and
might as well throw it out.
“Rule Number Four: You use the same
cup, same fork, and same plate every
day. Keep it in a separate cupboard and
tell that white woman that’s the one
you’ll use from here on out.
“Rule Number Five: you eat in the
kitchen.”” (Stockett, 2009:22)
The quotation above shows some rules given by
white boss to their black maid. Actually there were
seven rules between white boss and black maid.
Those rules were given when the black maid wanted
to work with white people. Here, the researcher just
put four rules from the novel. The four rules that
were given showed clearly about the power of white
people and how racial discrimination appeared
between white boss and black maid. However, the
black maid must obey the rules. The rules used to
clarify that the race between white boss and black
maid are really different. From the quotation above, it
shows clearly that one of the rules between them
showed that they will never be a friend. It was
because the white boss did not want to make their
relationship became intimate.
Moreover, although the white boss treated their
maid well, it did not mean that they care about each
other like friend. Their differences which based on
their race still appear between the white boss and
their black maid. The white boss assumed that they
had to keep distance between them because they were
different. From the rules above, it showed that even a
little thing could create a big distance between them.
One of the rules showed that the white boss did not
let their maid to use same stuffs with them.
Moreover, the black maid should use different spoon
when they were cooking and tasting the food.
Moreover, when the black maid was eating, they also
should use different stuffs from their boss and eating
in the kitchen. They should use same stuff like they
used before when they work in white women house.
The white women explained the rules to the
black maid so it made the black maid know how to
behave in their white boss’s house. The black maid
cannot do anything other than obey the rules given.
The rules showed the discrimination given by the
white boss toward the black maid. The rules given
were used to make a space between them. However,
this space created racial discrimination between the
white boss and the black maid. According to Liliweri
(2005:219) discrimination is “an unfriendly attitude
from majority group or its member to minority
group.” Therefore, racial discrimination can be
defined as an attitude for certain race of people or
group of people which comes from another race. It
proves that what white people did can be considered
as a racial discrimination.
Since the beginning, the basic concept of racial
discrimination is based on the attitude of leaders and
multiple discrimination rules. According to the story,
the white women as a leader controlled and gave the
rules for their black maid. The rules like in the
quotation above explained well about the
discrimination given by the white boss toward the
black maid. The rules given can be considered as a
discrimination act. It was because indirectly the white
boss still kept the space with the black maid. The
rules and spaces were used to state their difference
race. Therefore, the white boss could discriminate the
black maid making use of the rules between both of
them.
The white boss took dominant part in the story.
They always used their dominance to make the black
maid looked like that they were the poorest people in
the world. Even though the white women never
treated the black maid harshly, they always used their
dominance toward the black maid. The white boss
treated their black maid well, but they usually made
the black people feel sad with what they had done
toward black maid. The white people usually talked
about their racial differences without thinking about
it before. This proof could explain how white boss
talked about their racial differences.
“It’s off the kitchen. The door’s half
open and I can see a tiny room with a
toilet, a pull string flusher at the top, a
5
 bulb with a yellowing plastic shade. The
small corner sink hardly holds a glass of
water. I’ve never once been inside.
When we were kids, Mother told us
she’d spank us if we went in
Constantine’s bathroom.” (Stockett,
2009:31)
The quotation above is simply similar with the
previous quotation. It still discusses about the
bathroom and the differences between white people
and black people based on their race which can cause
the racial discrimination phenomenon to appear in the
story. This quotation shows the flashback of white
women when she was a child. She remembered that
when her mother reminded her to keep the distance
with their black maid in the house. If she went to the
black’s bathroom her mother would spank her.
Therefore, it made her never go to black’s
bathroom. However, the racial discrimination toward
the black people happened since long time ago. The
white people always discriminate black people in
every era. The white people especially women can
show her power to discriminate black people based
on their race. It happened when they gave them some
social rules in their life. This act was one of strong
points to show how the racial discrimination appears
between white people and black people.
Furthermore, whenever the white woman had
flashback about the situation in the past, she realized
that her mother always built a space between her and
their maid. Now, she realized that the act from her
mother was racial discrimination for their maid. The
use of different bathroom between them was one of
some evidences that racial discrimination truly
happened.
2. Education
Other proofs that proved racial discrimination
happened in another scene. If in the previous proof
discussed about bathroom, another proof discussed
about library. According to McConnochie in Liliweri
(2005:221) institutional discrimination can eliminate
a certain race rule based on skin color: discrimination
in school, transportation, restaurant, hotel, and event
in church. Liliweri (2005:221) stated that “institution
discrimination will separate or avoid authority in
marriage institution, education, politic, economic,
and religion.” Bathroom or library used to show how
racial discrimination happened in the story. Each
chapter in the story has different point of view. The
point of view came from white people and black
people’s point of view.
Moreover, racial discrimination will be easier to
understand by analyzing each scene in the story. In
the story, the bathroom showed that there was a gap
between white people and black people based on
their race. The bathroom appeared in some scenes
several times. It was used to explain how white
people as higher class got a big power to do
everything towards black people.
Moreover, other than bathroom, another scene
which was explained to be setting of racial
discrimination was the library is a part of education
in institution. In the black maid’s point of view,
library was a place that unusually to be visited by
them. However, there was no certain rule that forbid
black people to enter the library.
The quotation below shows that black maid was
rejected to enter the library. In the black maid’s
perception, library was the place that's impossible to
be visited by them. However, although there was no
rule that forbid black people to enter the library, the
black maid thought that inside the library would be
exactly full of white people.
““You know colored folks ain’t allowed
in that library.” I sit there a second,
feeling stupid. “I can’t believe I forgot
that.” The colored library must be pretty
bad. There was a sit-in at the white
library a few years ago and it made the
papers.” (Stockett, 2009:72)
The quotation above tells about black maid who
was asked by white people to enter the library in
Jackson. The black maid answered that entering the
library was the one of impossible things to do by
them. However, the black maid ever entered the
library before, but she felt like a fool people in there.
All of white people there saw her like a stranger. This
condition made the black maid feel uncomfortable to
stay in the library any longer.
In the black maid's perception, the way of white
people treated the black maid looked like they
underestimated them. The scene in the library was
dominated by white people. However, the white
people in the library actually never did anything
toward black people when black people entered the
6
library. Yet, the gaze of white people towards black
people showed that white people underestimated
black people. The scene in the library can be
considered as racial discrimination. From the white
people's point of view, they liked to explain that
black people should not enter the library. The black
people should have to understand that when black
maid entered the library they could not do anything in
there.
According to McConnochie in Liliweri
(2005:221) institutional discrimination can eliminate
a certain race rule based on skin color: discrimination
in school, transportation, restaurant, hotel, and event
in church. Liliweri (2005:221) stated that “institution
discrimination will separate or avoid authority in
marriage institution, education, politic, economic,
and religion.” So, that the effect of racial
discrimination is really influence to savor, moral,
religious, and their intellectual. The quotation given
was in line with the theory. It happened when white
people as a high group did racial discrimination
towards black people in the institution like library.
However, the white people can discriminate black
maid everywhere and the black maid just accepted
what white people have done.
The act from white people toward black people
supported by the theory above which proved that
racial discrimination happened there. It showed that
when white people dominated the public institution,
the racial discrimination happened. The
discrimination by white people in the public
institution proved that there was racial discrimination
going on. It was proved as racial discrimination
because white people discriminated black people in
the library based on their race.
3. Racial Issues
In racial issues, racial discrimination divided into
two parts like doctrine that white people and black
people are really different, also about the society.
Almost all of thesocial media dominant by white
people.
“I want to yell so loud that Baby Girl
can hear me that dirty ain’t a color,
disease ain’t the Negro side a town. I
want to stop that moment from coming
and it come in ever white child’s life
when they start to think that colored
folks ain’t as good as whites.” (Stockett,
2009:47)
The quotation above was the scene when the
black maid described if only white baby girl was not
influenced by white people’s thought, she might had
different point of view about the black people.
However, the white women already told their
children that the race of them and their maid was
different. The quotation above told about the black
maid’s thought. The black maid uttered that thought
because they usually got some different treatments. It
happened when white boss tried to keep the distance
between their child and the black maid.
The scene on the quotation above happened
when Aibileen as black maid changed diapers of Mae
Mobley. The white baby girl chose to use Aibileens’
bathroom although Aibileen never shows her
bathroom to Mae Mobley. Yet, her mother saw when
Mae Mobley ran into Aibileen’s bathroom. The white
baby girl always spent whole day with Aibileen so it
made her knew where the Aibileen’s bathroom was.
After that, her mother and Aibileen ran after her.
Then, her mother pointed her finger and her voice
turned into ten pitches too high. She said that “This
is not your bathroom!” “I did not raise you to use the
colored bathroom!” then, the Aibileen thought that “I
hear her hiss-whispering, thinking I can’t hear, and I
think, Lady, you didn’t raise your child at all.” The
white boss still fell into anger, she said that “This is
dirty out here, Mae Mobley. You’ll catch diseases!
No nono!”” (Stockett, 2009:47). This evidence shows
the scene happened between white boss and black
maid which made Aibileen thought that actually
white baby girl’s did not have the thought of racial
discrimination at all even though her mom has.
The quotation above showcased the Aibileen’s
thought after she watched how her boss did not let
their child to use her bathroom. Her boss said that she
did not raise her baby to use black’s bathroom.
However, baby was still a baby, they did not
understand about their racial differences. Yet, the
white women still tried to explain that there were
differences between white and black maid. Her
mother thought that although they are still baby, she
should have known that they had different race from
black people. The white people assumed that the
black people were dirty and would bring diseases and
the white baby should know about that.
7
 As a black woman, Aibileen felt sad when the
boss said those things to her children. In fact, this
condition shows that the racial discrimination existed
when the white boss gave the understanding about
the racial differences between white people and black
people to her child. Moreover, it made black people
feel that they were in poor condition when white
women explained about racial differences between
white people and black people since they were very
young. The black people thought if only white people
would never explain about racial discrimination since
she was child, maybe the phenomenon of racial
discrimination would decrease in the future.
However, black people cannot explain that they
were not dirty and they were not always the cause of
disease. Black maid just described, if only they could
explain things about black people to white baby as
well as they wanted to do. They wanted to explain
that dirty was not caused by color and the disease
was not always brought by Negro. They hoped that
when white baby grew up, they did not have the same
thought as their parents about black people. They also
would not have the perspective that white and black
had different race. Indeed, the racial discrimination in
their society will be decrease.
“The booklet is simply a list of laws
stating what colored people can and
cannot do, in an assortment of Southern
states. I skim the first page, puzzled
why this is here. The laws are neither
threatening nor friendly, just.”
(Stockett, 2009:81)
The quotation above is an example of
discrimination happened by institution. Booklet was
part of social media which existed in the story.
Moreover, the social media in Jackson had a very big
influence. The white people had dominance in every
institution there; with their dominance white people
can do everything and made rules to discriminate
black people. The quotation above is the evidence
that white people dominated in the institution by
giving some rules to black people. Black people
could not do anything without agreement from white
people's institution before. Booklet in the story used
to show how white people should do and how black
people should be aware of their position there.
According to Fulthoni, et.al (2009:8), he defined
“a discrimination as an unfair and unequal treatment,
that is given by someone in order to discriminate a
person or a group. It discriminates based on some
things such as race, nation, religion, and social status.
The term of discrimination can be used to describe an
action from majority group toward minority group.
As a result, their action can be claimed as an
immorality and undemocratic thing.” The theory
from Fulthoni, et.al (2009:8) shows that the quotation
above is really part of racial discrimination
phenomenon. The white people made social relation
between white and black people look different.
Media social was used as media which had relation
between white people and black maid in order to
make black people learn their position.
Furthermore, The International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination adopted in 1965 defined “racial
discrimination broadly and in practical terms. Its
definition of racial discrimination includes any
distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based
on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin
which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or
impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on
an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural
or any other field of public life.” As a dominance
group in Jackson, the white people intentionally
made the state and public to discriminate the black
people. The white people did it because they wanted
to be dominant group there. Therefore, the white
people did not let black people enter the institution.
The main idea of the booklet that was quoted
above showed that the dominant group intentionally
wrote that black people should have to keep distance
from the white people. The booklet was distributed in
every area in Jackson. However, not only the white
people but also the black people were able to read
about the cintent of the booklet. Therefore, black
people knew how to treat white people. The black
people were also aware of their position in Jackson,
so they did everything as what white people wanted
them to. Moreover, the black people just followed the
rules and never tried to oppose the white people.
“Negroes and whites are not allowed to
share water fountains, movie houses,
public restrooms, ballparks, phone
8
 booths, circus shows. Negroes cannot
use the same pharmacy or buy postage
stamps at the same window as me.”
(Stockett, 2009:81)
The quotation above is the main topic of the
booklet. White people shared the rule in the society
which black people should obey. The white people
had dominance to disperse the rules to society's
awareness by social media like booklet. The
information shared by social media was easier to be
accepted in society. In the quotation above, it shows
clearly that white people shared their rules to black
people by using social media. As a white woman,
when she read about these rules, it got her thinking
about how the black people’s feeling. However.the
white woman felt that their group had big dominance
to do everything toward black people and black
people could not protest anything about White
people’s rule.
The evidence from the story above provides
clearly that white people intentionally made some
rules for black people so white people would always
dominate their society. The black people never
rejected to follow white people’s rule. It was not only
about society’s rule, but also the help’s rule. The
white woman had her own rules when black people
wanted to be a maid in white people house. In the
white house, some rules also underestimated black
people in many ways. Racial discrimination emerged
clearly when White people always made their own
rules to devalue the black people. White people
always wanted to be dominant group everywhere
because they were considered to have better race than
black people. It happened not only in their house, but
also in some institutions. The white people always
wanted to keep the gap from black people.
“Radio man get loud again, say, “. . .
policemen everywhere, blocking the
road. Mayor Thompson is expected to
hold a press conference shortly—”I
choke then. The tears roll down. It’s all
them white peoples that break me,
standing around the colored
neighborhood. White peoples with
guns, pointed at black peoples. Cause
who gone protect our peoples?
Ain’tnocolored policemans.” (Stockett,
2009:91)
However, being black people, lower class, and
poor people in the state was the saddest moment ever
for them. They did not have much power to resist the
discrimination around them. The quotation above is a
part when black people got a problem from the white
people. It clearly shows that white people had big
power to discriminate the black people. Yet, the
black people could not do anything when they got the
problem from white people.
The black people felt very sad because of that.
The black people felt that the condition between them
and white people was very unfair. They thought “why
just black people which get everything’s nauseate
from white people?” “Why just White people have
power to do everything?” “Why black people cannot
do everything just because their race is different and
they cannot reject their discrimination which white
people do toward them?” Being born as black people
with their low social status, this condition seemed
very unfair for them. The black people just hoped
that these things happened to them would be changed
somehow into something better.
The quotation above shows a scene when white
people and black people were stocked in the bad
condition. There was a problem in the state, white
people which had big power in society could resist
the rebel with their dominance by using guns to resist
the rebel. The black people could not do anything
except pray to God for their salvation. All of white
people fought back with guns and black people just
resisted by their bare hands. White people did not
help black people in the situation. The differences
based on their race and the discrimination term
between them made White people did not care about
black people’s salvation.
The white people made limited access for black
people to do everything, so there was no way black
people could fight for their salvation in the described
situation. The black people just accepted what came
to them. The situation pictured in the quotation above
makes it clear thatheret was racial discrimination.
White people as dominance group, discriminated
black people in every condition. The dominant group
had big power to do everything towards the lower
class.
9
 The concept of theory from some experts in
Dob’s and Liliweri’s book and the quotation based on
the story show that racial discrimination really
happens. Moreover, the quotation is in line with the
theory. In every quotation, the explanation of each
point of view also supports the part of racial
discrimination itself. All of the explanation above did
not mention the name of the characters in the story,
because it is to make the reader easy to understand
how all of white people treat black people in the
story. All of the quotation above shows that white
women discriminated black maid. The white woman
is group of white people in which they should treat
black people differently.
Liliwery (2005:29) defined racism as
discrimination toward individual of people based on
their race. However, this concept sometimes judges
certain race is better than the others. Moreover,
accordingly with this theory Sears (1994: 149)
explain, “discrimination is an action of accepted or
refused people (at least influenced by) based on
group membership. Inside the group, consisted some
different, exception, restriction, or choices which
based on ethnicity, racial, nationality, that have
purpose or influenced to destroy confession, pleasure
for implement on the basic similarity, freedom in
politic, cultured, socialized, economic activities, and
any other field that consisted in society.”
Racial discrimination was powered by
discrimination from one group towards another group
in the society. The discrimination in one of group
comes from the motive where they want to be the
leader. Furthermore each quotation and theory given
above shows clearly how racial discrimination
happens between white people and black people in
their society.It shows how racial discrimination
appears in the society, how white people treat black
people which caused racial discrimination between
them.
It is showed in the story that the white women
had some rules toward black maid in their house.
Moreover, the white people also had some rules in
the government and institution that made black
people could not do anything for their life. However,
as a dominant group, white people had big power to
be leader. The quotation supported by theory shows
that racial discrimination appears in the society, and
there are clear evidences on how white women
dominated black people in every condition.
CONCLUSION
One of the themes in Kathryn Stockett’sThe
Help is racial discrimination done by white people
toward black people. In the story, racial
discrimination happened when the white people as
dominant group made a gap based on their racial
differences toward black people. The racial
discrimination which had been done by white people
is the main topic for this research. It is based on the
phenomenon of discrimination which happened in the
society. The racial discrimination in the story shows
how white people underestimate black people in
terms of housework chores, education, and issues on
racism or skin colors
In housework chores, white people
underestimate black people. There were some rules
given by white boss to their black maids. The rules
were used to describe the differences between both of
them. The rules given show clearly about the power
of white people and how racial discrimination appear
between white boss and black maid. In terms of
education, white people did not let black people to
have same knowledge with white people. One
example is when black people entered the
library.Dealing with skin color issues which were put
into media discourse, white people prejudice
everything about the differences toward black people.
The prejudice and the idea of the white people
influenced social media in Jackson. Social media was
used as media which connected white people and
black maid in order to make black people aware of
their position. The white people intentionally made a
gap in the state and public to discriminate the black
people.
Moreover, the writer hopes for the next
researcher can hopefully understand another chance
of taking a view toward racial discrimination not only
as the resistance but also the “hidden” issues within
it, and how it relates to the race discrimination.
10
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