What is a literary element in Chapter 17 of The Help by Kathryn Stockett?
Well, while literary techniques can be specific to each work of fiction (such as the techniques listed above), literary elements are common to ALL. Therefore, to answer your question, one would need to look at something like plot, tone, theme, character, etc. Further, because both chapter 17 and 18 comprise one particular episode, sometimes I will refer to both chapters here.
Two literary elements from chapter 17 that are fairly easy to discuss are plot and character. In regards to plot, this chapter is part of the rising action. Skeeter has already begun her book and is simply maneuvering to write it amid other issues in the town. Chapter 17 contains one such issue, especially regarding Minnie and Celia. In fact, it is Minnie who narrates the chapter. Minnie is desperately trying to teach Celia how to fry chicken in this chapter (as part of Celia's attempt to become as...
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good of a cook as Minnie). Of course, there are always problems in the town, and this is another: Celia has another miscarriage at the end of the episode. This is all part of the rising action of the plot.
In regards to character, we learn most about Minnie (as the narrator of this chapter) and Celia. Celia grew up poor and married rich. As a result, she doesn't have a lot of the racial issues that many of the white folks do in the town. Celia happily converses with all races, but she is ostracized from white society because of it. We can see some of this here while she hangs out with Minnie, learning how to cook fried chicken. Minnie is a truly compassionate woman. Not only does she help Celia learn to cook here, but she cleans the large, bloody mess of a miscarriage, while showing compassion for Celia.
So, as you can see, we learn about the specific rising action of the plot and a bunch about character from chapter 17.
What are some explainable literary elements in the book The Help?
A literary element is a component of fiction, such as a book's characters, plot, or tone, that helps the author tell the story. An important literary element in The Help is its setting, as the book takes place in the early '60s in Jackson, Mississippi. The setting is critical to the plot, as the novel takes place during the Civil Rights movement. The domestics in the novel are African American and are affected by the larger movement. Although times are changing, it is very dangerous for them to speak to Skeeter, the white woman who compiles their stories. The African American maids whom Skeeter interviews could be fired, or even harmed by vigilantes, for speaking against their white employers and against the white power structure in Mississippi. At the same time, Skeeter's work is important because it tells the story of people who don't often have a voice and who are part of the national narrative at the time. Therefore, setting is a vital literary element in the novel.