The Help: Allusions 3 key examples

Invisible Man is Ellison's first novel and the only one of his published in his lifetime, and it's widely acclaimed as a preeminent work in African American literature. Published in 1952, the novel tells the story of an unnamed Black narrator navigating the changing social and political landscape of the post-war United States while still attempting to define his own personal identity. As the title suggests, the novel considers problems of figurative (and sometimes literal) invisibility for Black people in White-dominated society. 

Aibileen says that Invisible Man was inspirational to Treelore and she "liked it too." Domestic servants are often treated as if they're invisible in The Help, so it makes sense that Aibileen would enjoy Invisible Man, perhaps seeing something of her own life in the unnamed narrator's attempt to define himself in White society. Indeed, the entire plot of The Help follows Skeeter and Aibileen's attempts to tell the real stories of Black women while being forced into anonymity for their safety. This forced invisibility due to White oppression continues similar themes as those in Invisible Man. Thus, the allusion to the novel in this chapter, along with Aibileen's high opinion of it, helps demonstrate the intentional similarities between the two novels.

Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 film starring Peter O'Toole that dramatizes the life of British army officer T. E. Lawrence. A writer and diplomat, Lawrence traveled to the Ottoman Empire in the late 1910s during the Arab Revolt and recorded his findings in a popular memoir. The film adaptation was wildly popular and critically acclaimed, and today is considered one of the best films ever made. O'Toole, portraying Lawrence, wears a headscarf in the film when he is among Arab people. Though Skeeter's scarf is black and O'Toole's was white, she feels that her scarf makes her look like a caricature of an Arabic man. She thinks she looks more like O'Toole than she does Marlene Dietrich, another movie star of the era. Dietrich, who was not in Lawrence of Arabia, was a fashion icon known for her headscarves. Thus, Skeeter's allusion to the film makes a joke, if a somewhat culturally insensitive one, about her odd outfit to go see Aibileen.

Lawrence of Arabia was released in the United States on December 13, 1962; this chapter takes place in January 1963, so Skeeter must have seen the movie quite recently. As such, this is one of a number of allusions that help frame the novel's setting in the culture of the early 1960s.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960, just before the events of The Help. Lee's novel follows Scout Finch growing up in Maycomb, Alabama while her father, a lawyer, defends a Black man in court who was unfairly accused of raping a White woman. Boo Radley is a recluse who is unseen for the majority of the novel. At the end of the novel, Boo appears suddenly for the first time and saves Scout and her brother from an assault from the father of the woman who was allegedly raped.

Skeeter feels like Boo because she, like him, is ostracized by the community. Boo is a sickly, antisocial man, and the community in Maycomb regards him as a strange outsider. After no one in the League votes for her, Skeeter feels similarly thrust out by the community. This may be a slight overreaction, but the allusion still helps illustrate Skeeter's emotions. The reference to To Kill a Mockingbird also situates the story in 1960s culture, as well as in the tradition of novels considering the experience of Black people in white society.