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  • Essay / Help Comparison and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    Video shows the daily struggles of black Southern maids as they raise their bosses' white babies while their own babies are at house (Help). The cleaners have some very heartbreaking stories to tell and they have expressed their feelings about racism very well. When one of them was fired for using the indoor restroom instead of the black-only outdoor restroom, she told the story with all the emotion and detail she felt at the time ( The Help). This made the film very emotional and heartbreaking. This emotional aspect was not present in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and as a result, the audience did not feel connected to the characters and their struggles. By feeling what the characters feel when they experience so much hatred and oppression, viewers seem to understand how difficult the conditions were. The video is also presented from the adult perspective, making the stories more relatable. A mature adult is more likely to have a better understanding of racist situations when they occur than a child. For example, white women make many subtle and sarcastic comments to the handmaids, and a child simply wouldn't be able to understand that (The Help). Maya is able to tell the audience about her experiences during various controversial events, but the women of The Help are able to show racism through everyday conversations, as that is where most of the insults occur. It shows racism as an aspect of everyday life; as if it were as common and natural as brushing your hair. This is also because the handmaids interacted with white people all the time. This abundant amount of interracial interactions gives way to an abundant amount of racism opposed to the rare interactions in the novel. Aid simply has more opportunities to expose racism and