Compare and Contrast

Author’s Note: I wrote this essay to show the comparison and contrasting between these two books. These are what I believe to be the main compares and contrasts with what I know and read.

Reading through the books “The Help”, by Kathryn Stockett and “Finishing Becca”, by Ann Rinadli, you start to realize that these two books have a lot of similarities, as well as differences. While comparing and contrasting, you see that both have one major thing in common working for a family. Seeing through the two books and finding something alike and different can be done. Especially because they both have working for a family be one. But, as you think outside of the box when these two books take setting in different time eras.  

             First off, the main thing that these two books have in common would be that it deals with being a maidservant or slave to people. The people that own the maidservant or slave can either be the kindest people to them, or be rude and care nothing about them and only themselves. A scene from “The Help” that shows kindness towards the slave would be when the 2^nd owner of Minnie sits with her at the table Minnie sits at and not the owner. The owner should be sitting in the dining room to eat, but has a respect for Minnie I feel like. Then an example in “Finishing Becca” when Sarah is kind and thoughtful to Becca because of how her sister, Peggy, treats her, this is also a sign of respect.

            In addition to being kind and generous to the slave or maidservant, they can be quite rude. An example in “The Help” would be when the owner of Abilene fires her because the 1^st owner of Minnie forces her to. This is giving an example of disrespect from the 1^st owner of Minnie to all slaves even though they are well respected in the family, just like how Abilene was. And example in “Finishing Becca” of when the owner of Becca is disrespecting all of Becca’s rights is right away when Becca starts her job and when Peggy’s mother leaves the room. Peggy is torturing Becca with the mind. She is telling her a bunch of nonsense that she never should have said to her like threats.

            Although these books have many things in common, there are a handful of things that are not similar what so ever. My main example is that in “The Help” they don’t have any say at all to what goes on. This causes the reason for the book to be made by Skeeter. Then in “Finishing Becca”, Becca has every right just because she had a life before becoming the maidservant for Peggy. This doesn’t cause a total conflict in the book like “The Help” does but it does make a difference between the two books.

            All in all, comparing and contrasting these two books from one another helps show the difference between these two time periods. And yet they have a lot in common more than not. There are plenty of other things I common with these two books, just you have to read both to find out the similarities and differences between them!