Not to single out you or your review, because I have seen both criticisms leveled elsewhere about various works, but having both of those things in the same statement is just a bit odd. At what point does it move from "presenting things as rosier than they were" to moving beyond stereotypes. I don't have the numbers handy, but from studies and statistics I have seen, illegitimacy IS a widespread problem in black America.
Admittedly, the juxtaposition looks a bit odd. Still, both criticisms have some validity on their own.
Absent black fathers are a "stereotype" only in the sense that they are commonly portrayed as such, which in turn reflects the experience with reality. Example A being the President of the United States. You might think it cliched to constantly mention such things, but it is both largely reflective of reality AND a part of the problems and hardships experienced by black communities, being both a problem and a cause of other problems. In general, discussing the sufferings of a black community WITHOUT citing the high rate of paternal abandonment would fall into the category of "presenting things as rosier than they were."
I'm aware of that, yes. I didn't say I wholeheartedly agreed with the criticism, either, partially for that reason (honestly, I just don't know enough to have a serious judgement on whether or not the book gives an accurate picture of the prevalence of the problem).
On the other hand, to the best of my knowledge, the illegitimacy issue among blacks was not the problem in 1962 that it has since become. As best I can recall, the black family was on the rise, and blacks had lower illegitimacy rates than whites at the time. The "absent father" thing seems to dovetail with other word-of-mouth criticisms of the book, including the rumor that the author invented some of particular methods of discrimination featured in the book. Taken together, it might be that the author was applying these things in hindsight, either through lacking genuine knowledge of the setting that predates her personal experience or out of dramatic license.
It's possible, I don't have enough knowledge about the period to say. In her brief commentary, she points out a few very minor instances of dramatic licence, such as having Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin' on the radio a year before he actually released it, which I suppose suggests she didn't intentionally employ dramatic licence on the more important things. Or doesn't want to admit to it if she did.
Kathryn Stockett - The Help
- 25/07/2012 11:23:09 PM
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I noted an odd contrast here...
- 26/07/2012 12:51:54 AM
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Fair point. 
- 26/07/2012 07:14:27 PM
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- 26/07/2012 07:14:27 PM
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