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Main comparisons between 'Ariel' by Sylvia Plath and 'The…

- - - - The Applicant: "Will you marry it, marry it, marry it?". Plath uses quite an imperative tone in the repetition of 'marry it' and combines this with the choice of a full stop instead of a question mark. This dehumanizing language demonstrates a very exaggerated and forceful atmosphere in the poem which satirizes and ultimately critiques the expectation of domesticity on women.
      - The Help (Skeeter): "I told you. I didn't meet anybody I wanted to marry". Skeeter's reinforcing tone of language in "I told you" reflects an adamant belief in personal values which is quite a change from her social circle, where each of the women follow each other's paths in marrying and having children.
  - - - "Oh, we're gonna have some kids' she clears her throat, fidgets 'I mean, kids is the only thing worth living for": Celia is trapped within societal conventions and does not understand the extent of the limitations placed on her.
      - The Munich Mannequins conveys the significant presence of having children, naming it "The absolute sacrifice".
      - Whilst Plath aims to provoke change in social attitudes, Stockett conveys actual changing attitudes within the characters. For example, Stockett subverts impressions on male behavior, by having Johnny Foote disregard the need for Celia to have babies and rather care for well being. Johnny tells Minny that "Listen, Celia finally told me about the babies. All of them...You saved her life".
      - The end of Plath's poem stresses the need for changing of attitudes, as women still struggle with no way to cope or express themselves. Whilst Celia is able to share her struggles with Minny and Johnny, Plath regards the "Voicelessness" of the mannequins, ending the poem with "The snow has no voice". Plath may recognize like Stockett that some women benefit from changing social attitudes, however each text aims to shed light on the collective struggle of the majority of women.
- - - - Aibileen: "A bitter seed was planted inside a me. And I just didn't feel so accepting anymore." At the beginning of the novel, Aibileen's resentment of injustice and the social conventions in Jackson is exacerbated by the murder of her son Treelore. The motif of the bitter seed symbolizes the growing anger within her that leaves Aibileen stuck in her emotions and makes it difficult for her to take action.