Double Consciousness in The Help: An Analysis of Black's Perception of Black

Abstract

Some people nowithstanding believe that there are people or races that are born to be higher or lower than the others. Black in the past are an example. They were stereotyped as worthless inferior beings and as slaves. Although slavery has been abolished, racism remains. Describing racism, Kathryn Stockett‟s work titled The Help is interesting to be examined because it is based on the characters‟ real experience and is voiced from the victim of discrimination. Besides, it uses the 1960s America, when racism was more serious but there are increasing struggle for racial equality, as its setting. Such a situation may be confusing. Therefore, this study aimed to find how white saw black and how black perceive themselves. To find the answer, double consciousness theory was used. This theory leads to a sense of always looking at one‟s self through the eyes of others. The analysis revealed that most white and black see black as inferior beings, weak and worthless figures who don‟t dare to fight back because of the oppressions and poor treatments that they received. The findings match double consciousness theory because most Blacks behave in the same way as whites see them and even the Blacks also view themselves as inferior beings.