The Help: Character, Dignity and Self-Respect
Rachael L. Tuminski
PHI2000
Character, Dignity and Self-respect Paper
Capella University
February, 2015

Abstract: This paper will examine the parallels and give examples of the teachings of Aristotle, Epictetus and St. Augustine, using the motion picture The Help directed by Tate Taylor.

Introduction
What gives human beings their character, dignity and self-respect? What makes up them up in humans? Aristotle, St. Augustine, and Epictetus all attempted to answer this very question examining human nature very closely. Aristotle took on the subject of character; Epictetus took on the topic of dignity and St. Augustine the topic of self-respect. In the movie The Help directed by Tate Taylor each of these reasoning’s can be addressed in detail and example.

Aristotle and Character
Aristotle approached the subject of the virtuous character like this; the soul is in two halves one being the rational and the other being the non-rational. His definition is best discussed in Nicomachean Ethics II.7: “Excellence [of character], then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it. Now it is a mean between two vices, that which depends on excess and that which depends on defect.” (1106b36–1107a3) An example of this in The Help is in the character of Skeeter Phelan; in the movie Skeeter has come back home to her home town of Jackson Mississippi during the heat of the segregation debate. Skeeter was raised by an African American maid in her home, but now has decided to write a book revealing what life as an African American domestic worker is like in Jackson. Skeeter defines the virtuous character; she was raised in this life style, but decides to ignore that. Skeeter befriends the domestic workers and listens to their stories; she writes them down and creates a book from it. The book tells the story of women who have been treated poorly by the very women they helped to raise. The story of abuse and segregation that is heart wrenching. Skeeter tells this story despite being raised in a home that used African American help, being raised in a home that was pro segregation. Towards the end of the movie her mother, Charlotte Phelan, who is dying of cancer also changes her outward approach to segregation. She had silently had a lot of love and respect for the family’s domestic Constantine, and had even sided against her during an altercation in the movie. To save face she had chosen to fire Constantine and send her away rather than defend the actions of Constantine. Towards the end of the movie this attitude changes after she reads her daughters book and later defends her daughter’s actions to Hilly Holbrook. According to Aristotle this makes them virtuous because of their good choices.
Epictetus and Dignity
Epictetus was a philosopher who lived from 55A.D to 135 A.D; he was around during the Roman Empire. Epictetus believed that the only thing that one could control in life was one’s responses. He believed that man had no control over anything but, how he responded to life’s circumstances. In the movie The Help this is illustrated with a situation involving Yule Mae Davis and Hilly Holbrook. Yule Mae had two sons, her husband and her had only managed to raise money to send one of them to college and Yule Mae decided to ask Hilly (her boss) if she could borrow the money for her other son. Hilly of course being Hilly refused. Later on Yule Mae is cleaning in Hilly’s home and comes across a ring. Yule Mae pawns the ring for money to send her son to college. Hilly calls the police and goes to watch as Yule Mae is arrested and beaten for theft. This situation has several bad responses; Hilly was of course rude when the request was made of her about the money she could have responded better, but then Yule Mae should not have stolen from her employer. Really all responses in this situation just lead to more bad responses, a bad cycle of poor choices and responses. Another example of this is a situation involving Mini and Hilly. There is a bad storm and Mini needed to use the restroom, Hilly had constructed a restroom outside and across the yard for Mini to use, Mini could not stand the thought of going out in such horrible weather to go to the restroom so she went to use a restroom in the home. Hilly caught her, Mini was fired Hilly then went around time saying that Mini stole from her home. Mini later returned to Hilly’s and brought with her a pie that she had baked with her feces in it. Hilly ate the pie and then Mini told her what was in it, over all the same situation. If one reaction had been handled differently, the situation could have been different all together. If Hilly had just let Mini use the restroom, if Mini had not been content to let her think she had used the restroom in the home even though she didn’t perhaps the entire situation would have been different. It’s all in how a person reacts to things that defines who they are.
St. Augustine and Self-Respect
St. Augustine was a philosopher who lived from 354 to 431A.D. He is known for writing a book entitled Confessions, in the book he pretty much confesses all the things he feels he’s done wrong in his lifetime. He believed that a good relationship with God meant a good life. He subscribed to the theory that sin is a disruption between you and your relationship with God. The example from the movie The Help is Mini confessing to Skeeter and Aibileen what she had done to Hilly. Mini wanted the story in the book because as long as it was in there Hilly would make sure no one knew it was about homes in Jackson. Once she confessed “the terrible awful” though the other two women looked at her very differently and they were not the only ones Mini confessed to, she later confessed to Celia Foote. After she confessed to Celia it eventually got back to Hilly and everyone made a big private joke about it. So perhaps total confessions are not the best thing, but St. Augustine would not feel that way. His thought’s would be total confessions cleanse the soul and bring one closer to God. Conclusion
St. Augustine, Epictetus, and Aristotle all had more expanded theories than the ones listed above; these were merely examples of pieces of each man’s theory. Each philosopher has solid ideas on what makes up a person’s character, dignity and self-respect. .

References
Homiak, Marcia, "Moral Character", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2011/entries/moral-character/>.
The Help. Tate Taylor.< http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/>. February 11 2015.
Wikapedia. The wikamedia foundation. February 11, 2015.