Chapters 1 and 2 Aibileen

Chapter 1 Aibileen
1. The novel starts out with Aibileen’s description of the one year old Mae Mobley. What is wrong right from the very beginning?
2. Which other characters are presented in the first chapter?
3. Who is Aibileen and what do we know about her background?
4. How does Treelore’s death affect Aibileen?
5. How do we know that Elizabeth Leefolt is not wealthy?
6. What conflicts are we exposed to in the first chapter?
7. What impression do we get of Hilly in the first chapter?
8. Who is Minny?
9. What is the Home Help Sanitation Initiative?
10. How does Skeeter differ from the other white women?

Chapter 2 Aibileen
1. How does Aibileen describe Jackson, Mississippi?
2. What type of working conditions is Aibileen forced to work under?
3. What is the reason for the argument between Raleigh Leefolt and his wife?
4. Why does Hilly send her Mother, Miss Walters, to an old ladies' home?
5. Why doesn’t Minny want to work for Miss Hilly?
6. What problem is described in the scene between the Negro workman and Aibileen?
7. Why do you think Hilly accuses Minny of stealing.
8. How did Minny take revenge on Miss Hilly for lying about her?
9. What is Aibileen’s marital status?
10. Aibileen is described as having special prayer powers. What is meant by this?
11. What lie did Aibileen have to tell for Minny to find work?
12. How did Aibileen react to “the surprise” Elizabeth Leefolt had for her?