The novel the help is set in Mississippi in the 1960's. The novel focuses on an upcoming writer named Skeeter who has just finished four years at the University of Mississippi. Skeeter is hoping to become a writer or journalist, but first she needs experience. Aibileen is a house maid that works for Skeeter's friend Miss Lefolt taking care of her daughter Mae Mobley as well as her house. Skeeter gets a job writing for an advice column and instead of sticking it out there for months she decides writing a book could jump start her career, she figures writing from a black maids point of view would be more effective seeing as it has never been done before. She asks Aibileen if she could interview her, unfortunately if Aibileen were to voice her opinion she could be fired or worse. Eventually she comes around and gets a bunch of other maids to participate. They don't know for sure if writing the book will change anything, but at least their doing something about it. The butler has the same concept but starts off in 2009 where the narrator Cecil Gaines is re telling his story. Cecil Gaines is a butler that works in the white house, he has two sons and a wife and works hard to provide them with what he never had. The film focuses on what he witnesses throughout the civil rights movement, and how is son Louis Gaines was a part of it. Throughout both stories African American characters had to almost fight for their lives. Whether they had spoken badly about a white man/women, walked alone at night, or even used the wrong bathroom the consequences were deadly. The protagonists fought against bondage, racism and came together to overcome adversities. One of the major themes in both the help and the butler was bondage. In the both stories the antagonist attempts to keep African Americans beneath other races through various means. For example in the help blacks were prohibited from attaining notable positions in the workforce and oppressive actions