Image Study: L Shaped Crack

“I stop where I am and look at Miss Leefolt, but she staring at the funny L-shaped crack in her dining room.” (Stockett 516)

                The L shaped crack in Miss Leefolt’s table is how Miss Hilly discovers that Aibileen was involved in the making of the Help book, and results in Aibileen losing her job. In my mind, the image of the crack is significant because it confirms to Hilly that the book takes place in Jackson, and changes Aibileen’s life by getting her fired. But had the L- shaped crack not been there, Aibileen would never have gotten the courage to stand up to Miss Hilly, and I think this is more important than her old job at Miss Leefolt’s. Not only that, but it helps Aibileen decide to take up Miss Skeeter’s offer to be Miss Myrna for the Jackson Journal. Using the L-shaped crack in the novel  ultimately frees Aibileen to pursue more in her life than she thought she ever could.