This is also evidenced in the literature between the two groups. She shows the difference between the two groups, as the oppressor is one who knows and has power while the oppressed is someone who knows but does not have power. However, the world belongs to all of us regardless of our status, as opposed to what the oppressor views. The oppressor believes that the world belongs to him alone and that he knows what is best for the oppressed. Therefore, the oppressor enacts laws and treats the oppressed as he sees is fit. Consequently, as much as the oppressed might know what is going on around them, they do not have the power to express their opinion on the matter (Pratt, 1991). .
Pratt tells the story of Guaman Poma. She talks of the letter he wrote to the king. The letter of Guaman Poma is an example of an ethnographic literature. This means that it is based on the writer's observations and interviews. She states that the oppressed group uses the materials provided by the oppressors in order to pass on their message. The essay also states that the oppressed are limited in the way they express themselves as compared to the oppressor. Guaman Poma's letter was written in a mix of Spanish and Quechua. It shows us how the Mayans work on collecting their stories. Pratt makes a quick statement about the "contact zone", stating that its art (usually made by the oppressed) usually shows an image of the other people (oppressors) from the view of the first (oppressed) people.
Similarly, The Help shows the contact zone between the oppressor and the oppressed in the state and the homesteads that these two groups live in. In the film, you see that the white bosses feel that they do indeed treat their maids fairly. This is seen when there is a white owner, Hilly, who states that she is not discriminating against the maids because she has constructed a toilet that is similar to hers. Therefore, the maid can have the same equal toilet but at a different place, the maid only needs not use her owner's toilet because she might have diseases.