Secret Life Of Bees Analysis

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a book discussing the internal strife of a young white girl, in a very racist 1960’s south. The main character, Lily Owens, faces many problems she must overcome, including her personal dilemma of killing her own mother in an accident. Sue Monk Kidd accurately displays the irrationality of racism in the South during mid- 1960's not only by using beautiful language, but very thoroughly developed plot and character development. Kidd shows the irrationality of racism through the characters in her book, The Secret Life of Bees and shows that even during that time period, some unique people, were able to see beyond the heavy curtain of racism that separated people from each

In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the main character, Lily Owens struggles with the notion that she killed her mother and has to live with her abusive, neglectful father, T-Ray. Throughout, Lily searches for information about her mother and why she left her. Unexpectedly, she stumbles upon new mother figures that play an important role in changing Lily to the person she is in later. The typical sequence of a hero’s journey includes a departure, initiation and trials, and reintegration into society. By the end, Lily Owens developes into a more mature, independent young women after experiencing a difficult childhood.

Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a 14-year-old white girl, Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of her mother's death. Lily meets new people and they help her realize who she is and how the world is around her. Throughout the novel Kidd uses Lily’s various situations to express the theme. Kidd uses imagery, symbolism and similes to express the overall theme which is forgiveness and love.

Nurse bees have a gift for nurturing, and they always feed and care for all the baby bees. August depicts all of these aspects in her every day actions. She was once even a maid who raised a small girl, Deborah Fontanel, to womanhood. August is also a big sister, so she has the inclination to nurture and care for May and June whenever they need her. Nurse bees are substitute mothers to all the baby bees in the hive. August is similar to them in that way as well because she acts as a substitute mother to Lily since Lily's mother is dead. August also has the obligation, as a beekeeper, to take care of all the bees in all the hives that she controls. She has to keep them cool in the summer and carefully keep the whole bee society running smoothly. The queens have to be healthy, the workers have to do their jobs, and none of this would happen without August taking care of everything. A nurse bee is the most self-sacrificing bee of all. They give up their freedom to take care of others. When it came to the color of the house, August even said, “Well this is the tackiest color I’ve ever seen, and we’ll have half the town talking about us, but if it can lift May’s heart like

The devastating tragedy of losing a person's mother at an early age can drastically affect that person's life. It can impact the way someone thinks, corresponds with others, and the way someone handles themselves emotionally. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees Lily Owens loses her mother at the early age of four. During Lily's journey she finds comfort and support in the women that she meets. Throughout the novel Lily goes through many changes because of the impact of the motherly figures of the Black Mary, Rosaleen, and the Calendar Sisters.

In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, a young girl named Lily struggles with growing up with only a harsh father and a housemaid while trying to find her own place in the world. At the age of four, Lily accidentally shoots her mother while trying to help her in a fight against Lily’s dad. Ever since that day, Lily has a difficult time trying to be a lady and trying to cope with her somewhat abusive father. One day, when Lily is fourteen, the housemaid Rosaleen is sent to jail for pouring dip spit on white men’s shoes but later gets assaulted by the men and is taken to the hospital where Lily goes to sneak her out. In order to help incorporate the story’s title into the story, the author has written epigraphs, that are about bees, for every chapter in the book. Chapter two’s epigraph says “ On leaving the old nest, the swarm normally flies only a few metres and settles. Scout bees look for a suitable place to start the new colony. Eventually, one location wins favor and the whole swarm takes to the air”(34). This epigraph parallels the story because of the similarities in how bees move on and look for somewhere to start their new lives and how Lily and Rosaleen try to start their new

"New beekeepers are told that the way to find the elusive queen is by first locating her circle of attendants." (57) This quote is at the beginning of chapter three and not only foreshadows many things to come, but within the quote, two of the novel’s main metaphors are mentioned, bees and the queen, which is referring to society and a mother figure. Although this quote is largely interpreted as a metaphor for Lily looking for a new queen or mother figure, and perhaps August being that mother, I believe that it has another meaning as well. I believe that the Black Madonna also serves as a “queen” and mother figure to all the women in “The Secret Life of Bees.”

“But I had such a moment in my own ordinary room. I heard a voice say Lily Melissa Owens your jar is open” (Kidd 41). The bees acted almost as a guide to Lily, when the bees left Lily knew that it was her time to go as well. The bees, messengers from God were signaling Lily that she needed to remove herself from her current situation. “I knew exactly what I had to do -- leave. I had to get away from T. Ray” (Kidd 41). The bees were the reason that this realization occurred to Lily. The bees were telling Lily that God wanted her to leave, it was God’s plan for Lily to live with the calendar sisters so she could learn about her mother. Which is what she needed the most. The bees put Lily on the right track by leading her to her

The Secret Life of Bees is a novel written by Sue Monk Kidd. It is about a girl, named Lily, who goes to another town to seek answers about her mother. In the novel Lily starts maturing throughout the course of months. Lily has many mother figures who teach her different lessons. August teaches Lily that race doesn’t matter, June teaches Lily about love, and Rosaleen teaches Lily that the truth isn’t always good.

All throughout the book, The Secret Life of Bees, August Boatwright’s character is a very kind person who takes care of the people she cares about. August went to school to be a teacher but became a house maid instead. August worked for Lily’s mother’s family when she was younger, taking care of Deborah when her family wasn’t around. ..TRANSITION… Ever since Lily showed up on August’s

This concept leads Lily to believe that the Virgin Mary is in many ways her mother, even though she is a mother to thousands of other people as well (Emanuel 41). Lily receives support and love from August and the community like the bees, though it is a secret to the rest of the world. The bees act as pathfinders for Lily as she learns more about herself, along with Zach

Family can be defined as individuals who are related by blood, yet it is more so about our ability to care for a person or people and for them to care for us as well. This same theme is demonstrated by many literary texts throughout history. One, exemplary novel is The Secret Life of Bees. Within the book, there are many exchanges between characters that stresses the importance of family and how there are no limits when it comes to choosing who you consider family and who you do not consider family. The relationships that structure the storyline prove this life lesson to be true. The story follows the main character, Lily. Lily has experienced many trials in her early years of life. While these trials do not define Lily, they certainly

There are many themes present throughout The Secret Life of Bees including the power of women, the strength of motherly bonds, the role of bees, and the portrayal of prejudice in society. The power of bonds between women is shown throughout different aspects of the novel. Rosaleen was abused by racist men, but she keep going with even more strength than she had before. When Lily and Rosaleen showed up on the Boatwright sisters doorstep, the sisters took the two women they had never met in and treated them like family. This strength occurred throughout the novel. When Lily’s father ended up letting her stay with the Boatwright sisters it was partly because of the women in her lie. The women stood up to T. Ray and gave him a way out while also keeping Lily’s best interests at heart.

In The Secret Life of Bees, we meet Lily Owens. A bright, curious and hopeful young girl, all Lily wants is to discover the identity and story of her late mother, Deborah. Lily’s situation at home is rough. Aside from the fact that Lily has no mother, she also lacks a loving and devoted father. T.Ray, Lily’s father does not even come close to filling the position of a good parent let alone her mother. Although Lily has an absence in her life of influential characters who should be there to shape and guide her, she does acquire one important figure in her life. Her family’s slave, Rosaleen is the closest thing to a mother that Lily had. Rosaleen truly cared for Lily and knew her better than her own father probably did. Rosaleen is the strongest and most prominent source of love and care in Lily’s life. Even though Rosaleen will never replace Lily’s mother, she

The Secret Life of Bees begins in the town of Sylvan, South Carolina and tells the story of 14-year-old Lily Melissa Owens. She lives on a peach orchard with her neglectful and abusive father, T. Ray. They have Black maid named Rosaleen who is a companion and caretaker of Lily. The book opens with Lily's discovery of bees in her bedroom and the story of how she killed her mother. The eve before her birthday Lily sneaks out into the peach orchard to visit the box of her mother’s belongings which is buried there however before she can hide them T. Ray finds her and punishes her. The next day Rosaleen and Lily head into town where Rosaleen is arrested for pouring her bottle of tobacco spit on three white men. Lily breaks her out of prison and they begin hitchhiking toward Tiburon, SC, a town Lily had seen on the back of a picture of a black Virgin Mary which her mom had owned. They hitch a ride to Tiburon and once there, they buy lunch at a general store, and Lily sees a picture of the same Virgin Mary on a jar of honey. She asks the store owner where it came from and he gives her directions to the Boatwright house. They then meet the makers of the honey: August, May and June Boatwright, who are all black. Lily makes up a wild story about being recently orphaned. The sisters welcome Rosaleen and Lily into their home. They are then introduced to beekeeping and the Boatwright’s way of life. Lily learns more about the Black Madonna honey that the sisters make. She begins working