T-Ray In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

(TS) In Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret Life of Bees, Lily Owens does not have an empathetic relationship with her parents as a result of the loss of her mother and an abusive father; however, Lily gains a new family figure, August Boatwright, who shows her the true empathy that is present between a parent and their child. (PS) Lily Owens’s absence of a mother and a “real” father causes Lily not to have a relationship with her parents that is filled with affection for one another. (SS) When Lily lost her mother, Deborah Fontell, she was told that she had shot and killed Deborah. (SS) Lily would say, “I would meet her saying, ‘Mother forgive. Please forgive,’” and she would kiss my skin till I grew chapped and tell me I was not to blame”

While one of the most traditional interpretations of “A Rose for Emily” is the variety of meanings for the “rose” presented in the title and how the “rose” fits in with the story. Laura Getty states in her article many varied perspectives that many could ponder when identifying what the “rose” stands for. She states many possible theories that depict what the “rose” means, including theories of other writers that help support her own theory and also that adds another way that most might not consider at first. Most of the interpretations of the rose are all focused on the “internal elements” (Getty 231) rather than the actual rose itself. Getty theorizes about certain characters, buildings, anything that symbolizes a rose in the story as

As well as the way T-Ray abused Lily so badly and got away with it throughout the whole story. In the book when Lily and Rosaleen showed up at the Boatwright house, August said this, “Well, you can stay here until you figure out what to do. We can’t just have you living on the side of the road” (Kidd 72). The calendar sisters let Lily and Rosaleen stay in their home after randomly showing up at their doorstep. This is not realistic in any way for that time because although August didn’t have a problem with Lily being white, others in the community might. Along with that, even June was hesitant, and not really wanting them to stay when they came. With that, another unrealistic factor of the novel was the way T-Ray abused Lily, and got away with it. In the beginning of the novel it said, “They were swollen with hundreds of red welts, pinprick bruises that would grow into a blue stubble across my skin. Look at you child. Look what he’s done to you she said” (Kidd 25). T-Ray horribly abused Lily throughout the entire story, and it is one of the reasons Lily ran away, and left T-Ray. He would make her kneel on grits, grab her, scream at her, and more. This would not go unnoticed in reality, Rosaleen or someone would be bound to report the terrible treatment to Lily at some point. The Secret Life of Bees isn’t realistic and

Lily starts off stuck living in an unloving, abusive household and decides to free herself from the negative atmosphere that she had been living in her whole life. Lily is perpetually abused by her father. He forces her to kneel on Martha White's, gets exasperated every time she speaks, and yells at her for no reason. Lily is not the only one noticing the terrible treatment, Rosaleen does too. Once after Lily had to kneel on the Martha White's Rosaleen said to her, “Look at you, child. Look what he’s done to you” (Kidd 25). Noticing the unloving treatment Lily gets, Rosaleen knew that their household was demoralizing place for Lily to be in, which is why she didn’t question when Lily when she later runs away. Lily one day realizes she needs to do something about her horrible life at home. While sitting in her room she hears a voice in her

“At night I would lie in bed and watch the show, how bees squeezed through the cracks of my bedroom wall and flew circles around the room, making that propeller sound” ( Kidd 1). This quote represents the story about a girl named lily and how her life turns around after one day. In this journal I will evaluate why lily decided to leave, question why T-ray is so abusive to Lily and predict where lily where go next.

“There is nothing perfect,’ August said from the doorway. ‘There is only life” (Kidd 256). This quote from The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd explains Lily Owens life, a young girl with an unloving father and a mother who abandoned her and was later shot and killed by her own daughter, Lily. Lily has a hard time finding her place in the world and understanding why her life is the way it is. She decides it is time for her to take charge of her own life. She finds herself in Tiburon, South Carolina with her nanny Rosaleen and three black women, August, June and May who unravel the story to her mother’s past. Lily’s story can be seen in different layers, the most significant layers are the religious, thematic and symbolic layers. These three layers are essential when trying to gain understanding of The Secret Life of Bees.

From the start of young Lily’s life, Rosaleen was always there to take care of Lily. And at the end of the book, Rosaleen is there right by Lily’s side, as one of her dear mother figures. Throughout the book, their relationship —like all others— changes and fluctuates often. At one point, the two are simply furious with each other. At another, Rosaleen is there to comfort Lily as she cries. Thanks to the writing techniques of Sue Monk Kidd (author of The Secret Life of Bees), the relationship between these two is clearly illustrated and understandable.

In view of that, relationships between characters in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ are clearly similar and different to ‘The Secret of Bees’. Lily explains her relationship by saying, “Rosaleen had worked for us since my mother died. My daddy– who I called T. Ray because ‘Daddy’ never fit him” (2). This quotation from ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ is by Lily, narrating her relationship with Rosaleen and T. Ray. Rosaleen treats Lily like her daughter as she compliments Lily and gives advice on her decision of fashion school. Comparatively, when Lily tells her father T. Ray about the swarm of bees in her room, T. Ray does not believe her daughter and instead threatens punishment. This quote states Rosaleen genuinely cares for Lily as she thinks for her best while T. Ray does not treat her own

In America over sixty percent of children suffer from neglect, sixteen point six from physical abuse and seven point one percent from emotional abuse in their household. Sue Monk Kidd portrays fourteen year old Lily Owens to have an abusive father in her novel The Secret Life Of Bees. Lily’s father T-Ray is abusive in many ways but he chooses to manipulate her more than anything else. He keeps important information about her deceased mother away from her, he forces her to sit on grits for hours at a time until her knees are bruised, and does not hesitate to hurt her.

In Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, T. Ray is a frustrated and unloving character who makes an enormous impact on Lily’s character by making her feel self-conscious about herself and not worthy of being loved. T. Ray evokes hatred and disappointment in the reader by permitting this abusive and unfair treatment towards Lily. With his rough and furious exterior that is represented by grits on the hat, he is also proven to be filled with grief and hurt by his wife’s leaving and future death. To hide his heart-break and depression, he lashes out on Lily to build himself up.

Instead of the negative influence of T-Ray, Lily is happy and excited for the tasks that she performs with August in the bee shed. In the story of Aristaeus, a person surrounded by bees changes them. By being immersed with bees for the few months that she is living there, Lily is reborn into a completely new individual. She is brought out of the sadness from the 14 years of her life and transformed into a happy and chipper women, giving her the fresh start she needs. Rosaleen is also changed while living with the Boatwright sisters. Rosaleen was always coy and lonesome, but turns into a jubilant and cheerful person, always talking with quizzical May or helping the sisters with chores around the house. In the book, bees have the power to change people, either taking them out of rough times, or making them a better person. Both Lily and Rosaleen are happier while living with the Boatwright sisters, thanks to the bees for their power to make a new soul

Sue Monk Kidd the gives the reader a compassionate perspective of Lily’s parents in “The Secret Life of Bees” with the use of metaphors, symbolism, and dialogue, that exhibits the only reason behind Deborah’s and Ray’s actions was either endearment, self-protection, or resentment. Deborah’s and Terrence’s dysfunctional marriage only began because of Deborah’s pregnancy. The reader will sympathize with Deborah’s depression and the repercussions on herself and Lily. Terrence’s reaction to Deborah’s past will show his soft side. All-embracing, Kidd uses these situations to create sympathy for Lily’s parents.

In the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily is the character whom has changed the most. First of all, Lily is the fundamental character, protagonist, and narrator of her story. At the point when Lily first shows up in the novel, she is a beaten down, misused, and abused by her brutal father. He runs a peach farm where Lily has carried on with her entire life. However, inside of Lily are qualities she finds when she leaves home and goes on the run with her nanny, Rosaleen. Through her interactions with other individuals all through the novel, Lily gains strength in her independence, understanding of prejudice, and loving connections in her life. There are numerous areas in the novel that demonstrate that Lily is changing. One of

Lily Owens is almost 14. She says swarms of bees visit her every night and create pretty air shows in her room. It's left ambiguous whether the bee invasion is real or imagined, but it's no wonder Lily would create companions for herself, as she's quite lonely—her father, T. Ray, is kind of a beast, and her mother, Deborah, died when she was younger. Rosaleen is her stand in

Many people in their life will feel compassionate towards another person or character in a novel because of their personality, behaviors and actions. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the protagonist, Lily, has a father referred to as T. Ray. In the beginning of the book, typical readers may label T. Ray as the antagonist because he is described an abusive, cold hearted character. After reading and learning more about his past, T. Ray can eventually be considered a sympathetic character. With the death of his wife and the constant reminder of her every time he looks at his daughter, T-Ray has reasons for being portrayed as a cruel and resentful person.