Bond Over Blood: The Secret Life of Bees Analysis As written by William F. Longgood, “Honeybees depend not only on physical contact with the colony but also require its social companionship and support. Isolate a honeybee from her sisters and she will soon die.” These symbolic words quoted in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees are a hint to the overall purpose of the novel although just letters in italics above chapter numbers. In Kidd’s narrative, Lily Owens struggles to deal with her mother’s
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
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
In 1960 the Civil Right Act occurred which allowed African-Americans more rights in return this return more attention to racism. American Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees suggests that accepting taboo actions does not necessarily compromises a person’s moral compass and can lead to an awareness and understanding of the world. In the first couple of chapters we see Roseleen, an African-American servant standing up to a group of white guys. “Rosaleen lifted her snuff which was filled with
Most of the time you will find, that water with a little bit of honey in it, tends to taste a whole lot better than blood. In the beautifully composed piece of literature, The Secret Life of Bees, we follow the struggles of Lily Owens, as she realizes the true meaning of family and the transcendent power of love. The brilliant author behind this artwork, Sue Monk Kidd, brings forth the hardships of a motherless child with an abusive father, and the Negro community of 1964. I highly recommend this
‘The Secret Life of Bees’ by Sue Monk Kidd is a wonderful and beautifully written story. ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ includes loveable characters that each have their own unique personalities. ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ also includes mystery and love, which makes it enjoyable. Although it’s not realistic, it’s still a really good read because of how the characters grow and develop throughout. Erin Collazo Miller’s book review on ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ is right about all of these things mentioned
Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees and Rascal Flatts "I'm Movin' On", both adequately demonstrate that a childhood of guilt can result in difficulty forgiving oneself and others. Overcoming inner conflicts as well as finding a place of belonging and contentment is a result that comes with self-forgiveness. The Secret Life of Bees is a story of a young girl named Lily Owens who, throughout the novel, faces immense obstacles. This novel focuses on the blurred memory Lily has of the death of her
could think was August is so intelligent, so cultured” (78). Here the writer Norman 3 Shows even when knowing August for such a short period of time Lily was already so amazed by her and her power and strength she demonstrates through her everyday life. August inherited the bee farm from her grandfather and now not only
The Secret Life Of Bees The secret life of bees was written by author Sue Monk Kidd and was set in South Carolina 1964. Kidd creatively uses bee insects as an unhuman like object to express and symbolize the certain aspects and ways of life throughout the novel. Specifically, in this novel the bees act as models of human society. Sue Monk Kidd presents themes and ideas through the eyes of the character Lily, who is 14 years old in the novel. These ideas are related to having a sense of belonging
Kaitlyn Baker The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd The biggest pull factor that brought me to reading ‘The Secret Life of Bees,’ is the fact that it is set in a time when racial separation was very much still alive in America. So when I began my journey on reading the novel, it was quickly clear that I was going to thoroughly enjoy it. The story follows a young white girl, Lily, whose life revolves around unravelling the faded memory of her killing her mother, and her new life with her abusive