The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

Many quotes from the Secret Life of Bees express the views of different characters on racism. ” She was black as could be, twisted like driftwood from being out in the weather, her face a map of all the storms and journeys she’d been through. Her right arm was raised as if she was pointing the way, except her fingers were closed in a fist. It gave her a serious look, like she could straighten you out if necessary.” In this quote, Lily describes the Black Virgin Mary, the lord of the Sisters of Mary, and later learns the significance of this statue, which is to look within yourself to find your true, hidden self. When Lily has her earlier conversations with Zach, she has a slight edge of racism in her voice. When Zach tells Lily that he want to be a lawyer, she says: “I’ve just never heard of a Negro lawyer, that’s all. You’ve got to hear of these things before you can imagine them.” However, despite this fact, she supports Zach’s

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.

In society today there are still forms of segregation prevalent to the eye. Whether it’s in workplaces, schools, etc. it is still seen today. Of course, sometimes no one means to self- segregate himself or herself, sometimes it may even be subconscious. It is not intended to be mean spirited or subjective to anyone, it simply just happens. Even though people may not realize it within themselves, people still hold on to racist beliefs.

Lily’s first meeting with the black Mary occurs when she meets the Boatwright sisters: August, June, and May. At that moment Lily feels the nurturing of a mother and a deluge of emotions rain down on her. She could feel all sides of her, favorable and detrimental because “that’s what the black Mary did to me, made me feel my glory and my shame at the same time,” (Kidd 71). Lily, for being barely an adolescent, at first is not capable of grasping the concept of people being both angelic and corrupt. At the beginning of the story she sees T. Ray as the human embodiment of evil. Counter to her initial beliefs, Lily learns that people are not as simple as she wants them to be. This is largely the result of the mothering force of August, which is a more physical representation of what the black Mary embodies. The black Mary illustrates Lily starting to see the world from a multidimensional perspective. In the same manner as the black Mary representing a mother for Lily, she represents a mother-like figure to all the Daughters of Mary. While the other Daughters may not have been missing mothers, the black Mary creates a family-like binding between them, keeping them together throughout even them most poignant times. The black Mary is a mother to all and all Lily wants in the Boatwright house is to be seen as one of them. Ultimately, “they didn’t even think of me being different,” (Kidd 209). This acceptance

When a parent dies, any child will cling to the other parent for emotional support and comfort for dealing with such a loss. In Lily’s case, she wanted her fathers support more than anything but he was cold, abusive, and stuck in the past, that he wasn’t able to give her anything except for take his anger out on her, when she disobeyed him. Although if someone does not get that support from the other parent, and if someone else is there that is understanding and kind, its amazing to see how much you can start to really rely on them and grow a close relationship. When Lily deals with the loss of her mother and the poor treatment of her father, she doesn’t know what to do with herself, she has a load of all different kind of emotions, and it really harms her well-being. Lily deals with guilt because she has visuals that she was the one that killed her mother, and on top of that she has her father telling her that her mother left her and she just abandoned her, making Lily feel unimportant and then at the same time guilt. Rosaleen is the closest role model that Lily has for a mother, Rosaleen cares and sticks up for Lily but Lily doesn’t really have the mother-daughter connection with her. Although Rosaleen provides comfort for Lily, she helps her with her father and in return Lily defends Rosaleen as well as save her life from the hospital after she got beaten.

However, the most intriguing religious metaphor has to center around the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna has different meanings for different people. Lily sees it as the link to finding her mother or information about her mother. On the other hand, for Rosaleen and the other women, it gives them the will and the strength to keep going on, even when life brings them down. At the same time it is symbolic to Lily and Rosaleen in the same importance because the Black Madonna is

This part of the monomyth is represented by the archetype of the fairy godmother or the guardian angel. Mary is a perpetual messenger of god, a virtuous woman who represents the very ideals of power, struggle, despair, perseverance, and courage. Mary is considered a religious figure, a woman who sacrificed everything to god. Lily sees the picture of the Black Mary as a sign from heaven that she needs to go to Tiburon, where she will find what she is looking for. Lily puts her trust in god, as the virgin Mary aids her on her quest of self-fulfillment The Mary picture gives her the courage to go to Tiburon in search of her mothers past.

Throughout the passage Sue Monk Kidd forges many instances of symbolism to convey the real meaning of the passage. An example of this is when Lily digs up the tin box, “The tin box was buried in the soft dirt beneath the tree, shallow enough that i could gid it up with my hands”(18-19). The tin box in this case in the story refers to her mom's coffin that she digs up. Another key example of symbolism is the boots in the hallway, “ I didn't see his boots, how he’d parked them in the middle of the hallway” (8-9). The boots in this scenario symbolize T. Ray and how he is figuratively the only thing stopping Lily from her plan. The author implements symbolism to add depth to the meaning of the passage to engage the readers into the

Additionally, later on in the chapter the Daughters of Mary come over and held a Feast Day where they celebrated Mary Day. Lunelle who is part of the Daughter of Mary, even offers to make Lily a hat which adds to the excitement of the day and shows that Lily is starting to fit in with their celebrations.

Lily Owens, is a white 14 year old girl living in the south during the 60’s. She is the main character in “The Secret Life Of Bees”, Lily has grown up without a mother, Her perspectives on things are a lot different because of this. Lily is a very complex, and difficult character to understand.

Secret Life of Bees Essay Growing up changes you in more ways than you realize. It can be a good change like new privileges. It could be bad things like more responsibility. In the book The Secret Life of Bees all changes are experienced.

play in Lily’s life because every time she sees the black Mary it is a symbol for strength and gives

     From Mary's tragic life, we can draw some eerily similar parallels between her life and the novel. One of the most obvious links that can be made is the connection

In the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, a girl named Lily Owens meets The Calendar Sisters and The Daughters of Mary, who each portray as a motherly figure that all have a significance in her process of growing up. Lily started out as a person who was not very religious, but when she met August and her church it changed her views on life. She began looking to their Lady of Chains for guidance. On page 114 the text states, “When the dance ended the Daughters stood panting in a half circle before Our Lady of Chains and what they did took my breath away. One at a time they went and touched the statue’s fading red heart.”

Secret Life of Bees is a historical fiction novel by Sue Monk Kidd. The novel focuses on, and is narrated by Lily Owens, a white fourteen year old girl. Lily changes throughout the beginning, middle, and end of the book. Three problems Lily faces in the book is racism, her relationship with her mother, and her relationship with her father.