The Seret Life Of Bees Literary 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

The equality between the blacks and whites was a slow progression in American history. The majority of white people were prejudice against black people causing many disputes. In the novel Secret Life of Bees written by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily Owens, who was a young white girl who was able to overcome the social constraints against black people, like the Boatwright sisters. Firstly, even though Lily is a different race than the sisters, they allow her to stay in their home and care for her. Secondly, Lily felt more comfortable with the Boatwright sisters than her father. Thirdly, Lily and the sisters develop a mutual respect for each other. As a result, the relationship between Lily and the Boatwright sisters shows that the colour of skin does

“I'm tired of carrying around the weight of the world. I'm just going to lay it down now. It's my time to die, and it's your time to live. Don't mess it up” (210). Feminist theory is an extension of feminism in which literary pieces are examined to understand the nature of gender inequality and social norms. Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees examined through a feminist lens demonstrates the patriarchy found in Owens household, shows the advantages of all female community, distinguish that mothers play a major factor in any young female’s life, and the variety of roles women take on in the community.

In this world, there will always be that one phase in life when a human face what the major of our society called as growing up. During that phase, the human will have to face a lot of element. Sue Monk Kidd’s “Secret Life of Bees” narrates a story of a girl named Lily who develops herself through others during her journey to find the truth about her mother.

If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.

Every family has parents and maybe some siblings too, it is what makes the family a family. Some kids are adopted and some are not and some like Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees got to choose her family. In the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, the theme that appears a lot is how much family means, even if it is chosen.

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

The five aspects of the quest are the quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials on the way, and the real reason to go there. When I read The Secret Life Of the Bees the quester was Lily, she was looking to go to Tiburon to find out more information about her mother and the past. On her journey she runs away from her father, falls in love, and becomes a part of a family. The real reason behind her journey is to get away from her father and feel connected with a family.

People make decisions everyday from simple things like whether or not to eat breakfast or larger decisions like whether or not to take the new promotion at work. These decisions are usually dawned upon us suddenly and we look to others to help decipher which decision is the ideal decision. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily Melissa Owens is actuated by a variety of characters to make both ambiguous and venerable judgments throughout the novel. She did not do this on her own for she had people in her life communicating with her to finalize the verdicts on her decisions. Some of the persuaders were T. Ray, May, June, August, Zach, the Daughters of Mary, and even her mother, Deborah Fontanel Owens. Saying that, they all

Quest is a method where a literary work is broken down into five simple components. The five aspect of Quest consists of a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go, challenges and trials, and a real place to go. This method can be applied to a novel by John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath because many examples are peppered throughout the story.

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 mother. In the novel, the reader learns that Lily was only a young child during the death of her mother and her emotionally abusive father, T. Ray, often tells her that this death was all her fault. T. Ray implements the idea that Lily was the one to who had accidentally shot her mother with a gun which causes her to grow up living with the guilt and shame of this traumatic event that took a very valuable life from her. As the plot intensifies, Lily and her strong-willed black caretaker, Rosaleen, decide to escape T. Rays sadistic tendencies and abusive behavior. After deciding to run away from T. Ray, Lily soon finds the Boatwright sisters who had a strong connection with Lily's mother before she died. While meeting the Boatwright sisters, Lily says, "I felt like she knew what a lying, murdering, hating person I really was. How I hated T. Ray, and the girls at school, but mostly myself for taking away my mother" (Kidd 71). This quote shows the destructive effect of being blamed

“Look at me. I dive into one absurd thing after another, and here I am in the pink house.” (431). These are the words of Lily Owens in the novel The Secret Life of Bees which was written by Sue Monk Kidd. The story is about a fourteen-year-old girl named Lily who lives on a peach farm in South Carolina with her abusive father, T.Ray. Throughout the novel, Lily had shaped her life around her mother’s death. Searching for answers about her mother, Lily, and her mother-like figure Rosaleen escaped to Tiburon, South Carolina to find the Boatwright sisters. During this journey, Lily and Rosaleen develop deep relationships with the sisters. Staying with the sisters, Lily finds her answers about her mother. Whilst in search for knowledge about her mother, Lily unexpectedly finds a new place she can really

The idea of having a secret life is enough to intrigue almost anyone.  With a title like The Secret Life of Bees, the reader cannot help but wonder what the secret is, and how it plays into the story.  As children, we all read books that talked about an escape to a mystical place that allowed the characters to escape from reality for a while.  In many cases, the reader viewed this as an escape they also desired, but most times could not fully relate to the character’s experiences.  Nonetheless, the setting of the story was intriguing.  Sue Monk Kidd uses setting to influence her characters by setting The Secret Life of Bees in the south, having it take place in the 1960’s, and by creating characters that depend on the setting for their happiness.

Sean Connery stated: “Some age, others mature”. In Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, literary devices such as indirect characterization, symbolism and allusions are displayed. Throught Kidd’s novel, these literary devices help to present to the reader that Lily has undergone changes, developing her into a more mature character over the course of the novel.

The Civil Right Act occurred in 1960 which allowed African-Americans more rights. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees many characters challenges and uncover the meaning of accepting taboo ideas. Set in 1964, 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.