Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd: Themes

The novel, The Secret Life of Bees, is set in the 1960s, a period full of historical movements and beautiful literature. The civil rights movement is a great example of one of the major things that influenced this novel. The novel is also filled with many themes and symbols that give deeper meaning to the story. Sue Monk Kidd eloquently weaves different themes of loss, equality, and love throughout the story. In the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd uses themes of loss, equality, and love, to argue that all people deserve their best chance.

One of the very first themes of the novel is loss. Lily’s mother died when Lily was very young, and this became a very important moment for Lily. Lily only remembers the fuzzy details of what happened when her mother died, and it is this fuzziness that makes her determined to run away and find out what really happened on the day. The

In the 1960s, the civil rights movement had really begun to build up steam. There were more and more people finally realizing that what was happening in the country was not fair. This is shown in the novel as well, early on we establish that Lily has grown up in an environment where racism was normal and expected. Lily seemed very shocked when Rosaleen, her black caretaker, said she wanted to go register to vote. This leads the two of them into a situation in which Rosaleen gets harassed by, as the book calls them,”... the meanest nigger-haters in Sylvan.” Rosaleen responds by pouring out her snuff-juice on their shoes, which leads them to jump her and then she gets arrested. Back at the police station, Lily is scared for Rosaleen so she decides to break them out of prison and run away. This is the first instance in which Lily realizes that not everyone is treated equally, and that it isn’t fair. This shows Lily that everyone deserves their best chance, no matter what they look