The Secret Life Of Bees Chapter Summary

289 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mother figures in secret life of bees

At the beginning of each chapter, there is an epigraph. The epigraph connects to an event or theme that happens during that chapter. For example, before chapter 6, it says, “The queen must produce some substance that attracts the workers” (102). In this chapter, the queen is referencing the statue Mary, who holds the black community together through her strength and protection. After the statue was placed in the praise house, each person would go up to her, touch her heart, and feel strong. As a result, many of the bold slaves fled, and others received support from her. Because of Mary offering this bravery and strength, the slaves would praise her each day, staying close to her. Before chapter 7, the epigraph is “How did bees ever become equated with sex? …show more content…

A hive suggests cloister more than bordello” (115). It is indicating both Lily and Zach’s relationship, along with June and Neil’s, and how each are slightly different. Bees should not be equated with sex, but in reality, they are anyways. This is akin to Lily and Zach’s relationship. Ever since Lily met Zach, she has been attracted to him. In addition, Zach also likes Lily. However, since Lily is white and Zach is black, they know that their relationship is not common and therefore not respected in society. Neil’s and June’s relationship is also present in the chapter. They have been dating for years, but June vows to never get married. Similarly, their expectation is different from the reality. The epigraphs that are before each chapter in the book relates to events in that chapter. It gives the reader a brief overview of an important idea later

Show More
Related

  • Specific Roles of Characters Depicted in Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her novel, she derives many of her characters from the types of bees that exist in a hive. Lily and Zach have characteristics that are akin to that of field bees, August has that nurturing personality of a nurse bee, and the Lady of Chains is revered by her subjects just like a Queen bee is by her hive. Nowadays, no one ever faces a problem that someone, or something, has already faced. No one really has a secret life to themselves.

    Read More

  • Lily's Discovery Of A Mother Figure In The Secret Life Of Bees

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    August Boatwright is a reliable friend, a caring woman, and a positive influence to Lily. “August lives up to her name as the ‘Mistress of Bees’ and the ‘portrayal into [Lily’s] mother’s life’ in the first moments she welcomes Lily and Rosaleen into her home and offers them refuge in the honey house.” (Herbert, 20). August becomes a mother to Lily by giving her a place to stay and someone to lean on. August recognizes that Lily is missing something from her life, but she waits for Lily to confess the truth to her. “There is a hole in Lily’s heart from not having parental love, especially mother love, but August teaches her that if one’s earthly mother is not dependable, there is always a heavenly mother.” (Themes, 237). August creates her own religion for her self and her friends based around a statue of black Mary that has been in the Boatwright’s’ family for years. The group of African American women call themselves The Daughters of Mary. This group of women also plays a role in Lily’s search for comfort in a mother figure. “August becomes not only a mother, but a sort of spiritual teacher for Lily. She tells Lily about the secret life of bees, which includes the secrets of human life as well.” (Themes, 237). August teaches Lily lessons about patience, love, and forgiveness. She teaches her how to forgive, not only others, but herself as well. August says, “Every little thing wants to be loved.” (Kidd, 92). Lily learns

    Read More

  • The Secret Life Of Bees Rhetorical Analysis

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    In life, actions and events that occur can sometimes have a greater meaning than originally thought. This is especially apparent in The Secret Life Of Bees, as Sue Monk Kidd symbolically uses objects like bees, hives, honey, and other beekeeping means to present new ideas about gender roles and social/community structures. This is done in Lily’s training to become a beekeeper, through August explaining how the hive operates with a queen, and through the experience Lily endures when the bees congregate around her.

    Read More

  • The Secret Life Of Bees Home Essay

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    This “home” that she finds brightly displays the ideas of identity and feminine society. Though Lily could not find these attributes with T. Ray at the peach house, she eventually learns the truth behind her identity at the pink house, where she discovers the locus of identity that resides within herself and among the feminine community there. Just like in any coming-of-age story, Lily uncovers the true meaning of womanhood and her true self, allowing her to blossom among the feminine influence that surrounds her at the pink house. Lily finds acceptance among the Daughters of Mary, highlighting the larger meaning of acceptance and identity in the novel. The meaning behind Sonsyrea Tate’s statement can be found deeply rooted within Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees.

    Read More

  • Quotes From The Secret Life Of Bees

    312 Words  | 1 Pages

    I really was impacted by T. Ray’s quote during the height of the tension about Lily’s past mistakes, “ ‘It was you who did it, Lily. You didn’t mean it, but it was you’ ” (Kidd 299). This moment was one of my favorites because it showed the growth the lead character had made toward not only forgiving her mother, but forgiving herself. When Lily chases after her father to finally get the raw truth about the fateful day her mom died, it reveals that she is finally ready to come to terms with her past, no matter what really happened. At the beginning of the book, she can’t accept her mother’s death, her disappearance, and her lack of love from her parents. Coincidentally, she grasps at any excuse to punish herself because she is unsure of who she is.

    Read More

  • Emotion and Culture in Secret Life of Bees

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    Heart break, joy, love, happiness, The Book The Secret Life of Bees has it all! The book is about a young girls that accidentally shot her mother. After spending nine years with her abusive, and emotionally absent father, she decides to run away. So, she breaks her beloved nanny out of prison, and Lily escapes to Tiburon South Carolina, a town she links to her mother through the writing on one of her old possessions. While in Tiburon, Lily finds the calendar sisters three very different, very helpful sisters. The family agrees to take Lilly in, despite the fact that almost every white person in town frowns upon the very idea of this white girl staying in an African American household. While staying with the sisters, August, May, and June, Lily learns lots of things, ranging from bee keeping, to why and how her mother first left her. She falls in love, explores her past, and finds it within herself to forgive her mother for leaving her, and herself, for shooting her mom. This book is rich in both emotion, and culture.

    Read More

  • Beehives In The Secret Life Of Bees

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    Intro: Working around the hives; dedicated and faster with each movement. Honey drizzling in golden crevices; a family unit working together, buzzing in harmony. Bees and beehives is a significant motif in the novel Secret Life of Bees: By Sue Monk Kidd because it represents the community of women in the novel. It also represents Lily Owen’s longing and need for a mother figure in her life. And finally, it was significant because the bees lived a secret life, just as Lily and Rosaleen did in the novel.

    Read More

  • Strength and Racism in 'The Secret Life of Bees'

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Finally, the novel The Secret life of Bees demonstrates the emotional maturity, and growth of the both Lily and Zach, during times of systematic racism. The novel authentically represents Civil Rights Movement’s time, and makes us realize how spiritually sad and dangerous these times were.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Secret Life Of Bees

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout The Secret Life of Bees , there is no shortage of symbolism, coming directly from its namesake, bees. Each connection draws upon the deep and rich meaning behind this wonderful composed text. The bees, however, never are a scapegoat. Similar to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird character Atticus, they never allow for shortcuts or disillusion with reality. They force you to see the world as it is, and to accept it, and send love to it, for it is all you can, when you are as insignificant as a

    Read More

  • The Secret Life Of Bees Setting Analysis

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    The setting in the Secret life of bees helps set the overall structure of the book. As the setting changes, and certain events take place, so does the characters views on life. The most change seen is on Lily, the main character. Her values multiply and her perspective on cultural order shifts from one mind set to another. Although one part of the book’s setting limits the opportunities of the characters; the other part opens those and different opportunities. The setting in The Secret Life of Bees is vitally important because it impacts the main character and the people around her through events that transpire in the book.

    Read More

  • Queenlessness In The Secret Life Of Bees

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    A beehive without a queen is a community headed for extinction. Bees cannot function without a queen. They become disoriented and depressed, and they stop making honey. This can lead to the destruction of the hive and death of the bees unless a new queen is brought in to guide them. Then, the bees will cooperate and once again be a prosperous community. Lily Melissa Owens, the protagonist of Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, faces a similar predicament. While she does not live in a physical hive, the world acts as a hive. She must learn to work with its inhabitants, sharing a common direction, in order to reach her full potential. The motif of the beehive is symbolic of how crucial it is to be a part of a community in order to achieve

    Read More

  • Motherly Figures in The Secret Life of Bees

    428 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lily has a lot of mother figures in her life. In ?The Secret Life of Bees? two mother figures that she has are Rosaleen and August. A mother cares for her young and guides them trough life. She comforts and soothes them when they need it. Lily?s Mothers are Rosaleen and August. Both act as mothers for Lily in different ways.

    Read More

  • Coming Of Age Quotes In The Secret Life Of Bees

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do you ever wonder how much you have changed in the past year? Not just physically, but in every aspect. Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd matures throughout the novel. Lily Owens matures because of her spiritual development. Also, she matures because of her social consciousness and her relationship with Zach. Sue Monk Kidd portrays the theme “coming of age” as difficult in The Secret Life of Bees.

    Read More

  • The Spiritual Growth of Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    The bees symbolize Lily’s unspoken guides throughout the novel. Kidd’s constant reference to the bees indicate that Lily eventually understands the importance of female power in the bee community, which she connects to her own life. When Lily initially sees the bees in her room, Rosaleen warns her that they can sting her if she tries to catch them, but Lily ignores her and continues to trap them, thus asserting her determination. Later, the bees reveal the message to Lily that she should leave her father. Kidd notes that one bee landed on Lily’s state map that she kept tacked on the wall, foreshadowing Lily and Rosaleen’s journey to Tiburon (10). The bees also symbolize the secret life that Lily lives as she hides her secret of running away from home. The hive represents society while the bees represent all of the humans inside. August tells Lily about the hives and announces, “Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about” (Kidd 148). The beehive cannot sur...

    Read More

  • The Bees Movie Analysis

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    When we are children, we are so excited to grow up, go to school, graduate and get the job. We all are riding the bicycle, however, when we get there we don't want it. It seems like things that look good from far away may not be that compelling and entertaining when we get there. Something similar happens to Barry Benson, who is not so excited by the idea of working for the rest of his life. It was very intriguing when he asks "Are you going to work us to death?" The teacher replied, "We certainly hope so." while everyone around him laugh lightly.

    Read More

More about The Secret Life Of Bees Chapter Summary

Open Document