Lily Owens, a girl struggling to find the truth and most of all, love. On her way she is face with many trials, which she’ll have to overcome. Not only that but she’ll have to face the reality of life. This is the story of, “The Secret Life of Bees,” it’ll illustrate the different aspects of “finding yourself,” the human identity and reveals how people struggles with the mistakes they make and the pain that’ll come afterward. Sue Monk Kidd, the author illustrates the major theme of accepting the
they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” In the novel “The Secret Life Of Bees” by Harper Lee portrays symbolism and character development. Like Nelson Mandela saw everyone as equal no matter what they look like or what they did. Unlike Nelson Mandela, Lily’s perspective is not like his, but Lily quickly changes when she learns life lessons from the people surrounding her and the bees. The bees, their beehive, and religion in the novel symbolize
A poignant and touching classic, The Secret Life of Bees details the coming of age stories of a young girl named Lily. Her life up until the start of the novel was hard, she was friendless with an abusive father and a heavy conscience, as she believes that she is responsible for her mother’s death. Lily’s only solace is her stand-in-mother, a black woman named Rosaleen, so when Rosaleen is hauled to jail for standing up for herself, Lily decided to run away to a mysterious town that has some linkage
Written by Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees is about a fourteen-year-old white girl, Lily, who lives with her father after accidentally shooting her mother when she was only four years old. She is nurtured by her nanny and housekeeper, an African American named Rosaleen. Lily lives with the guilt of killing her mother. After times in Sylvan, South Carolina get tough, having to deal with Lily’s evil father and the horrible racism, Lily and Rosaleen decide to pack their belongings and leave.
Raihaneh Pejoohesh Mr. Lord ENG2D7-02 July 28th / 2015 Racism and Prejudice in The Secret Life of Bees’ novel Racism dates back thousands and thousands years back to the caveman times. In The Secret Life of Bees’ novel by Sue M. Kidd, the author shows how discrimination by skin colour can affect people. She sets racism as one of the most significant and major themes in the novel and she expresses this through creating three realistic characters who are Lily, Rosaleen and Zachary. These characters
Tragedy and happy endings with a touch of romance sprinkled on top. That is a great drama. Dramas are similar to cooking meat in that they have to really be flavored up and cooked just right. This movie, The Secret Life of Bees, was cooked to perfection. The best part is that it's not purely based on the romance between two people, although there are many different hints of love throughout the movie. It's got the drama, the tragedy, the romance, and the clichés. What more could one need? Lily takes
There are two special populations portrayed in The Secret Life of Bees: African Americans and women. August, June, and May Boatwright along with Rosaleen are all African-American women. Other main characters such as Lily Owens and Zach Taylor fit into one special population but not both. As this film is set in South Carolina during 1964 with a largely African-American cast, racism is certain to be a central theme. The Secret Life of Bees renders the idea of racism as illogical. Each of the Boatwright
good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” Forgiveness is a necessary attribute that everyone must acquire as they grow and mature. Lily Owens, the protagonist in The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, exemplifies the need to forgive in order to find inner peace. Lily suffers many hardships and difficulties as she ages due to the faults and flaws of the people who surround her. Throughout the novel, Lily must learn how
From Broken to Healing June felt as if the world was against her causing her to fall into a deep misery. The Secret Life of Bees takes place in the quaint, little town of Tiburon, South Carolina. Sue Monk Kidd creatively describes June as a hurting young woman, using her pain to exclude herself from the world dying to know her. As June learns to forgive and gain a new trust in others, she also learns to overcome her judgment. After learning to trust and accept, she learns also to love others for
The Secret Life of Bee's was not the best book. Throughout the book there were a few holes in the story and a lot of coincidences. With all of the coincidences in the story it was hard to imagine these events occurring in real life. The Secret Life of Bee's was filled with a lot of coincidence and some parts of the book did not seem believable. One reason for the stories lack of believability was because it consisted of a lot of coincidences. For example, Lily just happened to walk into the right
In “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd we see a young troubled Lily Owens who longs for answers about her mother and that maternal love which she never received. Lily blossoms from a fragile hurt little girl into and strong and independent young woman with the help of the Boatwright sisters. The major themes shown throughout the book are a longing for maternal love and the power and strength of female community. Throughout the story Lily has a void in her life which she so desperately needs
The Secret Life of Bees begins with fourteen-year-old Lily Owens thinking back on the eventful summer she had. Lily lives on a peach farm in Sylvan, South Carolina with her abusive father T. Ray Owens. Lily has memories of the death of her mother Deborah Fontanel Owens, who died ten years ago. She remembers her mother packing and arguing with her father. Then her memory is blurred, she remembers picking up a gun, and then an explosion. According to T. Ray, who she doesn’t refer to a dad, the gun
Rights Act was just passed, many white citizens were angered by the passing of act and as a result continued to treat African Americans in an inhumane manner as illustrated in the novel. SLIDEThe texts that I have selected are the 2003 novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and the 2008 film adaptation directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Sue Monk Kidd grew up in the segregated South; and is influenced by her father’s stories about African American maids who worked in their childhood home. As
Do you ever feel like you are holding someone back if they always have to worry about you? You may feel ashamed or you may not care if they worry for you. In the story, The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd indicates that the character, May, feels like she is holding everyone back. April’s death is a blow to May who starts acting like an immature child. The rest of her sisters, August and June, lived with May in the pink house due to their worry of her sensitivity and empathy towards others in pain
In life, having someone to care and look after you is necessary. In many ways, a mother gives the love and care needed to help a child grow. In Sue Monk Kidd's, The Secret Life of Bees, Lily Owens, the main character, does not have a mother to look after her. However, it is the minor characters that play the mother figures in her life due to her mother's passing. May and Rosaleen are mother figures towards Lily. Throughout the story, Lily realizes that although she may not have her mom with her
In The Secret Life of Bees, author Sue Monk Kidd, portrays the transformation of Lily Owens from a child burdened with the guilt of her mother's death to a strong and confident young woman, as a result of living with May, Rosaleen, and August. Lily, burdened with the guilt of her mother's death becomes terrified of her father, T. Ray. August and May guide Lily’s growth to a life of faith and devotion while Rosaleen remains as Lily’s constant companion. As Lily finds her true identity she transforms
Leala Solomon Ms. Bohan Advanced World Literature 30 March 2015 Motherhood, Racism, and Bees in The Secret Life of Bees “Someone who thinks death is the scariest thing doesn't know a thing about life,” says Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees. This quote reveals that Lily, the main character in this novel, gains real wisdom. Later, Lily also gains a clear vision about the most important entities in life. Lily, with her new found wisdom, is ready to experience the real world, flaws and all. She does
The Secret Life of Bees presents a captivating story that dives into race, religion, and family ties in the southern United States circa 1950. Characters from all backgrounds, races, and religions become intertwined throughout the duration of the text, while learning importance lessons about acceptance and love. Despite the diversity amongst the many characters, the specific recurring image of the “Black Mary” creates and holds the bonds between Tiburon’s men and women, and provides a symbol of hope
Analysis Sue Monk Kidd’s first novel The Secret Life of Bees was a literary success. Although, Sue didn’t just get successful on luck all of the sudden. In the Secret Life of Bees, Sue brought together many elements in order to complete her novel. Some elements include Sue's input of Southern Style Language, the aspects of the main character Lily's voice, and the inclusion of imagery. One crucial element contributed is Sue's style of writing. In the Secret Life of Bees Sue not only sets the novel in
read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and covered many topics related to the books. Both Lily’s father and Juliet’s father play a large roles in their daughter’s development into a women, causing them to make drastic choices due to their control and ignorance. As Lily and Juliet grow their fathers try to give advice, later ending up controlling their lives. Juliet’s father tried to show his love, soon controlling her decisions in her love life. Lily’s