The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

In the book The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, August and Rosaleen are extremely different in their upbringing and the way it affects them. Due to the knowledge she gained growing up, August is “so intelligent, so cultured” (78), while Rosaleen’s limited education makes it so she could “get some manners” (75). August has a lot more academic knowledge and understanding of what to do in social situations than Rosaleen due to her education and upbringing. Rosaleen came from a poorer family and didn’t have as an extensive education as August did. Another way that Rosaleen and August are different is that August is “the woman who makes the Black Madonna Honey” (68) while Rosaleen “worked as one of [T. Ray’s] pickers” (2).

Bee’s Essay Lily relates to the bees in many ways throughout the book, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. She relates to the bees because she deals with separation, threats, and insecurities. First, if the queen dies the colony dies and eventually the colony falls apart. When Lily’s mother was packing her bags to leave T-Ray, he saw her and they got into a violent fight.

“Oftentimes. when people are miserable, they will want to make other people miserable, too. But it never helps.” (Snicket). When someone is struggling or feeling distress, that person will most likely make another person feel the same way.

Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak. ”-Thomas Carlyle. In the novel Secret Life of Bees, Lily is a harmless, kind hearted girl who has experienced much in the short life she has lived. The last time Lily has felt kindness, gentleness, and love was when her mother was alive. “People who think dying is the worst thing don’t know a thing about life (2).”

The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, a motherless fourteen year old white girl raised by a cruel father, T. Ray, who is a peach farmer. At the center of Lily’s fourteen year old life, there is a horrible memory

Racism is a horrible thing, People get called names, get excluded from activities, and get treated like they are dirt just because of the color of their skin. In the book The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd there endless accounts of senselessness and absurdity of racism to the black community. These accounts happen in the Beginning (Ch. 1-4), Middle (Ch. 5-9), and End (Ch. 10-14) of the book. So basically the whole book is full of racism. Below will show how white people will judge a book by its cover, and not take the time to read it like Lily.

The Secret Life of Bees, written by Sue Kidd, follows Lily Owens as she faces life’s continuous ups and downs. Lily’s troubled life at home plays a significant role in how she develops throughout the story. After Lily unintentionally kills her mother when she is young, her father T-Ray becomes both physically and emotionally abusive towards her. Since her mother’s death, she was mainly cared for by her maid, Rosaleen. Despite Lily's decision to run away from her father with Rosaleen and to leave behind the only family she had ever known, she learns what family really means when she meets the three sisters.

Bees are a mysterious species who have an incredible life that we know nothing about; in connection we live crazy, mysterious, lives with ups and downs; goods and bads. The secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd is an extraordinary story about a teenager Lily Owens, her abusive father, her mother, and numerous friends. Lily lost her mother at a young age, so she runs away; she ends up living with a loving family of women and finds mothers within them. She learns about friendships, overcoming, forgiveness, and love. In The secret Life of Bees the author shows theme through conflict and symbolism.

The Secret Life of Bees begins with fourteen-year-old Lily Owens who is reflecting back on the summer and all of the growth and change that she made as time progressed. The novel starts of by introducing her home which is a peach farm in the town of Sylvan, South Carolina where she lives with her abusive and ignorant father T. Ray Owens. Lily lost her mother when she was four years old, and every since she has not felt right in the world as though something has been taken away from her life. Thus, she always has flashbacks of her mother Deborah Fontanel Owens. The last memory she carries of her mother was the day she passed away.

Before 1964, discrimination is huge regarding ethnicity and gender. Throughout the history, relationship between individuals have changed. Since the abolishment of slavery in 1865, segregation has occurred in the American society and affect many spheres and groups. Colored groups face many discrimination and unfairness in the community even after slavery was abolished and African Americans are considered U.S. citizens; like the whites. The lack understanding was a large factor that created the giant gap between the whites and the blacks.

Her wicked father has told her that she had murdered her mother, even though she was four years old. The battle of skin color outside symbolizes the conflict within herself. The loss of her mother deeply affected her both mentally and emotionally. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, its states, “Time folded in on itself then. What is left lies in clear yet disjointed pieces in my head.

Almost every child has thought about running away from home at least once in their life, if not more. Although this usually is an empty threat, for Lily Owens, the protagonist in The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, it was a milestone. The summer of 1964 marked the year she finally realized there was nothing holding her back from escaping her abusive father. As she leaves home for her journey, she takes her African American, motherlike housekeeper with her, who was in jail for insulting some racists. Together, they find their way to three beekeeping sisters, one of which helps Lily to finally understand what happened to her late mother.

Bees can regulate the temperature of their hive by collectively fanning the air around it. They are capable creatures that are frequently put aside as less than the hexagon-crafting, hive-conditioning team coordinators that they are. The Secret Life of Bees depicts female protagonists that are underestimated in a similar way, their diverse skills being reduced to the era’s stereotypes for women and Afro-Americans. As a result, a lot of internal and external conflicts occur within the story. The story encircles Lily, who accidentally murdered her mother at the age of three.

Kidd uses the characterization of Lily, T. Ray, May, and Deborah to demonstrate the theme that people’s lives are more complex than they appear. By using these characters, Kidd demonstrates how judgements are made about people based on their actions. People don’t always think about how a person really feels on the inside and they do not know about everything that goes on in their head. This is a theme that is significant to the world at any time period because everyone can relate to it. Therefore, the theme of this story is significant in people’s lives

Mental Illness affects an immense amount of individuals no matter their race, culture or age. It is everywhere we go, yet still an issue some choose to ignore; whether it is the person facing the illness or those around them. People handle their sickness in a variety of ways. Some by using violence as their only answer, others run away from their issue and majority choose to accept and make the best of it. After reading the novel The Secret Life of Bees, it would be easy to think that the main theme is discrimination or family, but in reality it is actually focused on the toll that mental illness takes on a family.