Secret Life of Bees

Sherman 1
Keil Sherman
English 102.08
April 15, 2015
Dr. Witherspoon
Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidds novel the Secret Life of Bees is about a young Caucasian girl named
Lily Owens. Lily who lives during the 1960s with her father T Ray and an African American
nanny named Rosaleen. The story begins in Sylvan, South Carolina and ends in Tiburon, South
Carolina due to a relationship drawback between Lily and T Ray. The bond between Lily and T
Ray is an abusive connection. T Ray was the type of father who brutally penalizes his child for
silly mistakes. Lily runs away from her violent father and Rosaleen also leaves to get away from
bigotry. After miles of running, they ended up at the Boatwright sisters house in Tiburon, the
same place Lilys mother had run away to years before. The Boatwright sisters are four African
American women who take care of bees. August is the key sister in the book who shows some
approval for Lily. When Lily and Rosalen first arrived at the Boatwright sisters house Lily
makes up a fib and tells the Boatwright sisters about her father dying in an accident so that she
and Rosaleen would be taken in by them. The fib leads to drama, which puts Lily on the sisters
bad side. Discrimination, man vs. self-conflicts, and key elements that make Lily feel
exhilaration between the movie and novel. Different scenes in between the two are main points
and will be mentioned in the publication. The series is motivational and narrated in Lilys point
of view; because of all of the hardship she has been through she still managed to find herself at
the end.
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Racism plays a major role in "The Secret Life of Bees." There are many scenes in the
series where Lily, Rosaleen, Zach Taylor, and the Boatwright sisters all dealt with or had some
kind of experience with racism. A paradigm of intolerance transpired after Lily met a boy named
Zach Taylor. In the novel Zach is trying to raise money for transportation and a college
education to become a lawyer. Zach was categorized when Lily thought he wanted to go to
school to be an athlete. This is also another manner of bigotry being shown. In the movie Zach
took Lily to the movies, the colored people movie theatre that is. That's where he went wrong!
The police came in searching and found him sitting with Lily. Physically removing him from the
theatre, he was thrown into their vehicle. He went missing but soon was brought to the
Boatwright sister's house. Zach told Lily that there are people that would kill him for even
looking at her or girls like her. Then, is where they agreed to be together later in life.
The day after the Civil Rights Act was signed, Rosaleen, the nanny goes through
discrimination. Another example of racism occurred after Lily met a boy named Zach Taylor.
While with Lily, Rosaleen attempts to register to vote. On the way to vote, three Caucasian men
insult Rosaleen. In reaction Rosaleen then pours tobacco juice on the men shoes. Infuriated, the
men call the police and sends and Lily to jail, the men pursued to follow them. As they get to
the jailhouse the men ask for an apology from Rosaleen. When she rubbishes, she is then socked
with a flashlight by one of the men. Yo black ass gone apologize one way or the other, the
man yelled after the blow. Words could never hurt Rosaleen any worse. . In the South
segregation was taken to another level. White individuals were killing blacks through crisis
situations such as lynching and hangings.
Lily goes through a divergence within herself, man vs. Self. Lily has low self-esteem
because sometimes she feels like she is not pretty. The man vs. self-conflict took a right turn
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when she met an African American male named Zach Taylor. Zach is a high school student trying
to earn money for a car and also to pay for college. Zach is trying to be the first African
American kick ass attorney. He works at the Boatwright house as beekeeper. Lily starts to have
opinions for Zach as they philandered. In the novel Zach and Lily shared a kiss. Lily, I like you
better than any girl Ive ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill
boys like me for even looking at girls like you. At the moment it was implied that they could
not be together at the time, so they both agreed to be together later in life. The kiss they shared
unwrapped Lilys social life because her father made her life dysfunctional and unloving.
Also in the reading T Ray tells Lily that her mother Deborah left her. The truth is your
mother ran off and left you. When Deborah left T Ray and Lily when she was younger she
made her way to the Boatwright sisters house. While at the Boatwrights house Lily finds out
that August was her mothers nanny. As they continue to talk Lily clarifies to her the actual
motive for her forthcoming to the Boatwright house. August then tells Lily she already knew the
reason. As they continue to discourse Lily discovers more about her mother. Lily soon finds
contentment within herself when she finds security of a mother. A mother is a part of the
hollowness Lily was seeking.
Throughout the sequence, the Secret Life of Bees, Lily goes through several
circumstances that help her find her self and the comfort of a mother. While at the Boatwrights
house Lily finds out she has some racism built within her but from being around all the love and
affection in the Boatwright family: Lily began to see differently. Lily stops letting words affect
her. T. Ray shows up at the Boatright house, having traced Lily's call from the lawyer's office.
He and Lily have a terrible argument; T Ray tells Lily that she killed her mother. It was you
who did it, Lily. You didnt mean it, but it was you. Due to the new place she was at, her
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fathers words had no longer had an effect on her as they did before. T. Ray hits and kicks her.
But Lily is able to call him "Daddy" and get him to realize she is not her mother. His pride was
wounded when Deborah left, and he has taken his anger out on Lily ever since. August convinces
him to let Lily stay with her and, as he leaves, Lily asks him if she truly did kill her mother. He
replies, "Yes," but that she didn't mean to, an extraordinary admission.
That fall, Lily goes to school with Zach at the White High School and she learns to love
herself living with this community of strong, independent African American women. Through
these experiences, Lily has learned to trust her own instincts and matures into a young lady who
believes in herself.
Work Cited
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Viking, 2002. Print.

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