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The Secret Life of Bees
Sue monk kidd.
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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Secret Life: Introduction
Secret life: plot summary, secret life: detailed summary & analysis, secret life: themes, secret life: quotes, secret life: characters, secret life: symbols, secret life: theme wheel, brief biography of sue monk kidd.
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Historical Context of The Secret Life of Bees
Other books related to the secret life of bees.
- Full Title: The Secret Life of Bees
- Where Written: Georgia, South Carolina
- When Published: November 8, 2001
- Literary Period: Third-wave feminism fiction
- Genre: Coming-of-age story ( Bildungsroman ), historical fiction
- Setting: Sylvan, South Carolina, 1964
- Climax: August Boatwright reveals that she knew Lily’s mother
- Antagonist: T. Ray Owens / racism in America
- Point of View: First person (Lily Owens)
Extra Credit for The Secret Life of Bees
The movie, of course: In 2008, The Secret Life of Bees was adapted for the big screen. The film, which starred Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning, was a modest box-office success, but didn’t get particularly good reviews.
High school classic: If you went to middle school or high school in the last decade, you were probably assigned The Secret Life of Bees for your English class. A recent survey found that Kidd’s novel is one of the ten most commonly taught high school English texts in America, just a notch below To Kill a Mockingbird and 1984 .
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The Secret Life of Bees Summary, Characters and Themes
In the sweltering summer of 1964 in South Carolina, a young girl named Lily Owens embarks on a transformative journey, narrating her story from the wisdom of adulthood.
“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd is a one such story – a narrative of growth and self-discovery set against the backdrop of racial tensions and personal tragedy.
Lily’s life is shadowed by a profound loss she caused at the tender age of four—accidentally killing her mother during a domestic dispute.
This incident left her motherless, with only a haunting memory and a longing for what she lost. Her only solace and maternal figure is Rosaleen, her Black caretaker, whose attempt to register to vote ends in violence and arrest.
Driven by desperation and the clue of a Black Madonna image left by her mother, Lily decides it’s time to flee her abusive father and discover her mother’s past. Together, Lily and Rosaleen venture to Tiburon, South Carolina, a place linked to Lily’s mother through a photograph.
Upon their arrival, they are unexpectedly welcomed by the Boatwright sisters—May, June, and August—who live in an enchanting pink house amidst a thriving bee farm. The sisters are keepers of secrets and makers of honey, living a life that is as sweet as it is complex.
Lily finds herself in a world vastly different from her own, navigating the nuances of race, love, and belonging.
As Lily immerses herself in the art of beekeeping under August’s guidance, she learns more than just how to tend to bees.
She discovers the delicate balance of nature, the strength of sisterhood, and the power of the divine feminine. The bees and their hive become metaphors for life, teaching Lily about community, resilience, and the sweet rewards of hard work.
However, Lily’s journey is not just one of external discovery but also of inward reflection. She grapples with her guilt, her anger towards her father, and her yearning for maternal love.
Through her interactions with the Boatwright sisters and the sacred figure of Our Lady of Chains, Lily begins to understand that the divine mother she seeks is also within herself, offering a path to forgiveness and self-acceptance.
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Lily Owens is the heart of “The Secret Life of Bees,” embarking on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual awakening during the pivotal summer of 1964. At 14, grappling with the trauma of accidentally causing her mother’s death, Lily’s narrative unfolds as a bildungsroman and a hero’s journey intertwined.
Through her quest to uncover her mother’s past and find a place where she belongs, Lily confronts her own inner demons, racial biases, and the longing for maternal love. Her stay at the Boatwright sisters’ house becomes a crucible for growth, where she learns about the divine feminine, the complexities of race, and ultimately finds a deeper understanding of herself.
T. Ray Owens
Portrayed through Lily’s eyes, T. Ray is initially cast as the antagonist of her story. His abusive behavior and emotional distance are manifestations of his own unresolved grief over his wife’s death.
The narrative allows for a gradual unveiling of T. Ray’s complexities, revealing a man struggling with loss and unable to connect with his daughter. By the novel’s end, Lily’s expanded understanding of T. Ray reflects her own journey towards empathy and maturity.
Rosaleen Daise
Rosaleen, Lily’s stand-in mother and fiercely protective caretaker, catalyzes the plot with her determination to assert her civil rights.
Her relationship with Lily undergoes a transformation as they integrate into the Boatwright household, highlighting themes of independence, racial identity, and the bonds that transcend blood. Rosaleen’s growth mirrors Lily’s, as both navigate their identities and relationships in the face of societal and personal challenges.
June Boatwright
June, initially resistant to Lily’s presence, represents the challenges of overcoming prejudice and personal trauma.
Her journey, paralleling Lily’s, is one of opening her heart to love and vulnerability. Through June, the novel explores themes of forgiveness, healing, and the courage to embrace joy despite past hurts.
August Boatwright
August serves as the wise mentor of the novel, embodying the divine feminine and the nurturing spirit of the beekeeping community.
Her patient guidance helps Lily navigate her past and embrace her future, offering lessons in love, loss, and the power of storytelling. August’s role transcends that of a surrogate mother, as she introduces Lily to a broader understanding of family, community, and personal strength.
Zachary Taylor
Zach’s ambitions and relationship with Lily challenge the societal norms of their time, offering a vision of hope and change.
His determination to overcome racial barriers and pursue his dreams inspires Lily, emphasizing the novel’s message of resilience, the power of aspiration, and the importance of supporting one another’s goals and identities.
May Boatwright
May’s character is a poignant embodiment of empathy and the toll of collective grief. Her sensitivity to the pain of the world around her culminates in a tragic conclusion, serving as a stark reminder of the novel’s deeper themes of loss, sacrifice, and the need for communal support in the face of overwhelming sorrow.
1. The Quest for Maternal Love and Identity
Central to Lily Owens’ journey is her deep yearning for maternal love, a quest that propels her story forward and shapes her interactions with the world around her.
This theme is not merely about the absence of a biological mother but also explores the universal search for nurturing, understanding, and acceptance. As Lily navigates her life without her mother, she encounters various forms of maternal love—from Rosaleen’s protective care to the Boatwright sisters’ collective nurturing.
Through these relationships, Lily’s understanding of motherhood expands beyond biological ties to encompass a broader, more inclusive notion of maternal love.
This search also ties into Lily’s quest for identity, as understanding her mother’s past becomes crucial to forging her own sense of self.
2. The Impact of Racism and the Civil Rights Movement
Set against the backdrop of the 1960s South, the book delves into the racial tensions and the civil rights movement’s burgeoning impact on society.
The novel does not shy away from depicting the harsh realities of racism, as seen through Lily’s and Rosaleen’s experiences and the broader societal context they inhabit. However, it also offers a nuanced exploration of race relations, presenting Tiburon and the Boatwright sisters’ home as a microcosm where racial barriers are, to some extent, transcended.
Through this setting, Kidd examines the possibilities for empathy, understanding, and solidarity across racial divides, while also acknowledging the deep scars and ongoing struggles against racism.
3. Spirituality and the Divine Feminine
Another profound theme in the novel is the exploration of spirituality, particularly through the lens of the divine feminine.
The presence of the Black Madonna, represented both in the photograph that guides Lily to Tiburon and in the figure of Our Lady of Chains, serves as a powerful symbol of feminine strength, resilience, and grace.
This theme is intricately linked with the characters’ personal growth and their search for meaning in a tumultuous world.
Through the practices and beliefs surrounding the Black Madonna, the novel celebrates the divine feminine as a source of inspiration , healing, and empowerment, offering a counterpoint to the patriarchal values dominating the characters’ external world.
Final Thoughts
“The Secret Life of Bees” is a beautifully crafted narrative that touches on deep themes of loss, race, family, and healing.
Sue Monk Kidd uses the rich symbolism of beekeeping to explore the complexities of human relationships and the journey towards self-acceptance. The novel is a perfect reminder of the importance of confronting our pasts and the redemptive potential of embracing our shared humanity.
Through Lily’s eyes, we are invited to reflect on our own journeys and the universal quest for belonging and purpose.
Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — The Secret Life of Bees
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Essays on The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees is an important and thought-provoking novel that explores themes of family, race, and female empowerment. Writing an essay about this book can help you delve deeper into its meaning and significance.
The Secret Life of ... Read More The Secret Life of Bees
The secret life of bees.
- 1) The Secret Life of Bees explores the power of female relationships in overcoming adversity.
The Maternal Themes in "The Secret Life of Bees"
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Lily's Journey of Love, Awareness, and Remission in The Secret Life of Bees
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1964 Insights: an Argument Against The Use of a Different Era When Setting The Secret Life of Bees
The monomyth notion in the secret life of bees by kidd, a similarity of characters in two different books, symbolism in "the secret life of bees": unveiling deeper meanings.
November 8th 2001
Sue Monk Kidd
Historical Fiction
Lily Melissa Owens, T. Ray Owens, Deborah Fontanel Owens, Rosaleen Daise, August Boatwright, June Boatwright, May Boatwright, Zachary "Zach" Taylor, Neil, The Daughters of Mary
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The Secret Life of Bees: Analysis of Symbolism
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The Bees and Honey
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The Black Madonna
The pink house, the boatwright sisters, the wall of mary.
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The Secret Life of Bees
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Essay Topics
Zach gifts Lily a notebook for her stories after he learns of her dreams to be a writer someday. What does this practice of writing things down, of telling stories, release in Lily? Why is this activity important for her?
How do Lily’s racist beliefs come to the surface in the pink house? Why is she suddenly able to see some of her own implicit biases more clearly?
Grief is a subject that takes many shapes in this novel. How does witnessing others’ grief help Lily move through her own?
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The Secret Life of Bees
By sue monk kidd, the secret life of bees essay questions.
What are some of the ways that bees serve as symbols in Lily's life?
a) Bees symbolize Lily's mother in a number of instances throughout the novel. In Sylvan, Lily feels her mother's presence when swarms of bees enter her room. Her mother's name, Deborah, literally translates as "bee." She follows the path of her mother to Tiburon and finds herself on a honey farm.
b) Bees model human society. Once Lily begins her beekeeper training with August, she quickly learns the ways in which a beehive models the human world. Lily learns to send the bees love, to act like she knows what she's doing, and to avoid angry outbursts--all reasonably good lessons for life.
c) Bees, like Lily, need a queen or a mother figure in order to function. At the beginning of the novel, Lily uses the memory of her mother as this figure. Lily sometimes depends on Rosaleen to fulfill this role, and once in Tiburon, Lily mainly counts on August. Eventually, she turns to all eight of her Tiburon "mothers" to fulfill this need in her life.
Why does Lily feel the need to carry around mouse bones with her?
Answer: Lily finds the mouse bones under her bed when she is storing her mother's belongings. Therefore, Lily makes some odd connection between the mouse bones and the sentimental day on which she learned of her mother's love for her. Lily is in an emotionally heightened state, and she therefore displays some seemingly irrational behavior. After Lily finishes babysitting the mouse bones, she determines that she may have just needed to nurse something. But she might have intuited that the bones could be from a mouse Deborah once saw. In addition, the bones could symbolize Deborah's dead body.
How does Lily's idea of a mother change throughout the novel?
Answer: In the beginning of the novel, Lily associates the idea of "mother" only with a legal and biological connection between a woman and her child. She displays this definition when she dreams of Rosaleen adopting her and becoming her "real mother." But Lily's relationship with her biological mother is based on memories and uncertainty. Lily spends the majority of her childhood attempting to put together the missing pieces in her mother's life. Such curiosity drives Lily to travel to Tiburon. Lily experiences feelings of anger, pity, and grief when she learns the true story of her own mother.
Along the way, Lily also recognizes Our Lady in Chains as the mother of all, including her. She looks to Mary as a mother who brings about the inner strength inside Lily.
Finally, Lily is able to connect the term "mother" to the eight women in Tiburon who have pledged their love, time, and resources to ensure that she has the best life possible. Now, a mother in her mind is someone who takes up the role of a mother.
What does the symbol of Our Lady of Chains provide for the Daughters of Mary?
Answer: The Daughters of Mary, as a group of black women in the South in the 1960s, have clearly been exposed to their share of discrimination. The Boatwright sisters have attended college, but they have not really been able to find appropriate jobs outside of the black community, except for domestic positions within white households. The women feel the societal chains that bind them to a specific status position. The story of Our Lady provides women with hope for advancing their lives regardless of the "chains" that hold them down. Rather, they realize their ability to harness their internal power to enhance their lives.
What are some examples of characters suffering from the "burden of knowing"?
Answer: Lily feels terrible pain when she learns the truth about her mother temporarily leaving her behind. Lily feels that she would rather go back to the point in her life when she could just wonder about the truth, given that the truth hurts her so much. She is forced to move forward with this new information anyway. When she sees the photograph depicting her as a baby interacting with Deborah, however, she then realizes her mother loved her. Suddenly, she is hurt again, but in a new way because she feels a great loss due to her mother's death, and she realizes even more strongly how her own killing of her mother has caused this loss.
May feels a great burden from perceiving the pain of the world. She is weighed down when others are hurt. She does her best to alleviate the pain through rituals like putting notes in the wailing wall. Her family attempts to shield her from knowledge that will hurt her further. But when she does learn the truth about Zach, the burden becomes too heavy, for she also learns what everyone else thinks about her frailty, and she ultimately kills herself.
August, for her part, feels the burden of knowing that Lily's story is false, yet August is willing to shoulder this burden in patience until Lily is ready to talk.
How does Lily's concept of race evolve throughout the novel?
Answer: Lily begins the novel having a close relationship with Rosaleen, her black housekeeper. Still, she does not consider white people and black people to be equal. When she arrives in Tiburon, however, she realizes her own prejudices. She discovers that she has believed that she did not believe that a black person could be as smart as she is. Her idea was disproved once she met August. She also is angry when June discriminates against her for being white. She begins to understand discrimination and begins to be able to empathize. Then, when Lily falls for Zach, she is overcome with curiosity and confusion that she could be attracted to a black man. Yet, she soon realizes her deep and lasting feelings for him and sees him for who he is. Despite their love, Lily learns that they cannot truly be together because of the racial divide between them, and she comes to understand the equality of people as well as the curse of racism. When she is fully accepted by the Daughters of Mary and fully appreciates the Black Madonna, we can say that she has become fully integrated into a world (as yet unrealized elsewhere) where race does not matter for getting along with others in equality and love.
What causes T. Ray to become so bitter and abusive toward Lily?
Answer: Lily's mother and T. Ray had seemingly been truly in love when they first began their relationship. August tells Lily that Deborah said that T. Ray treated her like a princess, and they conceived a child. Deborah finally agreed to marry T. Ray after she was pregnant. Yet, at some point in their marriage, their relationship turned sour. Deborah fell into depression, the cause of which is uncertain. Deborah eventually left her Sylvan home with Lily to escape to Tiburon. Lily determines that when Deborah left, it must have effectively killed T. Ray, which would explain his harsh attitude and bitterness. Additionally, Deborah's death must have caused T. Ray great sadness. Now that Lily has grown to be a teenager, she looks more and more like Deborah. T. Ray takes out his anger towards Deborah on Lily, most clearly demonstrated at the end of the novel, when he actually addresses Lily as Deborah.
Discuss why and how Lily is torn about her sense of home after she arrives in Tiburon.
Answer: Lily loves her new life in Tiburon. She loves her work in the honey house, her relationship with the Boatwright sisters, and her interactions with Zach. She finds herself happy keeping her life a secret and keeping the facade she has created. Yet, despite her utopian life in Tiburon, Lily cannot help but wonder what T. Ray is going through back in Sylvan. After all, despite T. Ray's horrible treatment of Lily, he is the only real parent whom Lily has known. Lily wonders if he misses her, if he worries about her, and if he feels guilty for her treatment of her. Due to this curiosity, Lily surrenders to her urges and calls T. Ray, which ultimately leads him to find her in Tiburon.
How does Lily's relationship with Zach expand her understanding of herself and of society?
Answer: Once Lily begins her relationship with Zach, she learns that she has the capability to love a boy. Additionally, she is fascinated by the thought that she is capable of becoming so enamored by a black boy, a situation she had never thought possible. She begins to become more in touch with her own body as it is evolving into womanhood. She also more clearly understands her feelings, her urges, and her fears. Zach provides her with a solid sense of self, of confidence, and of hope for her future. Lily also learns that society will not always make room for love. Societal views in the time and place of the novel would never permit a relationship between a young interracial couple. Lily learns that despite her mutual feelings with Zach, the nation needs some sort of revolution before it will accept their relationship.
August tells Lily that the most important purpose of life is to "persist in love." How does August exemplify her own words?
Answer: August has lived an unmarried life, but she is in no way alone. From her childhood, she has always been surrounded by the love of her family. August returns that love unconditionally. She discusses her intense love and her sorrow concerning April. She consistently tolerates the narrow-minded opinions of June, and she does everything she can to provide May with as much relief from pain as possible. She is clearly the leader of the family, for she runs the honey farm, bringing in the majority of the income. At the same time, however, August represents the emotional leadership in the family, holding the other women as they cry, laughing with them, and providing unconditional love. At a time when it would be easier not to do so, August provided great love for Deborah, even after she finished working with the Fontanel family. A generation later, August allows Lily to stay with her, persisting in love for Deborah. She loves Lily despite her lies, her anger, and her sadness. She ultimately makes a great sacrifice, taking Lily and Rosaleen into her household, because she loves them. (Remember the positive meanings of the word "august," which also relate to August.)
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The Secret Life of Bees Questions and Answers
The Question and Answer section for The Secret Life of Bees is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
what happened when shoe arrived at the jail with lily and rosaleen
Franklin hit Rosaleen with his flashlight.
why were bits of paper stuck in the stone wall
It was May's way to dealing with suffering. Whenever May Boatwright hears about something tragic in the world, she writes it down on a piece of paper and slips the paper into the cracks of a stone wall near her house.
Lily finds herself making choices based on signs she interprets, what is she trying to decide based on seeing the crop duster flying over the tops in Tiburon?
In this scene, Lily is trying to decide whether or not she should remain living in an uncertain world filled with questions and fear... or move on... begin her journey of personal identity and self discovery. The flight of the crop-duster serves...
Study Guide for The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees study guide contains a biography of Sue Monk Kidd, literature essays, 100 quiz questions, major themes, characters, a glossary, and a full summary and analysis.
- About The Secret Life of Bees
- The Secret Life of Bees Summary
- Character List
Essays for The Secret Life of Bees
Literature essays on The Secret Life of Bees are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
- The Concept of Monomyth in Kidd's Secret Life of Bees
- The Role of Nature in The Secret Life of Bees
- Mother Figures in The Secret Life of Bees
- Pervasive Racism in The Secret Life of Bees
- Love, Forgiveness, Enlightenment: Lily's Journey in The Secret Life of Bees
Lesson Plan for The Secret Life of Bees
- About the Author
- Study Objectives
- Common Core Standards
- Introduction to The Secret Life of Bees
- Relationship to Other Books
- Bringing in Technology
- Notes to the Teacher
- Related Links
- The Secret Life of Bees Bibliography
Wikipedia Entries for The Secret Life of Bees
- Introduction
Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Books / The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees Essay Examples
Analysis of lily’s change in the secret life of bees.
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult,This continues through the teenage years causing them to undergo changes and with time, become more mature. In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily is a teenage girl living in...
The Issue of Oppression in the Secret Life of Bees and the Help
Kanye West, one of the most influential artists in rap music, may not always express popular political views. However, West does have a statement towards oppression which others may agree upon: “All these walls that keep us from loving each other as one family or...
The Secret Life of Bees: Comparison of the Novel and the Movie
The Secret Life of Bees is a unique story that took place in 1964; a period where racism was a heavy topic in the United States. Lily Owens is a young girl whose life has been a hardship since her mother’s passing when she was...
The Theme of Self-acceptance in the Secret Life of Bees
In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, the author uses the change in Lily Owens as she works through accepting the guilt for accidentally killing her mother to support a theme of finding forgiveness and love for herself; it is...
Confidence, Courage, and Strength in the Secret Life of Bees
The novel entitled The Secret Life of Bees is a tale of a young girl’s enduring trials and tribulations in her life. The novel is a critically acclaimed best seller with a film adaptation to showcase this in a visual light. With a novel of...
Themes of Perseverance and Identity in the Secret Life of Bees
“The nation saw itself in the midst of a new war in Vietnam, and culture wars were being fought at home, with the civil rights movement escalating and new youth subcultures emerging that rejected the values of the past...Over the course of the decade, public...
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