The Secret Life of Bees - Critical Essay

Everyone has a secret life that they keep hidden from the rest of the world. Lies are told on a daily basis in order to keep these lives stashed in the dark. In The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, the bees are the ones that have the most secret life of all. They each have their own specific role to play deep within the hive. It's obvious that the author had meant for some of her characters to portray the roles that these buzzing insects have to dutifully fulfill every duty. Lily and Zach are the field bees, August is a nurse bee, and the Lady of Chains is the Queen bee.

"New beekeepers are told that the way to find the elusive queen is by first locating her circle of attendants." (57) This quote is at the beginning of chapter three and not only foreshadows many things to come, but within the quote, two of the novel’s main metaphors are mentioned, bees and the queen, which is referring to society and a mother figure. Although this quote is largely interpreted as a metaphor for Lily looking for a new queen or mother figure, and perhaps August being that mother, I believe that it has another meaning as well. I believe that the Black Madonna also serves as a “queen” and mother figure to all the women in “The Secret Life of Bees.”

In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, a young girl named Lily struggles with growing up with only a harsh father and a housemaid while trying to find her own place in the world. At the age of four, Lily accidentally shoots her mother while trying to help her in a fight against Lily’s dad. Ever since that day, Lily has a difficult time trying to be a lady and trying to cope with her somewhat abusive father. One day, when Lily is fourteen, the housemaid Rosaleen is sent to jail for pouring dip spit on white men’s shoes but later gets assaulted by the men and is taken to the hospital where Lily goes to sneak her out. In order to help incorporate the story’s title into the story, the author has written epigraphs, that are about bees, for every chapter in the book. Chapter two’s epigraph says “ On leaving the old nest, the swarm normally flies only a few metres and settles. Scout bees look for a suitable place to start the new colony. Eventually, one location wins favor and the whole swarm takes to the air”(34). This epigraph parallels the story because of the similarities in how bees move on and look for somewhere to start their new lives and how Lily and Rosaleen try to start their new

Like August, Lily could also be a beekeeper. In addition to teaching Lily about bees, August also gives Lily multiple pieces of advice throughout the book. An example of this is when Lily and August are talking about Lily’s past. When Lily discovers the truth about her mother leaving, Lily is filled with an uncontrollable rage. August says to Lily, “Every person on the face of the earth makes mistakes, Lily. Every last one. Were all so human. Your mother made a terrible mistake but she tried to fix it.’ ‘There is nothing perfect, there is only life.”(Kidd ) August tries to give Lily advice when she is going through a difficult time in an attempt to help.

In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the main character, Lily Owens, lives at home with her father, T-Ray, and a field worker, Rosaleen, that is brought in the house after her mother Deborah dies. Rosaleen takes Lily to town with her to vote when she gets arrested and is put in the hospital for mistreating white people. Lily breaks Rosaleen out of the hospital and the two of them run away. The two of them end up in Tiburon, South Carolina, and meet the three lovely Boatwright women, known for beekeeping. The oldest sister, August keeps control of the family, and invites Lily and Rosaleen to stay with them. Throughout their stay, August gives Lily support, teaches her important, life lessons, and gives her opportunities to

In chapter one of Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees the epigraph is a metaphor for the chapter. The queen is represented by Lily's mother, Deborah. It was shown by the actions of T-ray and Lily after her departure that she was the unifying force of their family; without her they could no longer function. Without her they were no longer a family. With everything lily did, she was constantly reminded of her mother's death. As lily explained, "The oddest things caused me to miss her," and T-ray turned into a miserable excuse of a father. When Deborah died, the result was unmistakable queenlessness. Starting with T-Rays parenting, though it was never adequate, after the family tragedy he became bitter and cruel. He expresses this in

1. Chapter eight opens with an epigraph from The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd features an allusion at the start of each chapter, each one mentioning a queen bee. Throughout the exposition, it is believed the queen bee mentioned would be a symbol for Lily's mother, but as the plot progresses, many more motherly figures begin to fit into this description of queen bee. Our Lady of Chains can be seen as the queen bee of the novel, as the Boatwright sisters, Rosaleen, and Lily can all relate to her in some form. They are all trying to escape from something, the Boatwright sisters and Rosaleen are trying to escape the harsh rasicm seen in this time period and Lily is attempting to escape her past. The allusion in chapter six writes, "The queen must produce some substance that attracts

In the long, winding road of life, youth are often lost, in need of some direction. And while they traverse this road, mothers, or at least motherly figures, act as their guide, providing assistance for the many tough decisions that are scattered throughout this road. Similarly, in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, the motherless protagonist, Lily Owens, is traversing adolescence. Eventually, her adventures as a runaway lead her to a bright pink house in Tiburon, South Carolina, where she discovers many women to whom she can look for guidance, love, and support. Through Lily’s relationship with these women, preconceived notions about mothers are shattered and a whole new conceptualization of motherhood is presented as Lily is able to look to not one, but many women as a motherly figure and finally love herself.

As the years pass many things get old and lose worth, like books, but what can never get old or lose value is the message each book holds with it forever. In the very beginning of the book, “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd, the understanding of the message delivered is that Lily’s mother died while she was very young, and she does not know what happened. Even though this book takes place in the early sixties and moves forward to almost early seventies, but no matter what time period of the events taking place or the circumstances, the challenges Lily faces in Secret Life Of Bee’s are still relevant even today.

In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily Owens discovers the deeper meaning of home, family, love, and choosing what matters, through a long journey of lies and hope. After experiencing cruelties, prejudice, and escaping from the authorities, Lily set out on an adventure to find out the truth of what happened to her mother.

Author Sue Monk Kidd’s famed novel, The Secret Life of Bees, chronicles the story of a young girl Lily in the summer of 1964, as she escapes her abusive and dreadful past to find love and acceptance among a group of eccentric African American beekeepers. The novel centers around one of the most racially divided periods to occur since the Civil War, and shows how it affected not only African Americans, but young, impressionable white children like Lily. The author addresses the inhumanity of racism and male dominance in America by arguing the insignificance of one’s skin color, as well as the importance of a sisterhood. In a country that indoctrinates the concept of freedom and equality for all, it seems preposterous and hypocritical to

In the book The Secret Life of Bees, author Sue Monk Kidd uses the literary devices of theme, theme development and symbolism to make the story complex and interesting. These devices thoroughly advance the story bringing more meaning and room for interpretation. The author describes several themes in the story, allowing the reader to learn from the experiences described by the story. The author also includes hints of symbolism throughout the book, creating depth and dimension by bringing meaning and importance to even the simplistic of things. Finally, the author embraces them development through furthermore elaborating on her strong theme

May, who enjoys the presence of both guests, starts adapting to the new atmosphere of the female bond as she stops singing her sad song and visiting her “Wailing wall” (Kidd 99). August, the beekeeper, is always seen as the moon shining over Lily’s and the black women’s

Without doubt, the plot of this book surely does rise, twist, and fall. Throughout the story, the hurdles Lily face become higher and higher, therefore she must surpass them one by one. The book starts out with it’s initial situation when me meet Lily, the withdrawn teenager with no companionship besides her abusive father and her nanny, the latter of whom, she actually gets along with well. Lily, in her isolation, claims that bees dance around her room at night. Trying to tell her father about these bees award her with nothing but shouting. The plot of our story rises when Lily and Rosaleen head out to Tiburon, so that Rosaleen can vote as an African American woman. Lily tags along so that she can atleast get out of the house on her birthday.