The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees is a novel written by Sue Monk Kidd. It was published in 2002 and takes place in Sylvan and Tiburon, South Carolina. The story is about a girl, Lily, who runs off and ends up discovering who she is.



Author Biographical Information
Sue Monk Kidd was born in Georgia. She grew up in Sylvester, Georgia. This town has it's influence in this novel. She had went to a "graduate writing course at Emory University." This was the result of her return to writing. She has a husband named Sandy. She also has a daughter who has co-authored her most recent book.

Setting: Historical Information
Sylvan, South Carolina is where the novel is set. Also, in Tiburon. These are fictional places made up by the author of the novel. Although, her hometown of Sylvester, Georgia did have its influence. Both places in the novel are very small communities, farming communities at that. So, they are places where everyone knows everyone.

Genre
The novel's genre is Bildungsroman. This genre usually focuses on the main character's growth. Something as to have happened to the character to stunt this growth.

Plot Summary
Lily is a fourteen year old girl. Her mother died and supposively, she is the one that killed her. She is thought to have killed her mother with just picking up the gun. Lily lives with an African-American who takes care of her, Rosaleen and then her father, T-Ray. T-Ray is abusive to Lily. One day after Rosaleen had stood up to some prejudice people and ended up arrested, Lily went and got her out of the hospital and they ran away together. They went off and ended up in Tiburon, South Carolina. They end up staying with a beekeeper and her sisters. Lily met a boy named Zach, in whom she developed a crush. The reason Rosaleen and Lily were led to this town was because of something written on something of her mothers. She had hope that her mother had spent time in the Boatright house and she was correct. T-Ray came one day and was angry but ended up allowing Lily to stay under the care of August.

Characters

 * Lily Owens - She is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. She is a fourteen year old girl who is blamed with the killing of her mother when she was only four years old. She runs away with Rosaleen. She ends up staying with the Boatwright sisters. She is sweet, misunderstood, and loving.
 * T-Ray Owens - T-Ray is Lily's father. He is emotionally and physically abusive towards his daughter. He doesn't even raise her. He is mean and very careless. He owns a peach farm and that is where he spends most of his time.
 * Rosaleen - Rosaleen is Lily's caregiver, or nanny. She is who Lily runs away with to Tiburon. She cares for Lily and has basically raised her. She is hard-headed.
 * Deborah Owens - She is Lily's mother. This is whom Lily's father has made Lily believe that she killed. Lily only has one photograph of her.
 * August Boatwright - She is a Boatwright sister. She is also a beekeeper and a business woman who is very loving and caring.
 * May Boatwright - She is a Boatwright sister. She is very caring and ended up drowning herself out of sorrow. She is incredibly sensitive to her surroundings and those that she loves.
 * June Boatwright - She is a Boatwright sister. She is also a musician and a teacher who refused to get married. June is bitter.
 * Zach - He is a Boatwright sister's godson. He is very talented and wants to become a lawyer.

Author's Style
The author has not written this novel necessarily in chronological placement. There are many times when the main character has a flashback of her past, her mother, etc. Also, before each chapeter, the author provides a relevant quote about bees. It is also written in a child's way of writing, almost like a journal. An example would be, "The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness." -Man and Insects, quote before chapter 1

Setting
The Secret Life of the Bees is set in the time of 1964 in the South. They live in South Carolina and Rosaleen and Lily end up in Tiburon, South Carolina. Once the novel has gotten along, the major setting of the story is the Boatwright house.

Themes

 * Mothers are vital- All throughout the novel, there were "motherly" instincts brought about. Lily had "killed" her mother; So she didn't have one. But, Rosaleen cared for her. Then, whenever LIly met the Boatwright sisters, they became "Spiritual mothers" to her.
 * Racism was real and unjust- Racism is a recurring them throughout the novel. Rosaleen was sent to prison just for registering to vote (a conflict arose with her registering.)
 * There is hope in every situation- There were many "unhopeful" circumstances in the novel. But, in the end, Lily ended up staying with people who truly cared for/about her. She also learned more about her mother.

Motifs
Bees- Bees are the motif in this novel along with being a symbol. Everything can be related to the bees. The novel opens with Lily's fascination with them being in her wall. Then, she follows the honey trail and ends up at the Boatwrights. There, she ends up as a beekeeper.

Symbols

 * Our Lady of Chains-This represents love and the sisters' motivation and religion. This is a statue of the Virgin Mary.
 * Bees-The bees symbolize Lily's free spirit. They also foreshadowed that she would run away with the bees being included at the beginning of the story.
 * Prison-T-Ray picked LIly up at prison when Rosaleen had been in contact with racists. This symbolizesracism and prejudice that was prevalent during this setting.

Significance of the Opening/Closing Scenes
The significance of the opening scene was that the novel starts our with Lily's fascination of bees. It also holds and introduces how Rosaleen cares for her and how T-Ray has abusive behavior. Also, it ends with the spark of why Lily wants to leave. The significance of the closing scene was that it closes with excellent 'closure' and resolution. There are many racial issues that are resolved by: Rosaleen registering to vote and Zach telling Lily that he is going to attend a white school. Also, T-Ray allows Lily to stay and live with the Boatwrights.

Memorable Quotes

 * 1) "The way those bees flew, not even looking for a flower, just flying for the feel of the wind, split my deart down its seam."
 * This quote foreshadowed that like a bee, Lily would fly away in hopes for a better answers and a new outlook on life.
 * 1) "People who think dying is the worst thing don't know a thing about life."
 * Here, Lily confronts the fact that her mother is dead and that people shouldn't dwell on the thoughts of death."
 * 1) "I had asked repeatedly for God to do something about T-Ray."
 * This shows that Lily has faith. Also, T-Ray was abusive and made her believe un-true facts.
 * 1) "I might as well have worn a sign on my back: I am not popular and never will be."
 * Lily's dad didn't care what she wore and didn't drive her to town for anything "extra." She was basically and outsider.