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Criminal Intent In The Secret Life Of Bees

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Criminal intent is the committing of a crime despite the knowledge and awareness that such is wrong lawfully and morally. Crime is a constant in the novel The Secret Life of Bees. Nearly every mentioned character is a criminal based on the laws of the time: 1960’s. The story is about 14-year-old Lily Owens, who runs away with her black stand-in mother from her abusive father. Already, in the plot summary alone, is crime spotted within the story; although of the grievances that are displayed in the novel, the worst and most intentional crimes are committed by T. Ray, Lily, and Rosaleen. To begin, Terrence Ray is the father and main antagonist to Lily. He is guilty of numerous crimes throughout the story, the main of which are child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. In South Carolina during the civil rights movement, there is plenty a white man like Terrence can do and get away with on account of his skin pigment; however, the south cannot turn a blind-eye towards violence against women or children. T.Ray, with full knowledge of his actions, beats and abuses Lily on several occasions within the novel from forcing her to kneel on grits to assaulting her with a knife. His intent is …show more content…

Various types of illegal actions being committed with full awareness of their actions makes their crimes, even if other characters have worse offenses, the worst in the story. Terrence, with the worst moral crime, is, therefore, the worst of the three with Rosaleen and Lily following close behind. Lily committed the worst crime of murder, but unlike Terrence, did not intend to do so. Rosaleen, with her ignorance towards the opinions of others, lacks the severity of the other two but more than makes up for it in her choosing to perpetuate petty crimes. All three of the characters know exactly what they are doing with Lily being the only one to show any sign of repentance or

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