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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

646 Words3 Pages

In the novel "the secret use of Bees" Sue Monk showed the importance mothers have in the roles they play in their daughters' lives and how it might affect them. "The Secret Life of Bees," by Sue Monk Kidd, follows the transforming journey of the main character Lily Owens. Set against the backdrop of 1960s racial tensions, Lily's life is formed by the presence and influence of numerous mother figures who have a significant impact on her growth and development. These mother figures, such as Rosaleen, August, and the Virgin Mary, provide Lily the love, wisdom, and understanding she craves, allowing her to finally negotiate her terrible history, embrace her individuality, and find consolation in a new family. A fierce protector and a catalyst …show more content…

August, the beekeeping family's matriarch, becomes a loving mentor and a source of great insight for Lily. August's loving presence, paired with her great beekeeping skills, serves as a metaphor for the strength of community and the interdependence of life.“Well,” August said, going right on with her pasting, “you know, she’s really just the figurehead off an old ship, but the people needed comfort and rescue, so when they looked at it, they saw Mary, and so the spirit of Mary took it over. Her spirit is everywhere, Lily, just everywhere.” Throughout August, Lily learns about love, forgiveness, and the importance of accepting one's past. August's unconditional love and acceptance aid Lily in healing from her traumatic background, giving her the courage to face her fears and …show more content…

Lily, who is drawn to the image of the Black Madonna, finds refuge in the Mother Mary statue in the Boatwrights' honey home. Lily was shocked to find a little black statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue has an impact on her because, as stated in the statement, it appears to "understand" her; that is, it appears to know all about her hidden worries and concerns, for example, her guilt over her mother's death.” The lips on the statue had a beautiful, bossy half smile, the sight of which caused me to move both my hands up to my throat. Everything about that smile said, Lily Owens, I know you down to the core.” Lily looks to the Virgin Mary for guidance and comfort, trusting in her goodness and loving presence. Lily's spiritual bond with the Black Madonna serves as a conduit for her inner change, helping her to discover forgiveness, love, and redemption inside

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Examples Of Juxtaposition In The Secret Life Of Bees

1542 Words | 7 Pages

Lily's creativity, activated by religious observance, allows her to be more creative. Later on in the passage, when Lily describes her outward expression, she notes that “[She] wanted to cry, but in the next instant, [she] wanted to laugh” (Kidd 71). Through the use of juxtaposition, Kidd carries out an image of Lily about to sob until she suddenly starts chuckling. By using the diction of “cry” and “laugh,” two words that completely differ in emotion, Kidd shows that the religious statue made her recall events of her past, truly making her analyze the type of person she was. Religion allowed her to have the trait of being self-aware allowing her to forgive herself for her past and move on because she knew that the religious statue could see good in her.

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Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life Of Bees

381 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel by Sue Monk Kidd,The Secret Life of Bees, discusses the internal conflict of a young girl named Lily. When Lily finds her true identity she transforms into a strong and confident women which helps her face the world and all of its challenges. Lily from the beginning of the novel she felt as if she was” impersonating a girl instead of really being one”(9).This shows how Lily tried acting and doing all the things that girls really do instead of being one. In the middle of the novel Lily gets to Tiburon and when she first gets there she goes into the store and asks about the picture and leaves but leaves with a bottle of snuff without paying. This shows how Lily is changing and not acting the way she did before she left Sylvan.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1049 Words | 5 Pages

Lily had given up, she lived her entire life with the idea that her mother

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

583 Words | 3 Pages

Nearly 20 million kids grow up without a mother. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd Lily lost her mother at age four and had a father who hated her. Lily accidentally shot her mother at a young age, and ever since her father blames her for what happened. Lily decides to run away with her house maid, Rosaleen, and start a new life. Change can really affect a person, just like it did with Lily, T-Ray and May. Change is a crucial part of life.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

779 Words | 4 Pages

In hopes of discovering more about her mother, Lily travels to Tiburon but unexpectedly develops a maternal relationship with August, ultimately compelling her to lie about her identity and purpose in Tiburon because “[She] love this place with [her] whole heart” (225), and is certain that this is the life she wants.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1464 Words | 6 Pages

Lily arrives at the Boatwright sisters house and sees the statue of the black Mary for the first time. While she is viewing the black Madonna, she gets mixed feelings of hating herself and adoring herself and begins to feel guilt. “Everything about that smile said, Lily Owens, I know you down to the core. I felt she knew what a lying, murdering, hating person I really was. How I hated T. Ray, and the girls at school, but mostly myself for taking away my mother”(71).

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

443 Words | 2 Pages

Her mother died when she was 4, and Lily was the one to kill her. Her dad, T-Ray, was a terrible parent to her too, because he hit her. She also have to live with the guilt that she ended her mother’s life. “There's nothing like a song about lost love to remind you how everything precious can slip from the hinges where you've hung it so careful.” a quote by August, page 50.

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Coleen Hoover It Ends With Us Quotes

796 Words | 4 Pages

Lily’s mother was stripped of her limits by Lily’s father and her sense of independence was gone. As Lily’s mother said, the more she accepted her husband's apologies, the more her tolerance for the abuse went up, which ultimately resulted in Lily’s mother being somewhat of a villain while her father was alive. Lastly, Lily’s dad plays the role of an antagonist perfectly as he shows the reader what a negative force looks like. Lily continuously shows the reader of the book the violent temper and the mental and physical abuse that they had to encounter with Lily's father.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1154 Words | 5 Pages

Lily’s mother is the cause of much of her grief, through her journey she imagines her mother in a way that does not accurately depict who her mother truly was. When she finds out what her mother actually was she, “I stood

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

839 Words | 4 Pages

(374) When Lily says this , she is realizing all the mother figures in her life and how important they are to her and how she needs them to shine over her like a moon. It is important for Lily to have as many mother figures in her life as she does since her actual mother died when she was young and she carries the guilt with her that is was her

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1186 Words | 5 Pages

Lily feels that these words were directed to her and felt like a bad person for the mistake of killing her mother. In a newspaper written by The Newcastle Herald, a statement stands out to the resemblance of this book and what the author is trying to show. As it states, “Lily finds solace in the guidance of the senior sister August, who holds the key to her past and slowly the rhythm of a new life with its funniness and sweetness is born…” THis helps to support my statement that Lily’s happiness and funniness grows when meeting and spending time with these girls. This was just the thing the young girl needed because at the time, Lily was feeling deep guilt for her actions.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1151 Words | 5 Pages

When children dont have trust with their parents they turn to their peer which is not always a good idea. Sometimes its a good idea to turn to adults who might help us or give us advice because adults already have experience. T. Ray does not help his daughter because in the book we see him as a cruel father who he dont even know what Lily needs and a father who misinterpret his daughter just because the daughter went outside the house, he immediately thought that she was with a guy. In the book Sue Monk Kidd gives us an example of Lily feeling better with August Boatwright because she is the only woman who can listen to her and helps her is she needs help not like T. Ray ignoring her and not taking care of her, Mr. Owens you would be doing Lily and the rest of us a favor by leaving

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Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life Of Bees

1067 Words | 5 Pages

Tired of lying to August, Lily decides to tell the truth to her, and find out about her mother, Deborah, hoping to hear exactly what she had pictured. As Lily unfolds the truth about her mother’s past, she becomes frustrated learning that she wasn’t up to her expectations. Lily wishes that her mother had “been smart enough, or loving enough, to realize everybody has burdens that crush them, only they don't give up their children” (278). Furious, she believes her mother is a blind and foolish person who doesn't know what love is. Hurt by the truth, Lily realizes that “once you know the truth, you can't ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies.

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Symbolism In The Secret Life Of Bees

1493 Words | 6 Pages

No matter where she is, or what happens in the future, she is able to adopt the idea that Mary is always with her, she does not have to “put [her] hand on Mary’s heart to find strength and consolation and rescue… “[she] can place it right here on [her] own heart” (Kidd 288). The repetition of “her heart” and “Mary’s heart” throughout the passage allows the two to become interchangeable. The connection of the symbol of the red heart painted over the statue of Mary to Lily’s own beating heart enforces the idea of Mary being a perpetual part of Lily’s daily life. Additionally, August says to Lily, “This Mary I’m talking about sits in your heart all day long, saying, ‘Lily, you are my everlasting home.”, and follows with Lily saying “I closed my eyes, and in the coolness of the morning, there among the bees, I felt for one clear instant what she was talking about” (Kidd 289). Lily’s sense of home has been unstable throughout her life, so August uses the metaphor of Lily being Mary’s “home” to make her feel stable and grounded, which is justified when Lily says she is able to close her eyes and

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Similarities Between Lily And The Wizard Of Oz

739 Words | 3 Pages

Lily wants to know about her mothers life and Dorothy wants to know how to get home. In the book, The Secret Life of bees, Lily leaves home and ventures out to find out more about her mother and her life. "She must have been here some time in her life to have owned this picture. And if she was, a person might remember her. Lily basically follows the clues left by Debora, her mom, using the Black Madonna picture and the town written on the back of it.

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