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Wall In The Secret Life Of Bees

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Imagine that you are a child, trapped in an abusive house, and that there is no way to improve the potion you are in right now. Envision a tunnel of darkness where there is only fear with no sense hope. An indirect characterization of Lily, the protagonist, a symbolism of a wall that helps Lily cope with her emotions, and an illusion to a biblical event that changed the course of Lily’s life are incorporated throughout Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees to convey a message of hope. In particular, these literary devices are included throughout the novel to convey that a person is always capable of improving their quality of life. For instance, indirect characterization is applied to display Lily growing in bravery to demonstrate …show more content…

The wall was a way to lessen the burden of distress and sadness on people’s lives, therefore, improving it. For example, “all those bits of paper… stuck between the stones are things May has written down - all the heavy feelings she carries around. It seems like the only thing that helps her” (98). May built the wall to have a place of comfort and refuge where she, and later Lily, can deal with the suffering in their lives. To clarify, the wall was not just a wall, it symbolized a place of refuge for both Lily and May, a place where they could loosen their grip on their grievances and relax. After the death of April, May’s twin sister, May built the wailing wall to cope with her suffering. Kidd inspired the wall from a similar structure found in Jerusalem where the Jewish people go to mourn for their lost ones. Corresponding to the Jewish prayers, the little pieces of paper between the stones that May has written down, all of the heavy feelings she carries around, help her to manage her emotions. Lily, after worrying about her mother, adds a paper with her mother’s name to the wall to alleviate the pain she feels. After adding the paper, Lily was able to relax and let go of her feelings. In this manner, the wall symbolized a place of refuge for both Lily and May, a place where they could go to in a time of need and suffering. Through adding a paper to the wall, the lives of May, Lily, and the people of Jerusalem were improved upon releasing their

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