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What Is May's Allusion To Strange Behavior

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In The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd includes an allusion to “Oh! Susanna” to portray May’s unordinary behavior. For example, after meeting May for the first time, Lily thinks: May was simple-minded. I don’t mean retarded … I mean she was naive … plus she was a touch crazy … if you kept things on a happy note, May did fine, but bring up an unpleasant subject--like Rosaleen’s head full of snitches or the tomatoes having rot-bottom--and May would start humming “Oh! Susanna.” (84-85) When Lily begins to stay at the Boatwrights’ house, she notices May’s unordinary behavior and thinks May is “a touch crazy.” One example of May’s strange behavior is her humming “Oh! Susanna” when something unpleasant, even something as trivial as “tomatoes

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