One of the themes presented by Sue Monk Kidd in, “The Secret Life of Bees” is pushing boundaries. In the book, Lily runs away from her abusive father and stays at a beekeepers house where she would be safe. This beekeepers house is a black family and while she stayed there and everyone was constantly pushing boundaries. The story relates to the article written by Nadra Kareem Nittle which was called, “How the Freedom Riders Movement Began”. This article was about a group of people called freedom riders traveling together to end the Jim Crow laws or other known as, racist laws.
Freedom is the breeding ground of success or failure. The theme of freedom presents itself often in The Secret Life of Bees, By Sue Monk Kidd. It shows itself often with the protagonist, Lily. Lily is the daughter of T-Ray and Deborah, whom she accidentally killed when Lily was 4. Lily and the housekeeper, Rosaleen, run away after Rosaleen is beaten by racist whites, and end up at the Boatwright sister’s house, where they work off their debts by working on the honey farm.
Sue Monk Kidd indirectly characterizes Rosaleen through speech , in The Secret Life of Bees, as brave in order to reveal that she cares about Lily enough to stand up to T Ray and be like a mother figure to Lily. An example of this is when Rosaleen defends Lily and her new baby chick, “ she said and looked him up one side and down the other ‘You ain’t touching that chick.’ ” (Kidd 11).In this scene, T Ray was threatening to kill Lily’s baby chick that she had recently acquired. Since Lily was only 8 years old she could not defend herself against her father, so Rosaleen is brave and steps in and acts as her mother in protecting her, and what she cares about, from her ill-tempered father. The author does this in order to explain to the reader
Sue Monk Kidd applies indirect characterization in her novel The Secret Life of Bees to Lily, describing her as a free-spirited person in order to develop Lily’s growing desire to leave T Ray. One example demonstrated in the novel is found where Lily and Rosaleen watch President Lyndon Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act. Lily thinks about her opinion toward the wife of the President, ‘Lady Bird,’ while Johnson signs the act. “I did admire his wife, Lady Bird, though, who always looked like she wanted nothing more than to sprout wings and fly away” (20).
In the article, Birds and Bees, No Let’s Talk about Dollars and Cents, by Ben Stein, who was a former White House speechwriter, he informs his point successfully to his son that he needs self discipline to create human and financial capital to have a more stable life. The young boy has been living large his whole life and his father wants to help him keep it going by having self-discipline to make smart decisions so he doesn’t live in fear and insecurity. Ben Stein uses many anecdotes to get the point across to his son and the readers of the New York Times that people are capable of coming from nothing and turning into something with the willpower to make smart choices. With the use of anecdotes and repetition all throughout the letter, it
Life is filled with challenges and conflict. However only a few can overcome and escape the confinements of their problems, others remain left behind to struggle. Sue Monk Kidd displays this with the imprisonment that Lily deals with throughout the book. While Lily does finds liberation at the end, she first had to break free from the imprisonments of her secrets, T-Ray, and the torment from killing her mother.
In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, “The Rocking Horse Winner”, and “I Stand Here Ironing”, all characters have a specific goal. Where they either fulfill their goal, recognize their obstacle and give up, or just fail miserably. But all the characters at least tried to fulfill their goals. “The Rocking Horse Winner”, is very inspiring that a child could recognize his mother’s despair. Even though, she didn’t believe in his method for betting on horses, he believed in his method, and he also believed that he was lucky enough
Chloe is so determined to learn, that she refuses to let anything stand in her way, or discourage her. Even when she gets up in age and her peers mock her, she doesn’t lose sight of her goal. Chloe’s determination pays off in the end, and by gaining knowledge, she gains her
In the article, Birds and Bees, No Let’s Talk about Dollars and Cents, by Ben Stein, he successfully makes his point to inform his son that he needs self discipline to create human and financial capital to have a more stable life. The young boy has been living large his whole life and his father wants to help him keep it going by having self-discipline to make smart decisions so he doesn’t live in fear and insecurity. Ben Stein uses many anecdotes to get the point across to his son and the readers of the New York Times that people are capable of coming from nothing and turning into something with the willpower to make smart choices. With the use of anecdotes and repetition all throughout the letter, it allows Stein to utilize logos, pathos,
A World of Love “People, in general, would rather die than forgive. It’s that hard. If God said in plain language, ‘I’m giving you a choice, forgive or die,’ a lot of people would go ahead and order their coffin.” (Kidd 277) Rough times and struggles are simply a part of life- something everyone is to endure.
However, there is a deeper meaning to be found. This story symbolizes the many obstacles one must overcome to be successful in life. Among the many goals I will try to accomplish in the next 10 years of my life are: graduating
I have always sought new experiences and wanted a personal "Wheel of Fortune" in life to guide me. Regardless of how I spin that wheel, it consistently lands on one crucial connection: bringing happiness to others by aiding them in their recovery journeys. Witnessing my grandfather's challenging journey with prostate cancer profoundly impacted me, igniting a passion to join the healthcare field. I aim to be an empathetic, loyal, and steady support system for my patients as they overcome obstacles, advocating for them as a Physician Assistant (PA). From a young age, I witnessed the trials and tribulations of my grandfather's recovery journey.
The level of care that the varying healthcare professionals provided to these patients was fascinating and became intrigued to a career path in the medical field. Over the next couple of years, I narrowed the possibility
Every day bees are disappearing from their colonies at dangerously rapid rates. Everyone should become bee keepers and/or have bee gardens. It is the peoples’ duty to protect and save the bees. Bees play a major role in our everyday lives, and they go unnoticed. Without bees our food supply would quickly decrease.
“A wonderful novel about mothers and daughters and the transcendent power of love” (Connie May Fowler). This quote reflects the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd because the protagonist in the story, Lily Owens, her mother have died when she was four years old and she didn’t feel loved by her abusive father, T. Ray Owens, until she met the Boatwrights family with the housekeeper, Rosaleen, and stayed with them. The Boatwrights family are the three black sisters who are August, May, and June. This novel took place in Sylvan and Tiburon, South Carolina, where Lily grew up and where she found the answer to her questions.
