Examples Of Juxtaposition In The Secret Life Of Bees

In American writer Sue Monk Kidd's fiction novel The Secret Life of Bees, the reader is introduced to Lily Owens, a naive and unfortunate character longing for her mother's absence. Growing up with an abusive father, T Ray, Lily is kept miserable until a stroke of confidence allows her to run away with the only person on her side, Rosaleen. Through multiple influences and revelations of truth, she can develop individually with the help of her new family, the Boatwrights, transforming her into a profound and confident character. One of the major influences Lily undergoes throughout the book is the religious rituals August and the Boatwrigts assign her. An example of this is the observance of a religious statue, The Black Mary, worshiped by the

This can be seen when Lily analyzes the traits of the Black Mary statue and notices “She was a mix of might and humble all in one. [she] didn’t know what to think” (Kidd 70). Kidd uses Juxtaposition by making the reader interpret an idea of a “mighty” and “humble” figure. Often mighty figures are associated with arrogance which is the contrast to humility. By observing the statue, Lily uses her creativity to describe the holy sculpture in this way. 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. The potency of religious observance is further demonstrated when Lily explains her inward feelings towards the Black Mary statue and religion. Lily thought, “Standing there, I loved myself and I hated myself. That's what the black Mary did to me, made me feel my glory and my shame at the same time” (Kidd 71). Kidd’s last use of Juxtaposition in the passage demonstrates how Lily feels about herself when observing the holy sculpture. Using repetition in syntax, Kidd uses two contrasting pairs of ideas “loved” and “hated,” and “glory” and “shame.” Lily expresses how the holy sculpture made her hate and love herself,