Examples Of Racism In The Secret Life Of Bees

Between the Lines: Racism within the Pink House

Racism is a word you associate with the race of African Americans, however, the Secret Life of Bees associates the word with both main races. With the book being set in South Carolina during the 1960’s when racism was well and alive, Sue Monk Kidd does a phenomenal job at allowing both races to experience the dirty world of racism. As a white female, I do not ever think about discrimination being geared towards me by someone of my same race, gender, or social class. Lilly, the main character, is not used to being put in those situations by people of her own race and class, she has only ever heard about it from her father, or African American nanny.

T.Ray, Lily’s father always told her about

Unfortunately, these are thoughts and opinions that Lily carries with her even to the Pink House. Lily is not racist in the way that she sees it, but she is prejudice due to the words that her father has launched into her

One thing that heavily affects her is that racism is now being aimed at here due to who she is associated with. Growing up in a white predominant town she has not faced discrimination for herself, only what she has witnessed with Rosaleen, her nanny. Being surrounded by African Americans, Lily gets called awful names. This type of discrimination that Lily was exposed to is what social scientists call “reverse-racism”. Reverse racism is an act of discrimination geared towards racial majorities instead of racial minorities. People of the majority hardly ever experience reverse racism, except Lily when she is living in the Pink House and when she is hanging out with Zach. The second August agrees to allowing Lily and Rosaleen to stay, one of the calendar sisters says “But she’s white.”(Kidd 87). Lily does not think that her skin color affects the way people view her, and she has never been questioned her being due to her race. This being said, Lily realizes that she is now being viewed differently, as Rosaleen was when they were back in Sylvian. Zach and Lily like to work and do tasks together, but Lily does not get how wrong and inappropriate that looks for people of the opposite color. When the two kids are hanging out, Monk Kidd writes “If he was shocked over me being white, I was shocked over him being handsome. At my school they made fun of colored people’s lips and noses. I myself had laughed at these