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In The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk

628 Words3 Pages

By: Sue Monk
Brianna Smith

In the Secret Life of Bees by: Sue Monk, the main character, Lilly is a fourteen year old girl who lives with her father and their housekeeper, Rosaleen. Lilly’s mother died when she was younger, and she didn’t remember much about her. There are many sections in the book where Lilly felt unhappy because she didn’t have a mother like other girls her age. Lilly stated, “The gun shining like a toy in her hand, how he snatched it away and waved it around. The gun on the floor. Bending to pick it up. The noise that exploded around us. This is what I know about myself. She was all I wanted. And I took her away (Monk 7). In the Secret Life of Bees by: Sue Monk the importance of mothers and the female community is shown. …show more content…

Lilly feels lost without her mother until she visits the Boatright house. At the Boatright house, Lilly sees the support that other women can provide for her and she begins to feel comfortable with other females in the female community. When Lilly first arrived at the Boatright house, she feels unsure about herself. Lilly said “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” (Monk 73). After arriving at the Boatright house Lilly began to feel welcomed because she was included in the group. Living at the Boatright house helped Lilly to finally feel like an empowered women. Before living in the Boatright house, Lilly felt insecure and she felt like her life was incomplete because her mother was not able to play a major role in it. I believe that if Lilly would have continued living her life with her father T.Ray that she would have been in a world of trouble because of bad decisions. Lilly is happy that she was able to get away from T.Ray and Mr. Gaston. Lilly said “When I put on my shoes and headed back, the light poured down in shafts, and I wanted it to always be like this—no T. Ray, no Mr. Gaston, nobody wanting to beat Rosaleen senseless” (Monk 83). The women in the Boatright house help Lilly realize that the female community is strong and that it’s an important part in her

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