“The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness.” Page 1
The metaphor is meant to compare the loss of a queen bee to the loss of Lily’s mother. Lily’s family was bound together by her mother, as the hive is with their queen bee. When she died, Lily and her father grew distant. This shows Lily’s need to be appreciated. Both of her parents are absent, her mother physically and her father emotionally. Even though her father has been indifferent and even cruel, she still desires his love.
You could say I 'd never had a true religious moment, the kind where you know yourself
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She never explicitly makes the connection, but it 's obvious that she already feels a sort of kinship with the bees, and that only intensifies as the novel goes on. This passage shows how she starting to realize she can leave, even if it 's not what she 's doing.
"We started walking. If you think the country is quiet, you 've never lived in it. Tree frogs alone make you wish for earplugs." Page 51
The tone is quite twisted from the norm, little dry and wry, she 's the master of spicing up mixture descriptions with deadpan witticism. Lily 's tone unmistakably says so much about her and the way she observes the world. While she 's young and sometimes sensitive, yet never bubbly; her observations are often dry and even a bit sarcastic, suggesting she keeps herself distant from the world. Of course, sarcasm is hardly a rare quality in teenagers.
"What I needed was a sign. I needed a voice speaking to me like I 'd heard yesterday in my room saying, Lily Melissa Owens, your jar is
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She left home after feeling that a voice from beyond had spoken to her, telling her to get out of dodge, and here she 's on the hunt for another "sign" for what to do. Despite the regular church attendance, she doesn 't seem particularly religious, in the traditional sense, so it 's no wonder she feels right at home with August 's alternative Christianity-infused spirituality later in the novel.
She was black as she could be, twisted like driftwood from being out in the weather, her face a map of all the storms and journeys she 'd been through. Her right arm was raised, as if she was pointing the way, except her fingers were closed in a fist. It gave her a serious look like she could straighten you out if necessary. page 70
The statue known as Our Lady of Chains is a particularly powerful symbol of The Virgin Mary. When Lily first sees the statue, she is awed by the strength and history it bears. Legend has it that statue was found up near a South Carolina plantation during the era of slavery, the slaves who found her saw her as the Virgin Mary. From that point on, the slaves attracted confidence, motivation, and strength from her, and she was even credited with helping several slave 's escapes. She most likely will mean the same to