“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite” once said Nelson Mandela, a philanthropist who was a former president of South Africa. Sending an idea that once a person is taught to hate, they will become “trained” to thinking that a person of color or a religion is nonsense and poor compared to themselves. In Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, racism is a major theme within the novel. The author successfully develops an idea through her writing that a person can learn to love where hate and negative preexposed opinions were taught, …show more content…
However, Lily loves Zach. With the author placing a final relationship status, Lily's love life. The book was written so that when Lily meets Zach some of Lily's acknowledged prejudice side to her has vanished. As Lily's views change so does the way the author describes a colored person. Changing words to describe Zach as handsome, smart, and hard working right when he is introduced. Lily realizes how wrong she was taught being, “shocked over him being handsome. At my school they made fun of colored people’s lips and noses. I myself had laughed at these jokes, hoping to fit in. Now I wished I could pen a letter to my school to be read at opening assembly that would tell them how wrong we’d all been” (pg 116). The closer the two grow the more comfortable Lily feels being seen hanging out with colored folks, despite the names she is called. Completely removing the idea of two races being different, instead they were the same. With it taking one girl to be surrounded by people of color she attains a love where it was doubted most. Pushing past the views of everyone else, and opening her heart to a world full of love rather than