14-year old Lily Owens is an outcast having no mother, an abusive father and no school friends to rely on. Lily also has to deal with feelings of isolation and guilt caused by her parents. The struggles and hills she climbs force her to grow-up very fast. Just as the novel is about Lily’s personal experiences as a young girl discovering herself and searching for love, it is also about the civil movement at that point in time in America. The secret life of bees uses engaging characters and symbols to entice its readers and get its message across. The novel starts off with Lily living in Sylvan with her father T.Ray, but as pressure and curiosity about her mother builds. Lily escapes with Rosaleen to the front steps of the Boatwright sisters …show more content…
Lily having grown up in a much divided community is a bit taken back by the relationships of some locals. For example Mr. Forrest is very fond of the sisters and Zach despite the difference in skin tone. In Sylvan there would be no-way such a thing would occur. It is considered un-acceptable for a black person to even interact with a white individual let alone create a friendship. The changing social situation causes a lot of tension for lily and the people around her. A lot of the household tension arises from June’s hostility towards lily. Because of her disapproval of Augusts old involvement in the white community. June takes her feelings out on Lily by ignoring and judging her. The following explicit from chapter 6, page 131 demonstrates the attitude lily and June had towards each other, in the early days of lily’s stay. “What’s that burning?” said June Smoke poured off the griddle. The L shaped pancake had burned to a crisp. June yanked the spatula from my fingers, scraped up the mess and dropped it into the trash. “How long are you staying?” Neil asked. June stared at me. Waiting. Her lips pinched tight along her teeth. ‘A while longer, I answered,’ looking over into the garbage can L for …show more content…
With more mother’s than any eight girls off the street, and friends to share memories with. Lily also knew that T.Ray didn't really want her back, for she reminded him too much of Deborah and past mistakes. Lily’s choice to stay in Tiburon opened up new prospects for her. For example T.Ray discouraged any thoughts of college, since he believed college was a waste of time for women. However the Boatwright sisters encouraged any thoughts of higher education. Giving lily more choice for her