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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1051 Words5 Pages

Have you ever read a novel that starts off with a suspenseful beginning and a peaceful ending? Well, this is The Secret Life of Bees. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, is a heartwarming story of a young girl named Lily Owens, who sets out on a journey with Rosaleen, her stand-in mother, to uncover the truth about Deborah Owens and her past. It explores themes of love, race, and the power of sisterhood. In The Secret Life of Bees, August has had the greatest impact on Lilly's growth and development because her calm leadership is an important source of energy that's needed within the sisterhood community as she comes to terms with her family. She also teaches Lily to forgive herself for her imperfections and to forgive others as well, …show more content…

For example, the novel states, "Because you weren't ready to know about her. I didn't want to risk you running away again. I wanted you to have a chance to get yourself on solid ground, get your heart bolstered up first. There's a lot of time for things, Lily. You have to know when to prod, when to be quiet, when to let things take their course. That's what I've been trying to do.” (340). August knew that Lily wasn’t going to be ready to hear all the news. So she waited it out, she helped her become stronger, helped her become more independent, she cared for her and when it came to the right time she shared what needed to be told. The story states, “You know, some things don’t matter that much, Lily. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person’s heart—now, that matters. The whole problem with people is—” (213-214). Overall, August has many reasons for the growth and development of Lily Owen, including the fact that August opened up her home to her, providing care and support for her. August even gave her advice and taught her valuable

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Secret Life Of Bees Quotes

805 Words | 4 Pages

It doesn’t take a wizard to see Zach loves you. And every one of the Daughters loves you” (Kidd 242). August makes Lily feel better and clears her conscience about her mother. Later in the story, Lily gets confirmation she did kill her mother from T-Ray, but, because August talked to Lily, she was not completely distraught. In conclusion, August impacts Lily in a good way and helps her with her mom.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

161 Words | 1 Pages

"The Secret Life of Bees", by Sue Monk Kidd, is a first-person narrative through the eyes of 14-year-old Lily Owens, a white girl in 1964 South Carolina who runs away with her African-American maid Rosaleen in search of clues to reveal her mother's past. From the gecko, Lily discloses the abusive conditions of living with her father, T. Ray, since the violent death of her mother that she expresses was her fault and longs to find some answers that will help her move on. As further events unfold, Rosaleen and Lily manage to escape to Tiburon, a city she finds her mother had spent time in, and hunt down an African-American honey farmer, August Boatwright, to whom they find after stumbling across her honey jar with a Black Virgin Mary on it. August

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

696 Words | 3 Pages

August is the most influential character in The Secret Life of Bees because of her generosity to Lily and the truths she tells her. The first reason that August is the most influential character to Lily is that she let Lily and Rosaleen live in their house. “"Well, you can stay here

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Character Analysis Of Lily In The Secret Life Of Bees

812 Words | 4 Pages

She is educated, wise and gives Lily something she lacked in her life, which is, love. Lily is finally surrounded by a positive and loving community. This makes her more comfortable and susceptible towards being a new person. The sisters are catholic and pray every day to mary. It has taught her to forgive, and accept others.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

211 Words | 1 Pages

Set in the year 1964, “The Secret Life of Bees” written by Sue Monk Kidd is a novel written about the coming of age and maturation of Lily Owens, a young girl struggling to heal from the pain of her mother's death. Growing up without a mother was hard enough for Lily, especially when she was deemed as the underlying cause for her death. Lily was surrounded by her abusive father T-Ray, and her stand-in mother Rosaleen until with a little help from the bees, she decided it was time for her to escape. Throughout the novel, bees were used as a powerful symbol. The bee colony represented an unspoken guide for Lily, a portal of communication, and the relationship between the women in the novel.

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

418 Words | 2 Pages

She showed Lily what it means to be loved and appreciated, along with helping her cope with her trauma. One reason why August has most influenced Lily’s growth and development is that she helped her cope with her trauma. As stated in the article,

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1056 Words | 5 Pages

The story states, “Lily can have a home here for as long as she wants," August said”(Monk Kidd 427). This shows August telling T-Ray, Lily’s dad, that she can live with her for however long she wants. This also shows that August gave Lily a home when she didn’t want to go live with her abusive dad. August gave Lily support and a place to live. This shows that August had the most impact on Lily’s growth and development because without August, Lily would be homeless.

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Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life Of Bees

522 Words | 3 Pages

This quest for understanding leads Lily to the Boatwright sisters, who offer her a sense of belonging and connection rooted in their shared history. For instance, August Boatwright becomes a maternal figure to Lily, guiding her through the complexities of her own identity while imparting lessons gleaned from generations of family wisdom. She told her to come sit with her as she told her a story that her “mother used to tell [the sisters] when [they] got tired of their chores” to hopefully help them continue going (Kidd, 90). Lily denied she was tired of her chores, but she still thought it was a “good story” and she should “just listen” (Kidd

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Kidd

925 Words | 4 Pages

Through a comparison of the relationships Lily shares with her father, Zach, and the three sisters, we see Lily grow as a young woman in

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839 Words | 4 Pages

(374) When Lily says this , she is realizing all the mother figures in her life and how important they are to her and how she needs them to shine over her like a moon. It is important for Lily to have as many mother figures in her life as she does since her actual mother died when she was young and she carries the guilt with her that is was her

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The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

1005 Words | 5 Pages

She finally learns her lesson and uses this “innate ability”, and because of that discovers the answer to the question she was wondering for a long time. While Lily becomes older, she learns important values that help her mature which symbolize and serve as a parallel to the lessons of

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The Secret Life Of Bees Theme Essay

1401 Words | 6 Pages

In the story, Kidd’s use of characterization successfully reveals the theme that people's lives are more complex than they appear. Kidd demonstrates this theme using the characterization of Lily, T. Ray, May, and Deborah. One character that Sue Monk Kidd uses to portray the theme, is the main character Lily. In the beginning of the story, the author shows that Lily can be both mature and immature at times. An example of her maturity in the text is when she says, “People who think dying is the worst thing don’t know a thing about life” (Kidd 2).

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The Secret Life Of Bees Quote Analysis

1426 Words | 6 Pages

Continuing, another theme that led us through Lily’s adventure of growing up was her discovering how important storytelling was. She was going through gruesome horrid things, and when she read things like Shakespeare she realized how important it was because it helped her escape to a fantasy world for a little bit of time. Lastly, Lily learns the power of the female community. Lily grew up without a mother, so for a large chunk of her life she didn’t know the real power the female community held.

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The Iliad: The Military Influences In Contemporary Culture

164 Words | 1 Pages

The influences that that both have in contemporary culture is the military have learned a lot since the Trojan War. The military is not naïve like the soldiers were during the Trojan War. Soldiers are alert on anything that may be mysterious, they work carefully, and if they see something suspicious they know what to do. Soldiers know how to prepare for current war or a possible war that may happen. For example, Students at West Point, which is an elite US military academy where the majority of military students minor in "terrorism studies", shows that The Iliad is part of their literature course.

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Lily Character Analysis Essay

624 Words | 3 Pages

She learns that people are not always perfect and that love can be shaped by bonds rather than blood. Lily is more self-sufficient as the book progresses. Since Lily has accepted the truth, she has matured and become content with herself and her life. Lily changes and grows in different ways throughout the course of the novel, she changes emotionally and grows physically. Emotionally Lily is able to love and forgive, she is able to respond to her emotions.

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