The Secret Life Of Bees Coming Of Age Essay

Coming-of-age activities changed and stayed similar over the years showing how teenagers growing up is different in specific time eras but can be seen as similar too. Coming of age is a transformative period in a person’s life when transitioning from childhood into adulthood. Usually, this person will go through an event that requires them to use new skills and has responsibilities that they did not have as a child but now will have in adulthood. Experiencing loss and having a newfound perception of parents serves as necessary coming-of-age activities that can shape an individual's identity and growth as they transition into adulthood. Lily is featured in The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. She experiences a new perception of her parents

Perception of parents is a coming-of-age activity that relates to the events where a person gains a deeper understanding of their parents and will most likely change their views about their parents. This will lead to personal growth and a better relationship with them. Perception of parents also allows a person to change from the simple beliefs they had when they were young to the more complex perspectives as they grow up and can better understand certain actions of their parents. The novel, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is set in the 1960’s about a 14-year-old girl. She is traumatized by her mother's death and her abusive father. She leaves home on a journey and finds the Boatwright sisters who are beekeepers. Through her experiences with the sisters and finding out more information about her mother and her death, she is forced to confront her father. She returns to the Boatwright sisters and becomes surrounded by a community that can help her heal from her past trauma and gain strength which is represented by the bees and Black Madonna jars of honey. In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily’s perception of her father changes throughout the story. At the beginning of the story, Lily views her father as an unloving person because of his abusive habits and the

When people experience these losses people learn to adapt, mature, and confront difficult situations. When loss happens in someone's life it forces them to confront the complex realities of life. Young people can learn valuable lessons that can help them have a coming-of-age experience that can help them mature and be able to transition from childhood into adulthood. An important example of this is Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. This play is a tragic one about two young lovers that come from feuding families based in Verona, Italy. The relationship is set back from the rivalry between their families who don’t want them to be together. Romeo and Juliet secretly got married which caused them to face many obstacles since Juliet was supposed to be married to another man. This ultimately leads to both of their deaths and Lady Montague, Mercutio, Tybalt, and Paris. A specific example of Juliet experiencing loss is when she is informed that Romeo is banished from Verona. He got banished due to killing Tybalt. She is mourning the loss of her cousin Tybalt, but also being separated from her husband, Romeo. Although her cousin died, she does feel much more passionate about not being able to see Romeo. Without his presence and support from him, she feels isolated from everyone. Almost immediately after losing Romeo, her parents tried to force her into a marriage with