About the Book-The Secret Life Of Bees was written by Sue Monk Kidd in 2002. The book takes place in the 60's starting in Sylvan, South Carolina but also in the city of Tiburon, South Carolina. The main characters consist of LIly, T.Ray, Rosaleen, and the Boatwright sisters. Lily lives with her dad T.Ray and her housekeeper Rosaleen in Sylvan. Lily is not content with her life, because of her harsh dad and the unkown story of her mother. Rosaleen, her housekeeper, ends up getting into trouble. Due to these unfortunate events, Lily and Rosaleen end up living with the Boatwright sisters in Tiburon. About the Author-Sue Monk Kidd is a writer and novelist who was born in Albany, Georgia. Her hometown greatly influenced her writing of The Secret Life of Bees. She was interested in writing fiction in her 40's, and enrolled in a graduate writing course at Emory University, as well as studying at Sewanee, Bread Loaf and others writers' conferences. Kidd wrote some books in the late 80's and early 90's but her first novel, The Secret Life Of Bees, was published in 2002. The Secret Life Of Bees has sold more than 6 million copies, spent over two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list and been published in 35 countries. Her other well-known, The Mermaid Chair was published in 2005. Characters and Conflict- Lily, the protagonist, is a young girl who had a hard time growing up. She accidentally killed her mother with a gun when she was little, and this haunts her throughout the rest of the novel. She is often abused by her father T.Ray. T.Ray is strict and makes her do things she doesn't want to do. Rosaleen decided to apply to vote, but got into a fight with several white men. This put her in jail-leaving Lily alone with T.Ray much of the time. Lily had enough with T.Ray's harshness and decided to help Rosaleen escape jail and run away to a town called Tiburon. Lily struggles to find a motherly influence and discover if her mom realy cared about her. She had a collection of her things that she looked at frequently, including a picture of a black Virgin Mary, with the writing 'Tiburon' on the back. In the hopes of finding someplace to stay, Rosaleen and Lily end up at the house of the Boatwright sisters : August, May, and June. May is the sweet, innocent, and naive sister who is very accepting to Lily and Rosaleen. June, who is more level headed and stubborn, gives Lily a hard time for much of the novel. August, serves as Lily's main motherly influence, and is a leader among the residents of the house. They own a honey making business, and use the resources to make a living. Lily and Rosaleen end up staying with the Boatwright sisters for quite some time. Throughout their stay, Lily helps August work and meets a boy she falls in love with named Zach. Rosaleen and May become very close, but May ends up committing suicide due to her wavering emotions. Originally lying about why they needed a home, August tells Lily she knew from the very beginning she was fibbing. They became close, and Lily eventually found out that August knew her mother. But, one day T. Ray finally found Rosaleen and Lily at the house and problems arose. Theme-Discovering who someone truly is should not be determined from false accusations and a dependence on other people but through self-discovery and security. Review-The Secret Life Of Bees is a novel written by Sue Monk Kidd. The novel centers on the protagonist, Lily, a young girl whose journey is to discover who her mother really was and escape the harsh acts of her father, T.Ray. It also focuses on the aspects of feminism, (the roles of women in that time period) and racism. Kidd projects an independent view and shows how strong women can really be, through the characters of the Boatwright sisters. It's a truly captivating novel that teaches us of forgiveness and the value of helping others and finding happiness and motherly influences within yourself. I highly recommend this novel to women, especially. The voice of Kidd is what makes this novel so captivating. Style Analysis-Sue Monk Kidd uses distinct elements of style to make her writing different from other authors. A stylistic element that is often seen in her writing is her use of religion. Kidd refers frequently to the Virgin Mary and Black Madonna in the novel. For instance, August says, "Our mother said she was just like Mary, with her heart on the outside of her chest" (Kidd 97). Kidd also refers greatly to the Black Madonna; suggesting the fuse between white and black religion. This also contributes to her unique voice and style. In an interview with Kidd she said, "...We have to have a way to speak about God, and in order to do that, we have to use images and forms and symbols and metaphor and language...Religion has mostly told us that there was only one form or one image, and that is male, so we've had a rather limited picture of God" (Kidd and Schlumpf). This further suggests Kidd's collaboration of religion, and also feminism. Her style also focuses around certain themes, including this. The book especially shows how females are cultured, and even have certain authority over men. This, and her escalated use of religion reflect who she is, and what her style represents. Distinctly stated, "A close examination of the religious imagery in Kidd's two novels reveals a shared, rich, unique geographical, historical, cultural, and religious context that celebrates life, community, and spiritual renewal" (Hebb). The novel, The Secret Life of Bees, would not have come together without her use of allusions and religion. Another stylistic element she uses often is symbols, and the meaningful representation behind them. Besides the religious symbols, the most common one can be seen in the title: bees. Kidd uses the symbol of the bees to show the secrecy in someone's life. For instance in the novel August says, "Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about” (Kidd 148). This element of style is what made the novel what it is- making Kidd's style unique and different from others. Along with symbols, Kidd also uses southern and simplistic diction along with character development. The Southern diction is seen throughout the story. For example, "The diction is regional, with typical southern phrases like 'God-help-me-Jesus'...[May] always sings 'Oh Susanna' to ward off sorrow and depression" ("The Secret Life of Bees"). These words and also other southern phrases and references in the novel are seen frequently, which is different from other novels. Another aspect of style Kidd uses is character development. Lily, the protagonist, matures and learns from beginning to end that love is all around her, and it is possible to find motherly influences within yourself. Even though this development may not have been fully seen till the end, this change is what helps carve a theme for this novel. It was said that, "One thing that Lily learns is that everyone is equal, despite skin color...Lily matures and grows up throughout the book. Along with learning about life in general, she learns about love" ("The Secret Life of Bees"). This implies that she learns a majority of lessons throughout the novel, showing how Kidd uses this element of style to convey this. A quote from the book that demonstrate character development was, "Drifting off to sleep, I thought about her. How nobody is perfect. How you just have to close your eyes and breathe out and let the puzzle of the human heart be what it is” (Kidd 193). Kidd's style use of religious imagery, symbols, metaphors, and character development help her create a distinct, traditional, and unique style.
Trailer for the movie The Secret Life Of Bees-
Works Cited- Hebb, Judith. "Religious Imagery in The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair." Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference (14 Apr. 2006): 1-9. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 267. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://go.galegroup.com>.
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Viking, 2002. Print.
Kidd, Sue Monk, and Heidi Schlumpf. "All Abuzz about the Black Madonna: An Interview with Sue Monk Kidd." U.S. Catholic 68.11 (Nov. 2003): 26-30. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 267. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.gogalegroup.com>.
The Secret Life of BeesBy: Sue Monk Kidd
About the Book- The Secret Life Of Bees was written by Sue Monk Kidd in 2002. The book takes place in the 60's starting in Sylvan, South Carolina but also in the city of Tiburon, South Carolina. The main characters consist of LIly, T.Ray, Rosaleen, and the Boatwright sisters. Lily lives with her dad T.Ray and her housekeeper Rosaleen in Sylvan. Lily is not content with her life, because of her harsh dad and the unkown story of her mother. Rosaleen, her housekeeper, ends up getting into trouble. Due to these unfortunate events, Lily and Rosaleen end up living with the Boatwright sisters in Tiburon.
About the Author-Sue Monk Kidd is a writer and novelist who was born in Albany, Georgia. Her hometown greatly influenced her writing of The Secret Life of Bees. She was interested in writing fiction in her 40's, and enrolled in a graduate writing course at Emory University, as well as studying at Sewanee, Bread Loaf and others writers' conferences. Kidd wrote some books in the late 80's and early 90's but her first novel, The Secret Life Of Bees, was published in 2002. The Secret Life Of Bees has sold more than 6 million copies, spent over two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list and been published in 35 countries. Her other well-known, The Mermaid Chair was published in 2005.
Characters and Conflict- Lily, the protagonist, is a young girl who had a hard time growing up. She accidentally killed her mother with a gun when she was little, and this haunts her throughout the rest of the novel. She is often abused by her father T.Ray. T.Ray is strict and makes her do things she doesn't want to do. Rosaleen decided to apply to vote, but got into a fight with several white men. This put her in jail-leaving Lily alone with T.Ray much of the time. Lily had enough with T.Ray's harshness and decided to help Rosaleen escape jail and run away to a town called Tiburon. Lily struggles to find a motherly influence and discover if her mom realy cared about her. She had a collection of her things that she looked at frequently, including a picture of a black Virgin Mary, with the writing 'Tiburon' on the back. In the hopes of finding someplace to stay, Rosaleen and Lily end up at the house of the Boatwright sisters : August, May, and June. May is the sweet, innocent, and naive sister who is very accepting to Lily and Rosaleen. June, who is more level headed and stubborn, gives Lily a hard time for much of the novel. August, serves as Lily's main motherly influence, and is a leader among the residents of the house. They own a honey making business, and use the resources to make a living. Lily and Rosaleen end up staying with the Boatwright sisters for quite some time. Throughout their stay, Lily helps August work and meets a boy she falls in love with named Zach. Rosaleen and May become very close, but May ends up committing suicide due to her wavering emotions. Originally lying about why they needed a home, August tells Lily she knew from the very beginning she was fibbing. They became close, and Lily eventually found out that August knew her mother. But, one day T. Ray finally found Rosaleen and Lily at the house and problems arose.
Theme- Discovering who someone truly is should not be determined from false accusations and a dependence on other people but through self-discovery and security.
Review- The Secret Life Of Bees is a novel written by Sue Monk Kidd. The novel centers on the protagonist, Lily, a young girl whose journey is to discover who her mother really was and escape the harsh acts of her father, T.Ray. It also focuses on the aspects of feminism, (the roles of women in that time period) and racism. Kidd projects an independent view and shows how strong women can really be, through the characters of the Boatwright sisters. It's a truly captivating novel that teaches us of forgiveness and the value of helping others and finding happiness and motherly influences within yourself. I highly recommend this novel to women, especially. The voice of Kidd is what makes this novel so captivating.
Style Analysis- Sue Monk Kidd uses distinct elements of style to make her writing different from other authors. A stylistic element that is often seen in her writing is her use of religion. Kidd refers frequently to the Virgin Mary and Black Madonna in the novel. For instance, August says, "Our mother said she was just like Mary, with her heart on the outside of her chest" (Kidd 97). Kidd also refers greatly to the Black Madonna; suggesting the fuse between white and black religion. This also contributes to her unique voice and style. In an interview with Kidd she said, "...We have to have a way to speak about God, and in order to do that, we have to use images and forms and symbols and metaphor and language...Religion has mostly told us that there was only one form or one image, and that is male, so we've had a rather limited picture of God" (Kidd and Schlumpf). This further suggests Kidd's collaboration of religion, and also feminism. Her style also focuses around certain themes, including this. The book especially shows how females are cultured, and even have certain authority over men. This, and her escalated use of religion reflect who she is, and what her style represents. Distinctly stated, "A close examination of the religious imagery in Kidd's two novels reveals a shared, rich, unique geographical, historical, cultural, and religious context that celebrates life, community, and spiritual renewal" (Hebb). The novel, The Secret Life of Bees, would not have come together without her use of allusions and religion. Another stylistic element she uses often is symbols, and the meaningful representation behind them. Besides the religious symbols, the most common one can be seen in the title: bees. Kidd uses the symbol of the bees to show the secrecy in someone's life. For instance in the novel August says, "Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about” (Kidd 148). This element of style is what made the novel what it is- making Kidd's style unique and different from others. Along with symbols, Kidd also uses southern and simplistic diction along with character development. The Southern diction is seen throughout the story. For example, "The diction is regional, with typical southern phrases like 'God-help-me-Jesus'...[May] always sings 'Oh Susanna' to ward off sorrow and depression" ("The Secret Life of Bees"). These words and also other southern phrases and references in the novel are seen frequently, which is different from other novels. Another aspect of style Kidd uses is character development. Lily, the protagonist, matures and learns from beginning to end that love is all around her, and it is possible to find motherly influences within yourself. Even though this development may not have been fully seen till the end, this change is what helps carve a theme for this novel. It was said that, "One thing that Lily learns is that everyone is equal, despite skin color...Lily matures and grows up throughout the book. Along with learning about life in general, she learns about love" ("The Secret Life of Bees"). This implies that she learns a majority of lessons throughout the novel, showing how Kidd uses this element of style to convey this. A quote from the book that demonstrate character development was, "Drifting off to sleep, I thought about her. How nobody is perfect. How you just have to close your eyes and breathe out and let the puzzle of the human heart be what it is” (Kidd 193). Kidd's style use of religious imagery, symbols, metaphors, and character development help her create a distinct, traditional, and unique style.
Trailer for the movie The Secret Life Of Bees-
Works Cited-
Hebb, Judith. "Religious Imagery in The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair." Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference (14 Apr. 2006): 1-9. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 267. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://go.galegroup.com>.
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Viking, 2002. Print.
Kidd, Sue Monk, and Heidi Schlumpf. "All Abuzz about the Black Madonna: An Interview with Sue Monk Kidd." U.S. Catholic 68.11 (Nov. 2003): 26-30. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 267. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.gogalegroup.com>.
"The Secret Life of Bees." NotRequiredReading.com -. 2007. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.notrequiredreading.com/books/secretbees.php>.