The Secret Life Of Bees Home Essay

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Home in The Secret Life of Bees Sonsyrea Tate’s statement about “home” aligns with Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees. In this novel, the main character, Lily Owens, embarks on a Bildungsroman journey after leaving her birth home to find her true identity and “home.” The idea of “home” guides Lily on a path of self-discovery and leads her to the pink house and the feminine society that lies within, in which she finds true empowerment and womanhood in her life. “Home” plays an important role in Lily’s journey throughout the novel. Lily feels lost and alone at the peach house with T. Ray because of his continuous physical and mental abuse. For example, T. Ray punishes Lily by making her kneel on grits and verbally abuses her. Lily Lily’s idea of home is having loving parent/mother figures who can help guide her in life. Because of this desire, she leaves T. Ray and begins to search for her true identity. This quest for acceptance leads her to meet the Calendar Sisters. This “home” that she finds brightly displays the ideas of identity and feminine society. Though Lily could not find these attributes with T. Ray at the peach house, she eventually learns the truth behind her identity at the pink house, where she discovers the locus of identity that resides within herself and among the feminine community there. Just like in any coming-of-age story, Lily uncovers the true meaning of womanhood and her true self, allowing her to blossom among the feminine influence that surrounds her at the pink house. Lily finds acceptance among the Daughters of Mary, highlighting the larger meaning of acceptance and identity in the novel. The meaning behind Sonsyrea Tate’s statement can be found deeply rooted within Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees. The desire for “home,” or identity, within Lily is the driving force that leads her to find the pink house and the Calendar Sisters. This new physical and spiritual “home” that Lily finds illuminates the larger meaning of the novel, which is acceptance and identity, and displays where she truly

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