Analysis Of The Secret Life Of Bees

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A poignant and touching classic, The Secret Life of Bees details the coming of age stories of a young girl named Lily. Her life up until the start of the novel was hard, she was friendless with an abusive father and a heavy conscience, as she believes that she is responsible for her mother’s death. Lily’s only solace is her stand-in-mother, a black woman named Rosaleen, so when Rosaleen is hauled to jail for standing up for herself, Lily decided to run away to a mysterious town that has some linkage to her mother. Her escapades lead her to three, wonderful, eclectic, devout followers of Mary, and to a new life. As the story unfolds, an elaborate symbol lies hidden just beneath the surface, one that seems so obvious, but only lies as a hidden …show more content…

As the epigraph for chapter 14 states, “A queenless colony is a pitiful and melancholy community; there may be a mournful wail or lament from within… Without intervention, the colony will die. But introduce a new queen and the most extravagant changes take place” (277) The initial changes with the introduction the new queen seem insignificant, but they are anything but. It begins with Lily taking over May’s old room. It is extremely symbolic of her fulfilling the role left empty in the house. Then, August stood up to T. Ray for Lily to ensure that she would stay in the house with her, effectively keeping her safe, and under her watchful eye, just as she had with May. Many other changes, large and small occur as Lily transfers to her new role, but each is significant to the bee symbolism. Throughout The Secret Life of Bees , there is no shortage of symbolism, coming directly from its namesake, bees. Each connection draws upon the deep and rich meaning behind this wonderful composed text. The bees, however, never are a scapegoat. Similar to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird character Atticus, they never allow for shortcuts or disillusion with reality. They force you to see the world as it is, and to accept it, and send love to it, for it is all you can, when you are as insignificant as a

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