How To Write An Essay On The Secret Life Of Bees

The book The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a rather interesting book that manages to create mixed feelings in the reader towards many contrasted and relatable characters. There is Lily and her father who have always had a rather rough relationship after Lily’s mother passed when Lily was only a small child. Then there are characters like Rosaleen and August who provide emotional and physical support to the main protagonist, LIly. There are also side characters that bring life to the story such as May and Zach. And then there are characters like June Boatwright, who stands out not only because of her broad spectrum of emotions, but because of her complete 180 and change of perspective. To me, June’s story was one that was just as interesting as that of Lily Owens.

June is not introduced into the story until the events are already well underway, but when she is, she is the first of the Boatwright sisters that Lily and Rosaleen meet. June makes it clear from the beginning that she is not fond of Lily and does not want her staying with them in the Boatwright house, but the other sisters, most importantly August, allowed Lily and Rosaleen to stay with them. And already from the start, June may have had a very good reason as Lily had lied to the sisters about her entire situation.

And this wouldn’t change until much later in the story when June finally begins to behave like her true self and accepts Lily into the family as if she was one of their own.

Apart from all of the LIly business, June’s significant other, Neil, has been trying to convince her to marry him for a while, but June just doesn’t want to.

What the reader then finds out is that June had been left at the altar years earlier, and since then, she has been afraid to love someone and let alone marry someone. This all takes a different turn later on in the story when May leaves June advice telling her that she should live her happiest life. June and Neil actually end up getting married and June is beginning to show even more emotions that have just been bottled up inside. She loved her sister, and it’s that love that helped her change her way of

thinking.

June Boatwright is not a scared curious little girl like Lily Owens, the 14 year old protagonist. No, she is an adult woman who is scared and curious. She was too scared to be happy, especially with her boyfriend. She was much like Lily, because although they both tried to be tougher than they needed to be. Their true selves came out in the little things, such as June playing the cello for dying hospital patients, and Lily playing and attempting to get along with June.

In my opinion, the book was as much of a journey for June as it was for Lily. June was introduced as an angry woman who seemed to be rather selfish and uncaring towards others. Then the story keeps going, and the reader understands that she has her happier and more emotional moments. And as the story continues little bits and pieces of what she has experienced are revealed, and June no longer seems unjustified for her way of handling things. June was never a cold person, she was just too afraid to show emotion, even to the man that loved her. Her character has plenty of depth, and I think that’s why she is my favorite character from the book.