The Importance Of Discrimination In The Secret Life Of Bees

1059 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: White privilege and racism

Too many times in a black man’s life has he walked into a store and be stared at or followed simply because of the color of his skin. In society the weight of your skin is more than your real personality. The way someone is treated should not be based of their skin complexion but by the way they live their life. The negative ideals associated with those of brown complexion are not only a historical yet current problem that the world faces. Sue Monk Kidd is able to relay these racist under tones, which remain relevant to society not only in the past but in the present as well, through trying situations in the book Secret Life of Bees.
If you look back on the time period that the book took place segregation was at its peak. Most blacks and whites …show more content…

Lily dealt with her own form of racism when she believes that her caregiver Rosaleen, was like every other black uneducated person. Lily and Rosaleen were taking a trip to town and both of their lives were changed. Lily witnessed her black caregiver, Rosaleen be beaten by 3 white males for pouring snuff on their shoes. This was an act of violence that 's was not called for and she did not deserve this treatment. The reason for her being beat by these men was because of the color of her skin. The worst part about it was that there was a policeman present when all of this took place and he did absolutely nothing to help. Instead he restrained Lily so she wouldn’t intervene in the assault. This shows how corrupt the justice system was and how they allowed almost anything to happen. The justice system had their own type of laws and in these laws the blacks never came out on top. The men that assaulted Rosaleen were white and they were not arrested nor charged with anything. Rosaleen was arrested for nothing and Lily was set free, then the police tried to charge Rosaleen with stealing fans from the church so she could stay in jail. Police brutality has been trending topic in the media for decades. It has been said that police use excessive force against minorities. All over television there are cases of police killing or using excessive force on blacks and things

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of C. Van Woodward´s The Strange Career of Jim Crow

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Up to about 40 years after the civil war blacks and whites lived among one another without segregation, just like they did during slavery I might add, but this time they were free, had access to property, shopped where whites shopped, lived side by side. I say again in this review, location, location, location. The north had slaves, the south had slaves, and the north had segregation. This book reminds us as we romanticize the north, it also has a past. I recommend this book to any teacher or person wanting to know the real history of segregation between blacks and whites in America and to remember that history repeats itself.

    Read More

  • The Secret Life Of Bees Rhetorical Analysis

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    In life, actions and events that occur can sometimes have a greater meaning than originally thought. This is especially apparent in The Secret Life Of Bees, as Sue Monk Kidd symbolically uses objects like bees, hives, honey, and other beekeeping means to present new ideas about gender roles and social/community structures. This is done in Lily’s training to become a beekeeper, through August explaining how the hive operates with a queen, and through the experience Lily endures when the bees congregate around her.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Secret Life Of Bees

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Biases In The Secret Life Of Bees

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lily’s biases in The Secret Life Of Bees have altered greatly she now knows that people of color have the ability to fend for themselves, and that they can be strong and influential people.

    Read More

  • The Secret Life Of Bees Home Essay

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Emotion and Culture in Secret Life of Bees

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although the main character in the book was white, the author, Sue Kidd, does a great job of depicting the African American culture during the time. Whether it was Rosaleen getting beat up in jail, or Zach dreaming of being a lawyer, this book showed you what it was like being a minority during a time when rights where still being fought for. One of the smaller conflicts in the story was a man verses man conflict, when Lily and Zach started to like each other. Though they knew that a colored man, and a white girl could never be together, they both were attracted to each other. Were they not from different cultures, people would have been fine with them dating, but because Zach was black, it couldn?t work out.

    Read More

  • Separate Pasts Analysis

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...much of the South at the time. I believe that McLaurin does an effective job describing segregation in his hometown by giving actual examples that he experienced growing up. He was there, he saw it, and he experienced it. Therefore, I believe that the book has much historical value. This book gives insight from a young boy’s point of view of growing up with segregation in the south. Usually, you hear the black’s point of view and how horrible it was, but it is interesting to hear it from the other side because as a young boy, he really didn’t see it as wrong, but that it was just the way they lived. Through McLaurin’s memories, the book gives not just a boring textbook read about segregation, but stories and experiences with it, making it an interesting and more enjoyable read. I believe that this book gives valuable historical insight to segregation in the south.

    Read More

  • The Secret Life Of Bees Setting Analysis

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    The setting in the Secret life of bees helps set the overall structure of the book. As the setting changes, and certain events take place, so does the characters views on life. The most change seen is on Lily, the main character. Her values multiply and her perspective on cultural order shifts from one mind set to another. Although one part of the book’s setting limits the opportunities of the characters; the other part opens those and different opportunities. The setting in The Secret Life of Bees is vitally important because it impacts the main character and the people around her through events that transpire in the book.

    Read More

  • The Spiritual Growth of Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ruth, Elizabeth. “The Secret Life of Bees Traces the Growth of Lily’s Social Consciousness.” Coming of Age in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2013. 63-65. Print. Social Issues in Literature. Rpt. of “Secret Life of Bees.” The Globe and Mail 2 Mar. 2002: n. pag.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Discrimination In The Secret Life Of Bees

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a story about racial struggle between black and white in 1964, which is in the middle of the civil right movement in South Carolina. The narrator and protagonist of the story named Lily raised by T. Ray, her father, who has bias towards black people at all time. Due to the fact that T. Ray often says something regards to racial discrimination, Lily starts to thinks that whites are superior than the others unconsciously. Also Lily was not aware that she is being an unconscious racism because of T. Ray until she starts to live with Boatwright sisters who are black. T. Ray often takes his anger out on Lily since Deborah left the house and it trigged abuses and ignores Lily. Moreover, though T. Ray treats Lily so badly, he seems like and acts like he doesn’t care. In other words, it was impossible to feel any humanity in T. Ray. One of the most important and influential characters named T. Ray is prejudiced, violent and cruel person.

    Read More

  • The difference Between Life In The 1930s And Life In The year 2003

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book talks about how there was segregation just about everywhere you looked. In the 1930's the white people had their own restrooms along with their own water fountains and the lacks had their own school and blacks usually did not go to school. They were too busy working on the farm to go to school. The schools only had one room for all of the grades. The children usually walked to school in those days,because they didn't have school buses. They also had to bring their own lunch to school in lunch pails. Today children ride school buses to school. It would kill us if we had to walk to school.We are not use to that much exercise. Also today they serve us lunch in the cafeterias. Although it it is not that good at least they try. They have to work with the limited stuff the school board allows them to buy. Speaking of buses, the blacks would have to sit in the back of the bus and the whites sat in the front. Although,thanks to Rosa Parks, who on day refused to sit in the back of the bus, now blacks can sit wherever they want to sit. Today whites use the same restrooms and water fountains as blacks do. Blacks and whites also attend the same schools. Today schools have different classrooms for every grade.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Essays: Discrimination and Prejudice

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    Discrimination and prejudice were very common acts in the early and middle 1900's. Prejudice in this book is displayed by the acts of hate and misunderstanding because of someone's color. People of color were the majority that were treated unfairly. During this time in the southern states, black people had to use separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, sections in restaurants, churches, and even go to separate schools. Although much of the discrimination was directed towards blacks, there were plenty of accounts towards impoverished families by those that had money. Discrimination is prevalent when people that are different are called names. Some people thought blacks were automatically dumb because of their color. They weren't allowed to do anything but menial tasks (such as chopping wood) and hard labor because they were thought too dumb.

    Read More

  • Being Biracial-Personal Narrative

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was late for school, and my father had to walk me in to class so that my teacher would know the reason for my tardiness. My dad opened the door to my classroom, and there was a hush of silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on my father and me. He told the teacher why I was late, gave me a kiss goodbye and left for work. As I sat down at my seat, all of my so-called friends called me names and teased me. The students teased me not because I was late, but because my father was black. They were too young to understand. All of this time, they thought that I was white, because I had fare skin like them, therefore I had to be white. Growing up having a white mother and a black father was tough. To some people, being black and white is a contradiction in itself. People thought that I had to be one or the other, but not both. I thought that I was fine the way I was. But like myself, Shelby Steele was stuck in between two opposite forces of his double bind. He was black and middle class, both having significant roles in his life. "Race, he insisted, blurred class distinctions among blacks. If you were black, you were just black and that was that" (Steele 211).

    Read More

  • Learning from Bees: A Journey Towards Healing

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl named Lily, who runs away from her abusive father with her housekeeper to the town that her late mother had once been to. There, she meets August and the Boatwright sisters, who live in a bright pink house and own a bee farm. These women teach her all about life through bees and the black Mary statue that is kept in their house. Lily comes from a rough situation, surrounded by negativity, but the sisters take her in and teach her what family and love is. Although living in a world where, for her, love is scarce, Lily is able to learn from the all negatives in her life, which then turn into positives, and Lily is a better person because of what she learned.

    Read More

  • Motherly Figures in The Secret Life of Bees

    428 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lily has a lot of mother figures in her life. In ?The Secret Life of Bees? two mother figures that she has are Rosaleen and August. A mother cares for her young and guides them trough life. She comforts and soothes them when they need it. Lily?s Mothers are Rosaleen and August. Both act as mothers for Lily in different ways.

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Discrimination In The Secret Life Of Bees

Open Document