Summary:
In the beginning of chapter four, Rosaleen and Lily are standing outside a bright pink house. The owner is August Boatwright, a beekeeper who knew Lily’s mother. When they reach the front door June, August’s sister hostilely answers. After an awkward few minutes May, another sister of August, comes to the door to lighten up the mood. When June asked what they want, Rosaleen is ready to spill the whole story only to be cut off by Lily. She comes up with a quick lie asking to buy honey and they finally get invited in. As soon as August enters Lily asks to stay and work for her. August graciously agrees and helps them settle in to the guesthouse.
After a week of staying with the sisters, Lily and Rosaleen start to make themselves at home. Rosaleen and May become close friends. Lily works with August and learns all of the interesting ways to use honey. One night Lily is walking to the bathroom and overhears August and June talking about her. They are arguing over Lily’s true intentions of staying with and whether or not to question her on it. Although June wants to confront Lily, August decides to patiently wait for Lily to come to her. June then argues that she is white and probably has an entire town looking for her, which shocks Lily. She didn’t realize that her skin color would be an issue for June.
That Sunday morning, Lily and Rosaleen attend the Daughters of Mary meeting; a religion created by August’s family. The Boatwright sisters as well as other African American women and men come together and praise a wooden statue that symbolizes a black Mary. While June plays the cello, everyone touches the red mark on Mary’s chest representing her heart. When Lily walks up to touch the heart, June abruptly stops playing making Lily embarrassed and faint.
Quotes:
“All that week no one brought up my father, supposedly dead in a tractor accident, or my long lost aunt Bernie in Virginia. The calendar sisters just took us in.” (Kidd 84). This quote summarizes Lily and Rosaleen’s stay at August’s home. Lily lied to August because she is afraid that they will turn her and Rosaleen in. August is a very kind and caring women who opened her home to wondering fugitives. Even though her sister, June, doesn’t approve August treats Lily and Rosaleen like family instead of complete strangers. I think it’s amazing around that time that people opened their homes to random guests. In this day and age, that wouldn’t be safe considering the possibility of kidnapping.
“I hadn’t known this was possible—to reject people for being white.” (Kidd 89). Lily learns the real reason why June doesn’t like her. June has been completely rude to Lily because she is white. This shocks Lily because she has never been discriminated about her race. Filling with anger, Lily experiences, for the first time, racism . She feels ashamed of her skin; an emotion that most African Americans still feel today. I think this is interesting reading about a white person, being on the receiving line of discrimination. The author did an awesome job of putting the perspective in a white person’s hands. Having Lily be the “victim” of racism at such a young age, changes her way of thinking about things. She truly understands on a smaller scale what black people went through during segregation and slavery.
“Lying on the cot in the honey house, though all I could think was August is so intelligent, so cultured, and I was surprised by this. That’s what let me know I had some prejudice buried inside me.” (Kidd 81). Lily realizes that even though she isn’t racist she still has a stereotypical idea of black people. While Lily loves Rosaleen and thinks of her as a mom, she still sees the inarticulate side of black people through stereotyping. I love all of the exposure that Lily is getting from her stay. In just one week she has learned about racism, religion, nature, and her own beauty. It’s great that she is making revelations during her adolescence because she will grow up with love in her heart and zero space for hatred.
Imagery/Symbolism:
“She was almond-buttery with sweat and sun, her face corrugated with a thousand caramel wrinkles and her hair looking flour dusted, but the rest of her seemed decades younger.” (Kidd 73). This image appeals to many of the reader’s senses. I was able to see a woman with golden, brown skin and light, grey hair. August symbolizes a queen in this story. She is very strong, beautiful and selfless. Her influence on Lily grows and develops every day they stay with the Boatwright sisters. She teaches Lily about nature, hatred, loss and love. Because her soul is so pure her glow radiates to everyone around her making everyone else’s day better. I also pictured food when reading this text. Colorful words like “Almond-buttery”, “caramel wrinkles”, and “flour dusted” helped create a delicious illustration in my mind.
Style and Rhetorical Devices:
Foreshadowing-“In the story “Zach will be away for a week,”she was saying.” (Kidd 79). In the story Zach plays Lily’s love interest. He is an African American teen at the local county high school. Bringing his name up early on in the book gives the reader a clue that his character will soon be arriving. With this hint in the beginning I had something interesting to look forward to causing me to pay more attention to the book. Foreshadowing always grabs the reader’s attention because it indicates a developing storyline is approaching .
Point of View-“Standing there, I loved myself and hated myself. That’s what the black Mary did to me, made me feel my glory and my shame at the same time” (Kidd 73). Lily is referring to the wooden statue of Mary. This women represents the strength of slaves during the African Slave Trade. It’s presence influences Lily in different ways. The staues’ face is beautiful and delicate making Lily feel powerful and full of potential. Their is also a welcoming yet stern hint from it’s face that “sees” into Lily’s soul. Many emotions come out of Lily at one time giving her an out of body experience. Describing the Black Mary like this really intrigued me. This small piece of wood brought varying emotions. In the text Lily experiences totally opposite feelings at the same time.
Simile- “The Daughters of Mary got to their feet and swayed together like colorful seaweed on the ocean floor.” (Kidd 113) I love how exotic these women are. Their personalities are beautiful and bright which brings happiness to Lily’s complicated and dark life. This also sheds light on the fact that Lily isn’t like them. Each of these women and men are free spirits, something that Lily is not. She is mesmerized by their vulnerability and devotion to the Black Mary. They each inspire Lily to live a blissful life.
Metaphor- “She reminded me that the world was really one big bee yard, and the same rules worked fine in both: Don’t be afraid, as no life-lovin bee wants to sting you.” (Kidd 95) This quote is extremely vital because it refers to bees; one of the symbols in the story. August has been stung hundreds of times and yet she is still living. Lily is very nervous of the bees, but August assures her that bees are like people and won’t mess with you unless you mess with them. Also she explains the significance of the bees living and working for the queen. I love this comparison because it gives insight on the importance of bees in this story.
Personification-“The moon has been a mystery us. Think about it. She is strong enough to pull the oceans, and when she dies away, she always comes back again.” (Kidd 116) The beauty about August is that she believes nature has a soul and treats it like a person instead of a thing. She values life and shares priceless moments with Lily. Lily grows to love August because of her extraordinary spirit. I love that the author takes notice in small things like the moon, to show readers the influence that nature has on us.
Hyperbole-“We lived for honey…August said honey was the ambrosia of the gods and the shampoo of the goddesses.” (Kidd 85). Honey is extremely important to August giving this line even more exaggeration. Bees also make honey which ties back to the main idea of the book. Lily explains all of the uses of honey and how it’s enhanced her natural beauty. Her hair is shinier and full of volume, and her skin is rid of acne. This line summarizes the significance in honey which was amazingly done by the author. I also love the time at which this text is emphasized. Having August talk about gods and goddesses is interesting, because she doesn’t necessarily believe in that. If this quote wasn’t there then Lily would just be listing the uses of honey and nothing else.
Theme:
I think the main theme is: there will always be discrimination in humans lives, whether it is racial, religious, or societal reasons. The theme has changed throughout this section of the story due to new topics. While race and love still play a big roll, religion is introduced as an important topic. Lily learns this in herself and in others. June resents Lily because of her skin color. Lily observes how educated and cultured August is, contradicting Lily’s subconscious feelings about black people not being smart. For Lily to realize this at a such a young age is incredible, yet sad. Even children like Lily, who aren’t against blacks but have been exposed to such stereotypes shows that there is prejudice in everyone.
Personal Response:
This book has started to grow on me. I love how different each character is and how their personalities reflect off of each other. While this book touches on sensitive subjects including religion, race and family, there are still light and happy moments. I’m able to understand the text clearly. The author gives unique perspectives and does a great job of creating a sense of power behind each line. I love the author’s take on natural beauty. Having women of color represent strength and virtue helps me feel confident. These women handle life’s hardships with grace and class. Even though August and her sisters are older, they still are young and free in their minds which is something that is very hard to hold on to as you age.
Citation: Kidd, Sue Monk.The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Penguin Group 2002.Print
The Secret Life Of Bees 