The Secret Life of Bees- Part 1

Bees have come to mean tragedy and death spiritually and in literature.

From what I have read so far in this book, it has vastly exceeded my expectations. I was recommended to read The Secret Life of Bees by a classmate who gave me a brief depiction of the plot. My initial thought was that the story would be simple, a story about a young Caucasian girl moving in with an African American family in the 1960s. However, the novel is much more complex.

Each chapter begins with a small quote or excerpt about bees. The main character, Lily, makes several references to bees as well from the very start of the book while incorporating the background of her life into the story. The novel is written in small parts; a few pages with tell a story of a specific event, and then a break will occur causing the story to seem almost choppy. Lily begins by narrating her current life, and then flashes back to old memories. The only memory Lily has of her mother was of the day she accidentally killed her. She was four, and her parents began to argue for a reason unclear to Lily. As the argument progressed, her mother produced a gun from the closet when her father, also known as T. Ray, hit the gun out of her hands. At that time, Lily vaguely remember picking up the shiny object from the floor and hearing it go off. She shudders every time she recalls that day.

In the present day, Lily has no motherly figure other than Rosaleen, the African American who worked on T. Ray's peach farm and also nannied Lily. She resents her father because he is a very cruel and demeaning man. T.Ray claims girls have to reason to go to college, and he hardly shows any emotion towards his daughter. Lily is the type of hopeless outcast who needs a huge event to occur in order to change her life around. The spark that ignited this future change were the three keepsakes Lily has found from the attic and kept for years- a pair of white gloves, a picture of her mother, and a picture of an African American Mary with "Tiburon, S.C" written on the back.

After being punished the night before, and being with Rosaleen while she was sent to jail, Lily decides to run away from home. She leaves a horrible note to T. Ray saying she was leaving plain and simple. She then manages to break Rosaleen free and the pair flee to Tiburon. It is here that Lily assumes her mother had been, and therefore wants to learn all she can about her. She winds up a "fugitive," as she calls herself and Rosaleen, and finds a home of three black women- May, June and August. This house produces honey with the African American Mary on the mason jar, identical to the picture that Lily owns from her mother's old stash. August welcomes the two in and Lily lies about her situation in order to get a chance to learn about her mother's past. As she spends more time with the "calendar sisters" she begins to find her true feelings and what really makes her up as a human being. She assists August in the upkeep of the beehives and the producing of usable honey. June feels burdened by Lily and Rosaleen, but August insists that Lily will leave when she's ready, and also hints that she will spill the truth as well.

Lily lives on a fine line; racism, cruelties from her father, the unknown of the past, her possible future, and bees all surround her life. The bees have come to play a significant role in the development of her character. She realizes that bees have been associated with the negative times in her life, but she is trying to make it a positive outlet in the present. While learning about her past and where her mother had been, she learns that "every little thing wants to be loved," including herself (92). Lily is looking to feel like she belongs and that she is welcomed. She ultimately wants to free the chains that T. Ray has tied her down with and create a life in which she sees as suitable.

-A. Pruett