Analysis Of Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life Of Bees

“Don’t judge a book by its cover”, a common American idiom, certainly reigns true in the context of this particular novel written by Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees. Main character Lily’s stay at the Boatwright farm with three bee-keeping sisters becomes a crucial setting that will forever alter her views on bees, racism, and life in a way she never would have anticipated. The story begins in Sylvan, South Carolina in 1964 at an especially difficult time, not only for those divided by race, but also for Lily, an insecure teenager who feels lost and unloved ever since her mother died and her father became hard-hearted. Eventually, after witnessing mistreatment of her nanny Rosaleen and deciding that her home life is just too unbearable,