Secret life of bees approach paper
The Secret Life of Bees Approach Paper
II. Summary Paragraph
The Secret Life of Bees is a coming of age story set in the 1960s about Lily Owens, who went through life believing that she had accidentally killed her mother one fateful day in her early childhood, and Lily’s abusive father, T-Ray, tries as hard as he can to fill Lily with guilt about what happened. The only person Lily turns to for comfort is her black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, who gets herself into trouble when she stands up to some of the town’s biggest racists. Lily and Rosaleen decide to run away together, and they are taken in by three black beekeeping sisters, who Lily eventually turns to as mother figures. There Lilly leans about the similarities between her and her mother, the wonderful world of beekeeping, and what it’s like to feel like you belong.
III. Character Descriptions
Lily Owens: courageous, curious, insecure, open-minded, loyal
Rosaleen: resolute, assertive, devoted, confident, resourceful
May: melancholy, tender, affectionate, lovable, compassionate
T-Ray: cruel, aggressive, distressed, foul, angry
IV. Discussion/Essay Questions
1. When Rosaleen was on her way to vote for the first time she was stopped by three racist men, these men taunted her and insulted her, so in return Rosaleen poured her spittoon on their shoes. This act enraged these men and they abused and beat up Rosaleen. As a result Rosaleen was found guilty and the men were “innocent.” If this event had taken place in modern days how would the result have changed, and why would the result be different?
2. What realizations does Lily make when August and the daughters back up Lily and tell her father that they want Lily to stay? How do these realizations change the way Lily views herself?
3. In the beginning of the book Lily is filled with guilt about the death of her mother. How does this guilt affect her, and is Lily ever able to accept the past and move forward with her life? What part does
II. Summary Paragraph
The Secret Life of Bees is a coming of age story set in the 1960s about Lily Owens, who went through life believing that she had accidentally killed her mother one fateful day in her early childhood, and Lily’s abusive father, T-Ray, tries as hard as he can to fill Lily with guilt about what happened. The only person Lily turns to for comfort is her black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, who gets herself into trouble when she stands up to some of the town’s biggest racists. Lily and Rosaleen decide to run away together, and they are taken in by three black beekeeping sisters, who Lily eventually turns to as mother figures. There Lilly leans about the similarities between her and her mother, the wonderful world of beekeeping, and what it’s like to feel like you belong.
III. Character Descriptions
Lily Owens: courageous, curious, insecure, open-minded, loyal
Rosaleen: resolute, assertive, devoted, confident, resourceful
May: melancholy, tender, affectionate, lovable, compassionate
T-Ray: cruel, aggressive, distressed, foul, angry
IV. Discussion/Essay Questions
1. When Rosaleen was on her way to vote for the first time she was stopped by three racist men, these men taunted her and insulted her, so in return Rosaleen poured her spittoon on their shoes. This act enraged these men and they abused and beat up Rosaleen. As a result Rosaleen was found guilty and the men were “innocent.” If this event had taken place in modern days how would the result have changed, and why would the result be different?
2. What realizations does Lily make when August and the daughters back up Lily and tell her father that they want Lily to stay? How do these realizations change the way Lily views herself?
3. In the beginning of the book Lily is filled with guilt about the death of her mother. How does this guilt affect her, and is Lily ever able to accept the past and move forward with her life? What part does