Themes In The Secret Life Of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees is a novel written by Sue Monk Kidd that was published in 2001. It is about a girl named Lily who runs away from home with her maid Rosaleen. They wanted to get away from danger and racism. In the house, Lily finds out secrets about her dead mother and tries to learn more about her. The story shows a lot of cruelty. When an author uses their writing to represent cruelty in a story, it can be helpful in contributing to the overall theme or message. The cruelty that occurs in the story is racism, and it helps develop the theme of anyone can overlook stereotypes. In the book cruelty is shown when the three men are harassing Rosaleen on her way to register to vote, and when Lily was afraid to tell anyone that she and
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She knew she was a citizen of the United States who had the right to vote. While on her way to register three men stopped her. One of the men said "Well, look what we got coming here," he called out. "Where're you going?
The comment one of the men made toward Rosaleen was cruel because at the end he made a racial slur towards her. The reason why he did this was that he felt that Rosaleen was inferior since she was of color. After the racist comment was made Lily told Rosaleen not to ignore them and keep going. Lily showing concern for Rosaleen contributes to the overall theme because Lily views Rosaleen as more than just a color. She views her as a part of her family and doesn't let anything stop it.
In the book Lily and Zach have always shown interest in each other, but when they found out that they liked each other, they made the decision to keep it a secret especially from August so no one would be upset. When their attraction grows stronger it's hard for them to be a part. They both wish that they could live in a world where they could live together. Lily wished that she was black so that she and Zach could be together. On page 216, Zach responded with, “We can’t think of changing our skin… Change the world – that’s how we gotta think”. The setting of the book is in the 1960s. During that time, racism and discrimination were common. This type of cruelty contributes to the theme
She knew she was a citizen of the United States who had the right to vote. While on her way to register three men stopped her. One of the men said "Well, look what we got coming here," he called out. "Where're you going?
The comment one of the men made toward Rosaleen was cruel because at the end he made a racial slur towards her. The reason why he did this was that he felt that Rosaleen was inferior since she was of color. After the racist comment was made Lily told Rosaleen not to ignore them and keep going. Lily showing concern for Rosaleen contributes to the overall theme because Lily views Rosaleen as more than just a color. She views her as a part of her family and doesn't let anything stop it.
In the book Lily and Zach have always shown interest in each other, but when they found out that they liked each other, they made the decision to keep it a secret especially from August so no one would be upset. When their attraction grows stronger it's hard for them to be a part. They both wish that they could live in a world where they could live together. Lily wished that she was black so that she and Zach could be together. On page 216, Zach responded with, “We can’t think of changing our skin… Change the world – that’s how we gotta think”. The setting of the book is in the 1960s. During that time, racism and discrimination were common. This type of cruelty contributes to the theme