“There is nothing perfect, there is only life,” is one of the most inspiring aphorisms that August uses in the book The Secret Life of Bees. August says this to Lily to teach her about life and how it is not perfect. This lesson is shown in many ways, one being when Lily knows that it was her who killed her mother. Also how she had to deal with T-Ray treating her the way he did and him being rude to her most of her life. These words that August says to Lily in Chapter 12 show how she’s guiding Lily to think better of herself. She doesn’t just try and comfort Lily, but she tried to show her how rough life is and to not always get down when things don’t go as planned.
In the book, Lily goes through a lot of hardships where it’s difficult for her to find herself. In the beginning of the book, where T Ray tells Lily that she’s the one that killed her mother, is a very hard moment for her. She keeps telling herself that T Ray just said that to get her upset. She didn’t want to believe that it was true. That is one way how the aphorism August tells her connects because it’s saying how you don’t always hear what you want to hear but you can’t let that bring your world crashing down. She just has to accept it and move on with her life rather than just being haunted by it.
These words coming from August herself show a lot for the fact that she has gone through many troubles in her time as well. She had gone through many obstacles to get where she was with her business in honey. Not only that, but she also had many family issues she had to deal with. Having her sister, May, commit suicide made her even more of a stronger woman which is another point in how life isn’t perfect at all. August tries to show Lily that even though bad things may happen in life, you cannot let it affect the way you do things in the future. In other words, it should not stop anyone from continuing on with life and being happy.
After Lily confesses the truth to