FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

TITLE

The Secret Life of Bees

MEANING BEHIND TITLE

The secret life of bees refers to something that August said, that bees have a "secret life" inside their hives that not many can see. In the book, Lily is basically leading her own secret life, after moving to the Boatwright house she lies about her past and she has so many thoughts swirling around in her head that others are not privy to.

AUTHOR

Sue Monk Kidd

FIRST PUBLISHED IN

 2002

POINT OF VIEW

This book is written in first person at the point of view of Lily Owens.

WHY IS IT EFFECTIVe

You get many details on the internal conflict that Lily has, as well as her thoughts on the external conflict between Lily and her father. 

SETTING (TIME)

 1964

SETTING (PLACE)

Sylvan and Tiburon, South Carolina, when tensions between blacks and whites from the Civil Rights Act are high. Much of the story takes place at the residence of a family of three black women called the Boatwright House. 

PROTAGONIST

Lily Owens

ANTAGONIST

Lily’s father, T. Ray.

ATMOSPHERE/MOOD

The atmosphere of this story often alternates, in the beginning we get a sense of distress which gives way to a more peaceful and lighthearted feeling after Lily runs away to the Boatwright house. Anxious feelings are still present as Lily battles with her own feelings and the racism around her. However, the mood turns dark after the boy she likes gets taken to jail and a woman of the Boatwright house commits suicide after discovering this. The story regains a more cheerful atmosphere after the climax of the story and Lily returns to school, her father, T. Ray consenting to letting her stay at the Boatwright house, and she finally begins to discover who she is, her crush is set free from jail with no penalty, she comes to terms with her mother’s death, and she begins to make friends. 

PLOT

Lily Owens has a hard childhood. Her mother was taken from her at a young age, so she was left with her harsh father, who she must hide everything from. The black housekeeper, Rosaleen, is her only true friend. One day, Lily decides to come along with Rosaleen to town as Rosaleen registers to vote. On the way, Lily and Rosaleen are confronted by a group of disapproving white men. A conflict occurs between Rosaleen and the men, resulting in Rosaleen’s sentence to jail. Lily feels she must break Rosaleen out, since T. Ray would not. After rescuing Rosaleen, the two make their way to a house of black, female bee-keepers (August, May, and June) that Lily seeks, due to clues from her mother’s possessions  Lily and Rosaleen find that they feel safe and at home, and they even feel like they are accepted as family at the bee farm. Many events go on at the bee-house, and Lily has a deep-rooted tension that she must leave soon, as well as come clean to the family, so as not to be “taking advantage” of the hospitality given to her. Lily eventually breaks to August, and (Spoiler Alert!) to Lily’s surprise, August tells Lily things about her mother that send Lily’s mind spiraling into chaos. Eventually, Lily learns to set things straight, both internally and between her and her father, and she lives a happy life with people who truly care about her.

MAJOR CONFLICT

Lily lives unhappily with her father, who claims that as a child she accidentally killed her mother. When the only one who truly loves Lilly, Rosaleen, her black maid, is arrested for confronting racists, Lilly decides to break her out of Jail and together they run away to a place where Lilly's mother once lived.

OTHER CONFLICTS

There are a couple different conflicts expressed in the book. The resistance of Zach and Rosaleen toward the aggressive, white male society, the effects of racism, and Lily’s acceptance of living in a house of black women expresses the conflict of man vs. society. Lily’s conflict with her father, T. Ray, over his possession and command over her is a man vs. man conflict. There is also a lot of internal conflict with Lily, as she tries to fight against her misconceptions of others, her feelings on love and life, as well as the person she wants to become. Other conflicts suggested in the book include a man vs. society, and a man vs. man. 

CLIMAX

The climax begins when Lily’s crush, Zach, an African American, gets arrested for being with a group of friends who accost a white man. Then, May Boatwright commits suicide when she hears the news about Zach, and finally, Lily finally tells August the truth about her past, telling her that she killed her mother and that she had broken Rosaleen out of jail. 

RESOLUTION

The main conflict is finally resolved when Lily finally meets with her father again and he agrees to leave her alone and let her stay in the Boatwright house, Lily finally grieves for her mother, and Zach is let out of jail with no charge. Of course the conflict of man vs. society was not resolved, racism was still a very real thing at the end of the book, but part of the resolution was that Lily had finally learned how to live with it and move past it. 

THEMES

Racism, feminism and family, and the power of storytelling. 

MOTIFS

Bees, mothers

SYMBOLS

Beehives, the black Mary, and photos