User:Prettyin/Draft of The Secret Life of Bees

Plot Summary

Lily Owens is a 14 year old girl living in Sylvan, South Carolina during 1964, who has grown up motherless since the age of four. She lives in a house with a neglectful father and a black maid, Rosaleen. The book opens by showing Lily's memories of the day that her mother died. In Lily's vivid memory, her mother, Deborah, and her father, T.Ray, were fighting. A gun fell to the floor, which in the hands of four year old Lily, shot Deborah. She is constantly reminded of this life changing scene.

When the Civil Rights Act is put into effect, Rosaleen decides to register to vote. She and Lily go into town, where Rosaleen gets into an argument with three white men. Lily and Rosaleen are put in jail, where Rosaleen is brutally beaten. T.Ray takes Lily home from jail, and punishes her by making her kneel on grits. They get into an argument, and T.Ray tells Lily her mother abandoned her. Lily believes that this could not possibly be true, so it infuriates her. When T.Ray is outside, Lily runs away with all of her belongings. She escapes with Rosaleen by sneaking her out of the hospital that she was in to treat her injuries. They begin hitchhiking toward Tiburon, SC, a place written on the back of a "Black Mary" picture which was an old possession of Deborah's. They spend a night in the woods with little food and little hope, before reaching Tiburon. There, they buy lunch at a diner, and Lily recognizes a picture of the same "Black Mary," but on the side of a jar of honey. They receive directions of the origin of that honey, the Boatwright residence. They are introduced to the Boatwright sisters, the makers of the honey, August, May, and June, who are all black. Lily makes up a story about being an orphan. It is unclear whether or not they believe her, but they let Lily and Rosaleen stay there nonetheless. They learn the ways of the Boatwrights, as well as the ways of beekeeping.

With a new home and a new family for the time being, Lily learns more about the Black Madonna honey that the sisters make. In order to repay the Boatwrights for their kindness, August tells them, "You can work it off."(83) She goes out with Lily and shows her the life of a beekeeper. At the same time Lily learns more about the other sisters and their pasts. June seems to see through Lily's lies, and does not act warmly toward her. Because of that, Lily does not take well to June either. The other sister, May, is a bit unusual and does not seem to be able to cope with sadness. Lily finds out that May had a twin sister, April, who died when they were younger. Even before she died, May always experienced the same feelings as April. "When April died, something in May died too... It seemed like the world itself became May's twin sister."(97)

While Lily and Rosaleen were staying there they got to see the sisters' form of religion. They held services at their house which they called "The Daughters of Mary." They keep a figurehead of "Black Mary," which was actually a statue from the bow of an ancient ship, and August told the story of how a man by the name of Obadiah, who was a slave, found this figure. The slaves thought that God had answered their prayers asking for rescue, and "to send them consolation"(108) and "to send them freedom."(108) It gave them hope, and the figure had been passed down for generations. Lily begins attending the meetings and seeing more of their unique religion.

Lily finally meets Zach, August's godson. They become great friends, but soon develop intimate feelings for each other. Acknowledging the trouble that an interracial couple could cause in the South, they attempt to put the feelings aside. They share goals with each other while working the hives. Both Lily and Zach find their goals nearly impossible to meet, but still encourage each other to attempt them. Zach want to be the "ass-busting lawyer", which means he would be the first black lawyer in the area (121). Lily wants to be a short story writer.

Lily questions August about the black Madonna, for she had never thought of Mary as being black before. August replies by saying, "...You see everybody needs a God who looks like them, Lily." (141) Zach and Lily go out for a honey run, but Zach and some friends get arrested for "injuring" a white man. The Boatwright house decides not to tell May in fear of an unbearable emotional episode. Unfortunately, the secret does not stay hidden for long, sending May into a place so distant her sisters cannot even reach her (186).

May goes out to the wall at night, and after minutes of worrying, August, June, Lily and Rosaleen go out to search for her. They find her lying dead in the river with a rock on her chest, an apparent suicide. The police come, and after thoroughly questioning Lily about who she is and why she is staying with a black family, they carry May away. A vigil is held which lasts four days. In that time, Zack is freed from jail with no charges, and black cloth is draped over the beehives to symbolize the mourning. May's suicide letter is found and in it she says, "It's my time to die, and it's your time to live. Don't mess it up."(210) August interprets this as urging June to marry Neil. May is later buried. Life begins to turn back to normal after a time of grieving, bringing the Boatwright house back together. June after several rejections, agrees to give her hand in marriage to Neil (222). Failing the attempt of putting their feelings aside, Zach and Lily kiss (230). Zach vows to Lily that they will be together someday (231).

Lily talks to August and finally finds out if her mom left her or if T.Ray was lying. Lily's feeling of not knowing the truth was vanquished, but they were replaced with the feeling of being unloved. It was shown when T.Ray showed up at the pink house. He started screaming and when Lily told him that her mom came to this house when she left him, he went into a rampage. He thought Lily was Deborah and slapped her saying, "Deborah... You're not leaving me again."(294) Soon he calmed down and was about to take Lily when August stepped in. She would always say, "If you need something from somebody, always give that person a way to hand it to you."(298) She offered to let Lily stay with her. T.Ray gave in and let her stay with the Boatwright sisters and her new family. She could tell that he was really thinking, "Oh, Lily, you're better off there in that house of colored women. You never would've flowered with me like you will with them."(299) After he left, Lily realized something very important. Looking at August, June, Rosaleen, the Daughters of Mary, and the sign of love her mom gave her she knew she did have people who loved her.

Characters

Lily Owens: a fourteen-year-old white girl, searching for her identity through her deceased mother's past. Lily is constantly tormented by her father, T.Ray. Despite her troubles, Lily is very creative.

T.Ray Owens: the father of Lily Owens and the widower of Deborah Fontanel-Owens. He is insensitive and emotionally neglectful towards his daughter. T.Ray owns a peach orchard, which consumes most of his time.

Rosaleen Daise: the maid of T.Ray and Lily's household. She is Lily's best friend for most of the book. She is very heavy, but strong and stubborn. She can be rude and blunt, but overall wants the best for people.

August Boatwright: the eldest of the Boatwright sisters. August is a nurturing beekeeper and considerate person.

June Boatwright: the sister of May and August Boatwright. She is a bitter school teacher and musician who refuses to marry.

May Boatwright: the sister of August and June Boatwright. She is abnormally sensitive and caring.

Deborah Fontanel-Owens: the mother of Lily Owens and widower of T.Ray Owens. She is remembered to be very beautiful, but she died in a gun accident when Lily was four.

Our Lady of Chains: A statue of the Virgin Mary that is the center of the Boatwright sisters' religion and inspiration. The followers of the small group are called The Daughters of Mary.

Zachary "Zach" Lincoln Taylor: August's godson who helps her with the honey. He is a football player who attends the local black high school. Even though Zach is talented he has bigger plans than becoming a professional football player.

Neil: the principal at the school where June teaches. He is nice, tall, and forgiving. Neil loves June Boatwright and has stayed by her with the hope of marriage for years.

The Daughters of Mary: Cressie, Queenie, Sugar-Girl and Violet are followers of Our Lady of Chains. They wear elaborate hats and outfits.

Otis: the husband of Sugar-Girl and the only Son of Mary.

Mr.Clayton Forrest: the white lawyer in Tiburon, SC. He gives Zach hope of being a lawyer and the first book of Zach's growing law library. Mr.Clayton also helps Lily and Rosaleen with their legal troubles.

Themes

The reviews of this novel are generally very positive but it is interesting how different people see different things. Mark Flanagan from About.com felt the novel had "universal appeal" but was dominated by female characters. He was disappointed that there was not a stronger, more positive male character. He felt the book at times was "too sweet" like the honey from the bees. However, he did feel it was an "inspirational feminist tale with strong female characters". The reviewer from BookBrowse felt the novel was an excellent way for someone interested in the US civil rights movement of the 1960s to get the perspective of people who lived it on a daily basis. Although the novel does include the underlying theme of the civil rights movement, USA Today felt the novel focused more on Lily's journey towards "self-acceptance, faith and freedom". Not the freedom felt by those struggling through the civil rights movement but the freedom Lily feels when she begins to learn who her mother was and how her life lead her to the sisters. All three reviews mention this novel was really about Lily's coming of age.

"The Secret Life of Bees" Author: Mark Flanagan, About.com 3/21/10 www.bookbrowse.com 3/21/10

Source summary: (Will O'Brien): Source for RECEPTION and ADAPTATION: www.suemonkkidd.com/author.aspx

Reception

"The secret life of Bees is fast becoming a modern classic." It is becoming recognised as a "must-read" book among high schools and middle schools. It was originally published in 2002, and has since sold more than 6 million copies, and has been published in 35 countries. It also maintained it's position on the New York Times best seller list for 2 and a half years.

In 2004, It was awarded the "Book Sense Paperback of the Year." It was also one of Good Morning America's "Read-This" Book club pick, and it was nominated for the Orange Prize in England.

Adaptation

"The Secret Life of Bees" was adapted into a movie by Fox Searchlight in 2008. The movie won the People's Choice and the NAACP Image Awards for best picture. It was also produced on stage in New York by American Place Theater.