Final Post

 

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Write down a passage that appeals to you and describe why? Does it make more of an impact on your understanding of the book or does it make more of a personal impact? What significance does the passage have in the book?

A passage that appeals to me is when August says “Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about.” – August, pg 148. This passage appeals to me since it’s referring to how people and the way society work; using the hive and bees as a metaphor it is comparing that people are usually more complicated than they appear to be on the surface. I would say this makes more of a personal impact, since yourself and people you encounter in life will usually appear uncomplicated, until you get to know that person or until they open up to you, you will have no idea what’s going on in their life. This passage is significant in this book since Lily and the Boatwright sisters have to deal with and overcome many complicated things in their lives.

Would you recommend this book to another reader? Why/Why not? What kind of person would you recommend it to? What would you tell the person about the book?

I would recommend this book “The Secret Life of Bees” to another reader in a heartbeat. Even though this book is not a true story, it sure felt like it could be. I think this novel is well written, shows lots of expression, has loveable characters and is easy to follow.  I would recommend this novel to any woman or teenage girl. I would tell the person that this book is a heart touching novel full of mystery, longing and love, and would definitely be worth reading.  

“When it’s time to die, go ahead and die, and when it’s time to live, live. Don’t sort-of-maybe live, but live like you’re going all out, like you’re not afraid.” - May and August, pg 211

(One of the memorable quotes written in this novel I like)

 

 

 

 

 

Halfway Post

 

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Describe a problem faced by the main character. Explain how the main character deals with the problem. Make a personal connection to this (either your own experience or that of someone you know).

The main character in the novel “The Secret Life of Bees” is a 14 year old girl named Lily Owens. Lily has faced living an isolated, lonely life, and has a father that is abusive. At the young age of four years old Lily accidently kills her mother Deborah. Lily is longing to have that role of mother figure in her life and to feel maternal love. She chooses to run away from home with her black housekeeper Rosaleen to a small town named Tiburon in South Carolina. They end up at the home of August Bowright, who is a black woman that lives with her two sisters on a 28 acre farm doing bee keeping. The Bowright sisters make Rosaleen and Lily feel welcome and help Lily to overcome her past so she can move forward with her life, and become a confident, mature young lady. Lily soon considers August Bowright to be like her surrogate mother, and someone she can look up to. I know someone who didn’t have the best childhood growing up, which can be difficult. Since the upbringings and experiences with life affect the outlook on life.  By learning how to let things go of the past is the only way to move forwards with one’s life.

“People who think dying is the worst thing don’t know a thing about life” Lily pg 2

(An important quote Lily made since her life has been affected greatly due to her mother’s death)

Write your opinion of a character's action or reaction to a situation in the book. Do you think it was the appropriate course of action and would you have done the same? Why/Why not?

Rosaleen the housekeeper and Lily make their way into town oneday, so Rosaleen can register her vote. Rosaleen gets taunted by three white men, and she spills the contents of her snuff jar on their feet. She gets beaten by the men until the police show up, and take her and Lily to jail. At the jail cell the police demand she apologizes for her actions. When she forbids to say sorry, she gets hit over the head with a heavy flashlight. Lily’s father T-Ray picks Lily up from the jail, leaving Rosaleen to get further beaten by the police, and then taken to the hospital. Soon after the incident Lily decides to run away from home, and gets Rosaleen at the hospital and they flee to Tiburon. In my opinion even though it must have been very tough for Rosaleen to say sorry, since the men were actually in the wrong not her, it would have saved her from getting beaten and hit in the head. If I was put in that situation, I would have said sorry just to cause less drama, and from not getting beaten, even though knowing that I’m the one who should be accepting the apology, not the one apologizing.

“Please God. I didn’t mean to treat her like a pet dog. I was trying to save her. That’s all” Lily said. Pg 54

(Lily says this quote in her mind as her and Rosaleen make their way to Tiburon. Rosaleen makes an inaccurate comment of how Lily treats her like an African American, and not as a mother figure that she has been for her.)

 

Introductory Post

The Secret Life of Bees 

 

By Sue Monk Kidd

 

 

 

This story takes place in 1964 in South Carolina. It's the tale of a young 14 year old girl named Lily Owens, who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. She escapes her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, and flees with her caregiver  and only friend Rosalee. They make their way to a town in South Carolina that holds the secrets to her mother's past. They are taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sister's. That's there where Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping. [Reference Fox Searchlight Pictures]

 

• Penguin Books, New York, NY, 2002,  ISBN 9780142001745 (336 pages)
• Book Review: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/705775-secret-life-of-bees-book-review

 

I chose to start reading this particular novel “The Secret Life of Bees,” because after I read the synopsis, it sparked my interest. It sparked my interest since it sounds like a meaningful story, regarding female rights, racism, and humanity. I'm assuming this novel will portray a lot of emotion. For me to get into a novel, I have to really enjoy what I read, and after I read only the first few pages, I wanted to keep on reading. This novel isn't based on a true story, but I would consider it to be historical fiction.  I have heard and read great reviews on this novel, and I hope once I am done reading this novel for myself that I will be able to contribute my own positive perspective on this novel.