The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

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Brittany Whiting English IVMrs. JolicoeurFebruary 11, 2011 Senior Research Paper The actions people make are often misinterpreted and not thought to be based upon a psychological factor. The author of The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd, finds a way to present this idea in combination with her own real-life experiences and characteristics. Sue Monk Kidd has made many impacts on literature. She has been awarded for her great impact by having books on the bestseller list and winning the Quill Award. Kidd also has very strong catholic views and implements symbols from her religion into her novels. Kidd is able to do so by using a character named Lily. Lily from the novel The Secret Life of Bees is a young girl who experiences…show more content…
Being surrounded by people has proven time and time again to ease pain and provide comfort to those who need it. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees Lily heals from experiencing her mother’s death, the racism against Rosaleen, and the tyranny of her father with the support of others. Trying to overcome these obstacles by herself her efforts would be futile. In the house of the three beekeepers, Lily finds comfort in the hospitality of August, “…August befriends Lily, but not in the ways of the father. She does not deliver edicts and punishment like an Old Testament god or T. Ray; instead, she lets Lily find her own way in her own time to the facts of her mother’s death”. (Emanuel) August acts as a stand in mother to Lily. She takes care of her in times of need, for example when she is crying or needs to express her emotions, but she allows Lily to be independent and discover the truth of her past by herself. Lily is surrounded by people who really care about her provides comfort and a “get-away” for Lily. The last person that really needs to be mentioned in relation to this topic is Rosaleen, Lily’s nanny. After her mother’s death, Lily was raised by Rosaleen. Therefore, Rosaleen acts as Lily’s mother even more so that August does, “The bees were still there the next morning when Rosaleen showed up. She was bearing an…show more content…
The truth may comfort the person or drive him or her insane. In the Secret Life of Bees Lily desires to know her past in relation to her mother. She knows her mother has been to Tiburon, South Carolina and is curious if her mother has been to Augusts’ house before, “Had my mother been there and bought this picture? I always promised myself one day, when I was old enough, I would take the bus over there. I wanted to go every place she had ever been”. (Kidd, 14-15) Lily is very connected with her mother even though she is no longer living. Knowing about her mother would help Lily come to peace with the subject of her mother’s death and her own past. However, Rosaleen, Lily’s nanny thinks otherwise. Rosaleen believes that Lily should just leave the topic alone and that she may discover something she just does not want to know. Rosaleen fears that Lily will be more hurt by her discoveries in finding her past that happy and relieved, “ ‘Maybe she was. I can’t say. I just know some things are better left alone.’ ‘What do you mean? That I shouldn’t find out what I can about my own mother?’ ‘What if—’ She paused and rubbed the back of her neck, ‘What if you find out something you don’t wanna know?’ " (Kidd, 100) Another controversial view studied by Emanuel states that Lily must confront the hardship of her mother’s death head on and that it may have a
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