Book Talk- The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd

Nathalie Hostutler

Summary:

Growing up in Sylvan in 1964, Lily Owens is surrounded by the racism of the south.  Her mother died when she was young, and at 13, almost 14 years old, she believes the death of her mother has shaped her personality.  She has had trouble making friends all her life, which she blames on that event.  The kids always thought she was weird for not having a mother, so they avoided her at all cost.  Lily has lived with her father, T. Ray, and the maid, Rosaleen, since then.  Her father is not the kindest man.  When he thinks Lily isn’t working enough, or he finds her reading books instead of being productive, he forces her to kneel on grits.  On her birthday, T. Ray forces Lily to work the peach stand and told her she wasn’t, “Queen for the Day” (25).  Lily hates her father for all of his abuse.

Rosaleen, a black woman, the maid, has been Lily’s best friend and mother figure since she can remember.  Rosaleen is uneducated, but kind and loving, and teaches Lily all about bees, God, and love.  Lily keeps a jar of bees on the dresser in her room.  She is amazed by them.  After telling T. Ray she had some feminine trouble, he allows her to go to town for the day with Rosaleen where they happened to run into the three most racist men in town.  Rosaleen planned to register to vote that day, but after having been harassed by the three men, Rosaleen had had enough and poured her jar of snuff spit across their shoes, which landed her in jail, and Lily had to go too.  An angry T. Ray was called to collect Lily, but he left Rosaleen in jail.

The next day, after T.Ray blamed Lily for making her mother “run off and leave her,” she decided she had had enough of him.  Lily packed up her duffel bag at 2:40 pm and decided to run away.  Her first stop was to see Rosaleen in the black wing of the hospital. Rosaleen had been hit in the head by a police officers’ flashlight which needed medical attention.  Lily was shocked, and decided right then and there that she was going to break Rosaleen out of there and take her to Tiburon with her.  Tiburon was where Lily’s mother had been there once.  She wanted to go to the town the picture her mother left behind was taken, so she could feel her.  Rosaleen and Lily hitched a ride to just three miles outside of Tiburon.

Along the way in Tiburon, and after inquiring about a jar of honey with a black Mary on the label in the town store, Rosaleen and Lily go to August Boatright’s house.  She was the beekeeper who bottled and sold the honey Lily had seen.  August lived with her sisters May and June, who welcomed them into the house.  After a few lies about trying to find a family member, August saw right through the lies, but invited them to stay for the night.

The night Lily and Rosaleen stayed turned into a lifetime.  Since their helper, Zach, was on vacation that week, the Boatright sisters accepted Rosaleen and Lily’s help with the beekeeping and honey jarring.  It was harvest time.  The two women learned the ins and outs of beekeeping. Lily and Rosaleen meet all of the Boatright sister’s “Daughters of Mary” group.  When Zach comes back from vacation, he is delighted to meet the two new women.  Soon after, a confused Lily develops feelings for the young man. 

Since Lily had been told her whole life that it would never be possible for a white girl to love a black boy, she tries to fight her feelings, until she can’t anymore.  Zach has feelings for Lily, too.

Lily and Rosaleen stay with the Boatrights forever, working with and loving each other and the bees they keep.

Rationale:

Even though Lily was born in a racist town where white people only employed black people, but she knew, with every ounce of her being that what she had observed all her life was wrong.  At 14 years old, she had the tenacity to stand up for what was right and she knew what real love was.  It wasn’t from her father, but from a black woman, Rosaleen, who “took over” motherly duties after the death of her mother.  Lily was punished her whole life for standing up for what she believed in, she fought against her own prejudices, and finally when she had had enough, she fought back.  She was strong, determined, and tenacious.  Lily is a wonderful example for young people to learn how to stand up for themselves and others, and to follow their hearts, no matter the consequences and no matter the skin color.  It is a story about courage, the meaning of real love, the real power of community.

Age Group:

Students in grades 8-12 can read this book.  With guidance, readers of all levels can read, enjoy, and learn from this story.  This book is easy to follow, the language isn’t too advanced, and the story is appropriate for 13-18 year olds.

Teaching Ideas:

Lessons about symbolism (Black Mary, bees)

A comparison between the book and the movie

Personal narrative exercise about struggles the students have experienced in their lives and have overcome

Obstacles? Administration? Parents? Students?

Students who come from abusive backgrounds may have trouble with the story.  It could trigger emotional discomfort.

Racism, violence, punishments, and language

Lily breaking Rosaleen out of jail illegally and running away. Parents and administrators may be afraid this topic could encourage children to run away also.

Students may be shocked by the racism and sadness in the book, but if they are given an open space to discuss what they are reading, they will learn an enormous amount from it.

I think administrators will welcome this book into the curriculum.  The content is historically accurate, but it is a fictional account of a young girl who fought for what was right.  I believe administrators would consider the same obstacles as I have, but realize it is more than a story about pain and running away.  Instead, it is a story about strength, love, believing in yourself, the goodness of strangers, and overcoming personal obstacles.

Final Thoughts:

The Secret Life of Bees has the potential to teach students so much about courage and standing up for what is right.  I think it will benefit both boys and girls at this delicate age.  They will learn about a girl who stopped being afraid of what she knew, embraced the unknown, fought against the status quo, all while learning who she was.  Adolescents are still able to be influenced, and Lily would be a wonderful mentor for them to learn from.