Secret life of bees: Sue Monk Kidd - Essay Example

? Essay, English Literature ic and Modern) Summer Reading Portfolio Secret Life of Bees: Sue Monk Kidd of the Secret Life of Bees: Sue Monk Kidd The loss of mother, that too for a young girl, is the greatest tragedy of life. Lily is one such victim and she lives alone with her abusive father who is a peach farmer in Sylvan, South Carolina. She is fond of watching the bees at work. The revelation that her father accidentally shoots her mother, during a fight, leaves deep impact on the mind of Lily. Lily goes into town along with Rosaleen and there a confrontation with racists lands her in jail. She is also told by T. Ray that her late mother plans to leave her behind just before her death. On returning home, Lily notices that the bees have escaped from the jar and that she takes it as the signal for her to run away from home. Lily finds Rosaleen at the hospital, badly beaten up by the police and both of them take a ride toward a town Tiburon, S.C. The feeling of total freedom engulfs the inner world of Lily. As providence would have it, she has a chance encounter with August Boatwright and her sisters. August offers her solace and protection and engages her to learn beekeeping. So great is the affection of August for Lily that she treats August as her surrogate mother. Lily is always worried about keeping her real identity a secret. She challenges many vicissitudes in her life and finally she evolves as an affectionate human being loved by her associates and imparts love to all. Poem: August Boatwright’s spiritual counseling to Lily Live life in its trials tribulations duty and beauty, White and black are like the two parallel tracks on which the train of life runs, Worry not about your unkind past, Worry not about your uncertain future, The dynamic present is yours for the asking, It is yours for the bidding, It is yours for the taking! Dark ghosts have no place in your life, Bright angles are ready to greet you, Nurture the bird of love with colorful wings caged in your heart, It moves there with tantalising speed, To make you a bard, my dearest Lily! Example of figurative language “White and black are like the two parallel tracks on which the train of life runs”. “Dark ghosts have no place in your story”. “Bright angles stand ready to greet you”. “Nurture the bird of love with colorful wings caged in your heart”. Example of imagery “It moves there with tantalizing speed, to make you a bard my dearest Lily!” The most important passage “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.” I loved the idea of bees having a secret life, just like the one I was living. “What other secrets have they got?” I wanted to know. “Well, for instance, every bee has its role to play”. This is the advice tendered by August to Lily in chapter 8 of the novel. The mention of the beehive presents a grand imagery of the functioning of the secular world. The manner and discipline with which the bees manage their hives is a lesson for the humankind. Everything is carried out to perfection and in the power structure the female authority is supreme. She is the mother of thousands and she is loved by them. The mention of the word ‘mother’ must have appealed to the emotional world of Lily, who has lost her mother. August not only talks about spirituality she has experienced that state which is achieved by transcending the mind and such an individual sees the presence of divinity in everything, including the bees. This is a great source of counseling and inspiration for Lily and she visualises Mother Mary as the universal mother as such she finds the divine compensation for the void in her life due to the loss of her secular mother. One more similarity exists between the life of Lily and that of bees. Lily is a white girl living with black women and her background is not that good, and her association with August needs to remain secret. This is comparable to the secret life that goes on within the hive. Lily learns about the secrets about the functioning of the bees from August, and she reveals the secrets of her life through first person narrations. Bee produces honey that is sweet in taste, and in the final analysis Lily’s story turns out to be good, filled with strength and love and she marches from darkness to light! Essay on the basis of prompt Introduction In the novel “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd, Terrence Ray Owens is a minor but significant character and he has presence in the story at the important turning points. He is Lily’s father but does not perform the expected paternal role of giving love and affection to his daughter. He is a peach farmer by profession and his love for Lily’s mother at one stage of his life is overpowering. He turns cynical when his wife deserts him and later dies. Unable to face this tragedy in its proper perspective, be becomes rancorous and annoyed. Lily faces the wrath of his inner frustration. Lily is just four years of age, when her mother dies; she lives in isolation with her father. Instead of compensating love of her mother, he treats her with resentment. Her inner turmoil, the irreparable loss for which there can never be any compensation, engulfs her personality and she laments “People who think dying is the worst thing doesn’t know a thing about life” (p.2). With this painful observation Lily articulates that living with someone else’s death (in this particular case it is her mother) is more painful than dying. T. Ray, instead of being supportive, abuses and punishes her and makes her kneel on dried gravel, and dismisses her efforts to improve herself through reading, makes fun of her instead of giving her love and much-needed understanding. This negative role or T. Ray makes Lily directionless and destination less, for some time, until destiny intervenes decisively to turn the events in her favor. Undoubtedly, T. Ray has a strong case to unburden his general resentment and bitterness, on account of his lost love, but he directs his bitterness on the wrong individual, his own flesh and blood, his darling daughter Lily! He is responsible for damaging the psyche of Lily and one day she mentions to her teacher that she wants to be a hairdresser. Mrs. Henry, her teacher, says ruefully “Please, Lily, you are insulting your fine intelligence. Do you have any idea how smart you are”? (p.16) She finds her self-esteem at the lowest ebb living with her father and putting up with his sarcastic taunts. Father will not allow her to discover herself, whereas the teacher encourages her and Lily recoups her mental strength to some extent and thinks that she can be a writer. If her father is affectionate, the story would either stop or take a different twist. T. Ray is responsible for authoring an entirely different script relating to the life of Lily. It is either T. Ray, or his statements at the critical junctures that are responsible for the continuance of the story. He reveals, “The truth is your mother ran off and left you”. (p.39) He elucidates this point at the crucial juncture of Lily’s life when they return from the jail. That is a bad day in her life and she is confronted with the worst truth. She decides to run away from the house, unable to face the reality. T. Ray delivers the final blow to Lily when he says, “It was you who did it, Lily. You didn’t mean it, but it was you” (p. 299). He reveals this fact at the concluding part of the novel when the story reaches the climax. One should thank Mr. Ray instead of condemning him. The revelation of the information when Lily is young would have driven her mad. When Lily persists with T. Ray and questions him if she is responsible for Deborah’s death, she is given to understand the truth that she has killed her mother. But Lily is now mature enough and mentally tough to bear with the reality. She begins to forgive herself for what has happened in the past. Reference List Kidd, Sue Monk. (2003)The Secret Life of Bees: South Carolina, USA: Penguin Books Read More