The Secret Life of Bees - Essay Example

The Secret Life of Bees The Secret Life of Bees was written by Sue Monk Kidd, as a story about Lily, a fourteen year old girl who had a fascination for discovering bees emerging from the walls of her bedroom. She lives with her father, who she calls T-Ray, a peach farmer who does not share enough time being with her. Likewise, her life evolves with Rosaleen, her nanny and housekeeper, who she loves as she is the only person who truly cares for her after having lost her real mother, Deborah. Her mother died from an accidental gun shot, supposedly Lily having inadvertently triggered the gun, ensuring from her parents’ fight.

This story manifests Lily’s struggles through adolescence with bees as the central symbol of analogy between them: both seeking a mother figure (in Lily’s case) and a queen figure (in the bees’ case) to find fulfillment in life. Lily decided to collect the bees that she sees in her room in a jar to prove to her father that they do exist. A story about how her mother died somehow gives credence to Lily’s guilt feelings. Likewise, she manages to keep little mementos of Deborah’s things in a small tin which she buried in the orchards.

When she gets sad, like the time when her father ignored her upcoming birthday, Lily digs up the tin box as a sign that she needs reassurance from her mother. Lily’s losing her mother at a very tender age at such traumatic instances left a void in her personality that needs to be filled. She is looking for a permanent attachment, a security, a sense of motherly and unconditional love which is not provided by his father. T-Ray was an imposing authoritative figure who was insensitive to Lily’s feelings – partly because she reminds him of Deborah, who was actually on the verge of leaving them when they furiously fought before she accidentally died.

T-Ray was only concerned of showing how powerful he is and how everyone else is under his jurisdiction. Lily’s encounter with Rosaleen’s dilemma on being accosted to jail was instrumental in manifesting the surging emotion of fleeing to a more safe and secure place which would provide her with love and affection. This was validated when she found her jar of bees empty. There were lessons on the reality of racial issues as presented by Rosaleen’s experience and the touch of spiritual guidance provided by Lily’s reliance on her mother’s black Mary picture which indicates Tiburon, at the back.

The message depicted a vision of direction to the place where her mother was possible previously in. Rosaleen, on the other hand, like Lily, had feelings of having a new life after being freed from the racial experience and hospitalization. With the black Mary picture from Deborah’s collection serving as their guiding path, both embark on a new journey towards a mysterious tract. The story is most intriguing and interesting given the perception and feelings manifested by Lily. As an adolescent searching for a lost love which could only be provided by a mother, Lily’s struggles and quest to find it provides the impetus for commencing a journey through a difficult part of life.

The challenges she has to go through encompasses psychosocial theories which delves into concepts of trust (in oneself and in T-Ray), guilt (due to the death of her mother), isolation (feeling alone and lonely), role confusion (her perception of being a girl and not acting like one) and feelings of depair (due to the loss of Lily’s mother). One would definitely be enthusiastic to read more to find out how she would learn to cope with the development of her personality through the experiences that would unravel in the subsequent chapters and what would ultimately happen to Lily in the future.