Independent Novel Project: The Secret Life Of Bees
3702 Words15 Pages
Breanne DiBernard
Mrs. Greenlee
HN ENG III
01, June 2015
Independent Novel Project
The Secret Life of Bees
Knowledge
Significance of Title Some readers seem to see the title as a simple play on word that characterizes the main topics of the book, but others find the title to be a bit deeper. Throughout the book bees are present in Lily’s life and they seem to influence her decisions and thinking. At the beginning the bees come to her room and leave when she doesn’t notice. For some reason Lily interprets this as a sign that she needs to leave as well. In the book Lily even compares “the secret life of bees” to her own. She appreciates their persistence, care for their queen (or mother,) their ability to survive, and the idea that bees have…show more content… Lily hasn’t been able to remember her mom because she was still a toddler when she died, so she always tried to learn things about her hoping it will jog a memory. She had a few items that belonged to her mother buried out in the peach fields that her dad, T. Ray, farms on. One of the items was a picture of the Virgin Mary that said Tiburon, South Carolina, except this woman was colored, which Lily had never seen before. In Tiburon, Lily and Rosaleen found the same picture of the Black Mary as a label on a jar of honey. They found out that the honey was actually made by the Boatwright sisters in Tiburon, so they decided to go to their house and see if they could stay there a while. Once they arrived to the Boatwright house Lily made up some story about how she was a new orphan and she was on her way to her aunts house with her maid, Rosaleen, and they needed a place to stay for a while until they figured out exactly how to get there. The Boatwright sisters taught Lily about bee keeping, religion, love and eventually her mother. Lily worked as Augusts bee keeping apprentice in order to repay her for her hospitality, while Rosaleen did work around the house with May. May had a twin sister…show more content… In all instances it was either accidental or on purpose. Obviously four-year-old Lily had no idea what she was doing when she picked up a gun and accidentally shot her mother. However, May Boatwright knew exactly what she was doing when she laid herself to rest in the river. I was so disappointed and shocked with Mays decision to kill her self yet simultaneously I respected it. In our society today everyone is afraid to die, which is ironic considering it is literally the only thing promised to everyone in life. If we are known for fearing the unknown, why do we fear death more than life? May Boatwright had seen enough of this world and although her decision to leave it was a little selfish it was also extremely brave. Maybe the reason everyone is so afraid to die is because they’re afraid of what they might miss, not death