I completely agree with the review written by Beth Kephart. In her review, she shares how this book is perfection, full of inspired language, and a deep plot. She also talks about how wonderful and lovable the characters are.
Although I find perfection is a bit of a strong word to describe this book, I definitely think it is close. The inspired language that Kephart talks about is truly well written. Sue Monk Kidd used very powerful descriptive lines, such as:
"But here, now, surrounded by stinging bees on all sides and the motherless place throbbing away, I knew that these bees were not a plague at all. It felt like the queen's attendants were out here in a frenzy of love, caressing me in a thousand places." (Page 151)
That paragraph truly described how the bees made Lily feel and brought us right in the swarm with her. As I read it, I felt as peaceful and loved as Lily did.
Kephart also brought up the well planned and executed plot. Throughout the book Lily was just taking a break from T. Ray and her horrible life, while trying to figure out a little bit of her mother. She just assumed that her mother had visited August once before, or had just been in that town. It was amazing how Kidd was able to have a deeper plot, with August and June knowing the truth of Lily's mother and letting Lily lie to them for months. It was incredible learning that August knew all along and was just giving Lily her needed space.
Finally, Kephart mentioned that the characters were so well developed. As I have already commented on this point in my journal entries, I will only talk briefly on them now. August cares so much about Lily and her sisters and the bees. She started off just seeming like a nice women who was taking care of a stranger, but ended up truly loving Lily, as she had once loved her mother. May had such a deep loving soul, that having her die was heartbreaking. She took on everyone's pain, which was very peculiar, but also showed her deep empathetic feelings. June was truly interesting as she ended up hating Lily only because of her mother. She was scared to love anyone and once she lost May, she finally opened up and loved Neil. Lastly, I will talk of Lily. She had gone through so much trauma at such a young age, but didn't let that stop her from being such a caring person. She didn't let all the bad events bring her down and was able to become a truly kind and wonderful person.
Beth Kephart shared some key elements that truly made this book amazing. I agree completely with her opinion that The Secret Life of Bees is fantastic and I would love to read another book by Sue Monk Kidd.
Sarah S
June 5
Showing posts with label Sarah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Section 4 Pages 226-302
I have now completed the book The Secret Life of Bees and all I can say is it was a wonderful book. This book had lots of development of characters, such as T. Ray showing his tenderness and embarrassment towards Lily after he almost hurt her.
One of the last scenes, with T. Ray finally showing up, was very suspenseful. It really showed how much Lily has developed throughout her time with August. At the start of the book Lily would be very hostile towards T. Ray and would immediately do whatever he said. When he showed up this time, she started off civil, and offered him a seat. Later when he demanded they leave, she refused and tried backing away from his physical abuse. She handled the whole situation a lot more maturely than usual, and was met with a lot more reward. By keeping her cool, she was able to stay with August, much with August's help.
I also need to mention the finality of the lies of Lily. Lily finally talked to August about her mother. It's incredible that their paths crossed so often, Lily and her mom. Although it was different times of their lives, they both showed up at August's and slept in the honey house. They also both were somewhat raised by August. August took the truth well, though she did know all along. She helped out Lily by giving her breaks and really showing her true colours. In all situations she is kind and caring, even at really emotional moments. I loved seeing how much she truly cares for Lily and all the motherly moments they had. It really shows that Lily is going to have a wonderful future with August, and will finally have a mother.
Lastly I want to say how I enjoyed the whole circle of the story coming to an end. The start of the book was about Rosaleen getting arrested when she wanted to vote. It ended with her finally getting her name on the voting list and even started having the charges dropped on her. It really completed all the problems first shown at the beginning.
This book started off as a harsh and heartbreaking story, yet ended tenderly and sweetly, offering joy and hope. Lily finally knows she belongs in this world, with August and Rosaleen, and is finally out of the horrible clutches of her father. This book was a real page turner, and I loved reading it.
Sarah S
May 31st, 2014
One of the last scenes, with T. Ray finally showing up, was very suspenseful. It really showed how much Lily has developed throughout her time with August. At the start of the book Lily would be very hostile towards T. Ray and would immediately do whatever he said. When he showed up this time, she started off civil, and offered him a seat. Later when he demanded they leave, she refused and tried backing away from his physical abuse. She handled the whole situation a lot more maturely than usual, and was met with a lot more reward. By keeping her cool, she was able to stay with August, much with August's help.
I also need to mention the finality of the lies of Lily. Lily finally talked to August about her mother. It's incredible that their paths crossed so often, Lily and her mom. Although it was different times of their lives, they both showed up at August's and slept in the honey house. They also both were somewhat raised by August. August took the truth well, though she did know all along. She helped out Lily by giving her breaks and really showing her true colours. In all situations she is kind and caring, even at really emotional moments. I loved seeing how much she truly cares for Lily and all the motherly moments they had. It really shows that Lily is going to have a wonderful future with August, and will finally have a mother.
Lastly I want to say how I enjoyed the whole circle of the story coming to an end. The start of the book was about Rosaleen getting arrested when she wanted to vote. It ended with her finally getting her name on the voting list and even started having the charges dropped on her. It really completed all the problems first shown at the beginning.
This book started off as a harsh and heartbreaking story, yet ended tenderly and sweetly, offering joy and hope. Lily finally knows she belongs in this world, with August and Rosaleen, and is finally out of the horrible clutches of her father. This book was a real page turner, and I loved reading it.
Sarah S
May 31st, 2014
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Discussion Questions Week 3
1. June has always been mean and judgemental to
Lily since she has shown up, yet has just started to warm up to her. Why did June
decide to hug Lily after Lily sprayed June with water? Why does she seem to
suddenly accept her?
I think June finally realized how stupid it was to hate a 14 year old, just because she was white. June finally seemed to accept that Lily wasn't a racist white girl who just showed up at their doorstep, yet a lost orphan, who happened to be white, who needed a home.
2.
How do you think August will react once Lily
decides to tell her about her mother?
I think August will be understanding, as she knows that Lily has been lying since the second she showed up. The fact that we now know her mother used to stay at their house may bring a bit more confusion and drama, I find that August is a kind soul that has come to truly love Lily and shouldn't be too upset to learn the truth.
3.
Lily has been avoiding telling August the truth
since she has arrived, yet lately has been trying desperately to tell her. Why
do you think Lily suddenly feels an urgency to tell August why she is truly
there?
Lily has been lying non-stop since she arrived, which must be exhausting. She only started lying since she originally didn't trust August enough and wanted to get to know her first. Now that they are close, Lily wants to be able to show August her true self.
4.
Why did Zach’s arrest cause May to go over the
edge, and kill herself?
May has been struggling with the injustice of the world's problems for a while now. Usually it was through people she didn't actually know. So having someone so close go through such a terrible event, and to have her sisters try to hide it from her, would really show the harshness of the world. The fact that her sisters tried to hide it shows that they found May very weak, which probably hurt May more than if they had told her in the first place.
5.
When Zach was out with Lily, one of his friends
punched a white man in the face. An officer demanded which man did it, but when
no one answered, he took them all to jail. Why didn't Zach turn the other guy in
if it would have gotten him out of jail?
Being thought of as a coward and a snitch is a lot worse than any punishment in my opinion. To be thought of and punished by someone who is only judging you by the colour of your skin, is horrible yet a lot easier to blame on them then if it is one of your friends who is judging you. By turning in your friends, you lose important people in your life who would have probably had your back if the role was reversed. The officer would be punishing you for something you know you didn't do, yet by betraying your friend, you would have to live with the guilt forever and know in your heart you deserve it.
6.
While out with Zach at Clayton Forrest’s law
office, Lily decided to call T. Ray to see if he knew her favourite colour. Why
do you think Lily called T. Ray?
Lily finally realized that T. Ray didn't care at all for Lily. If T. Ray could remember that one detail of her, then it would show deep down there was some good in her, and that he does care about her. In her heart she probably had a bit of doubt running away, thinking that T. Ray at least cared a bit for her. She finally realizes that he doesn't care at all for her, if he can't remember a simple detail about her.
7.
If you were in Lily’s shoes, would you come
clean about why you truly ran away? If so, would you have done it by now?
I wouldn't have come clean right away, since the family probably wouldn't let me in then, but I think by now, once I truly cared for them and understood how wonderful they are, I would have. The guilt would be too much for me, to lie constantly to such nice people. I know Lily is struggling with that same problem right now.
8.
Lily has truly come to love living with August
and June, do you think she is going to be able to stay there once they know the
truth?
August is a very kind soul who cares very much for Lily, I'm sure that she will be able to see through the deceitfulness, especially once she finds out how horrible T. Ray is. I know she wouldn't want Lily going through any more pain and would forgive her for lying. Also I feel she will get to stay, as the story has subtle clues about August and June thinking something to this day, showing that Lily is still in touch with them.
9.
Neil has been asking June to marry him for a while
now, yet she never would say yes. What was stopping her?
June had been hurt before in a devastating way. Not only was she left at the alter, she was left by her sister, April. Two people she loved deeply had deserted her without warning, so she was unable to see how she could open herself up again to someone, without getting hurt.
10.
Why do you think that June finally decided to
say yes?
June realized how short life truly is, and how in a simple day, everything could change. She realized that Neil would stay by her forever, as he demonstrated through his never ending work to make her marry him. He never gave up on her and showed how much he loves her, reassuring her that this is a good thing.
Sarah S
May 25th, 2014
Section 3 Pages 150-225
I have just finished the 3rd quarter of the book The Secret Life of Bees. This section had so much drama as Lily struggles to tell August about her mother, learns her mother was there and bonds with June. Yet those are only the tip of the iceberg, since in the chapter we also have Zach thrown in jail, which later leads to May's suicide.
I will admit reading of May's suicide made me tear up. I could tell it was coming from the foreshadowing shown in the line, "To this day August and June wonder how our lives would have been different if one of them had answered the phone instead of May." (Page 185) I knew what was happening and found it horrible that as a reader, there was nothing I could do to stop it. I find that a character's death in a book is always symbolic, and meaningful. As I try to find one for May's, firstly there is the obvious one, written in her suicide note, that it was here time to die, and theirs (August and June's) to live. May was obviously miserable in her life, and could no longer find joy. It was bringing down the people around her and just wasn't good. With her note, she encouraged that now her sisters can live, which they intend to follow through with, making June finally agree to marry Neil. I think it also is giving Lily a bit of a push to live her life and share the truth of her being there, with August.
For a deeper purpose of the death of May, we could bring up how Lily has truly become accustomed to her life with August and misses the routine. She has found comfort in her new home and has become a family. It is shown through the section that although August and June lost a sister, they have gained another one, by showing their love towards Rosaleen. Although it is not as much stated as Rosaleen's acceptance into the family, we see that Lily is considered also as family, through the affection of August when Lily hadn't returned when Zach got sent to jail, and June's hug towards Lily after the day with the sprinkler.
A last thing that May's death showed us is the depth of racial judgement and Lily's development. Lily has been becoming more accepting, yet when being questioned about May's death, the police officer shows his discontentment of Lily living with four, now three, black women. He says that she is making herself less valid of a person by staying with black women. Lily is shocked by this statement, which shows us her growth and how she truly isn't as prejudice as others.
No matter how horrible May's death is, it definitely is important to the story in giving us some lessons, and showing that Lily and Rosaleen truly have found a new home, which is much more loving than the house of T. Ray.
Sarah S
May 25th, 2014
I will admit reading of May's suicide made me tear up. I could tell it was coming from the foreshadowing shown in the line, "To this day August and June wonder how our lives would have been different if one of them had answered the phone instead of May." (Page 185) I knew what was happening and found it horrible that as a reader, there was nothing I could do to stop it. I find that a character's death in a book is always symbolic, and meaningful. As I try to find one for May's, firstly there is the obvious one, written in her suicide note, that it was here time to die, and theirs (August and June's) to live. May was obviously miserable in her life, and could no longer find joy. It was bringing down the people around her and just wasn't good. With her note, she encouraged that now her sisters can live, which they intend to follow through with, making June finally agree to marry Neil. I think it also is giving Lily a bit of a push to live her life and share the truth of her being there, with August.
For a deeper purpose of the death of May, we could bring up how Lily has truly become accustomed to her life with August and misses the routine. She has found comfort in her new home and has become a family. It is shown through the section that although August and June lost a sister, they have gained another one, by showing their love towards Rosaleen. Although it is not as much stated as Rosaleen's acceptance into the family, we see that Lily is considered also as family, through the affection of August when Lily hadn't returned when Zach got sent to jail, and June's hug towards Lily after the day with the sprinkler.
A last thing that May's death showed us is the depth of racial judgement and Lily's development. Lily has been becoming more accepting, yet when being questioned about May's death, the police officer shows his discontentment of Lily living with four, now three, black women. He says that she is making herself less valid of a person by staying with black women. Lily is shocked by this statement, which shows us her growth and how she truly isn't as prejudice as others.
No matter how horrible May's death is, it definitely is important to the story in giving us some lessons, and showing that Lily and Rosaleen truly have found a new home, which is much more loving than the house of T. Ray.
Sarah S
May 25th, 2014
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Sunday, 18 May 2014
Section 2 Pages 76-150
I have read the second quarter of the book The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, making me half-way through the book. This book is really starting to grow on me. At first I was completely shocked at this book, disgusted by T. Ray's personality towards Lily. The first quarter was truly dark and had a sinking feeling over me as I read about this horrible life of Lily. Now we have a feeling of happiness and joy, as she has run away with Rosaleen to live with three black women, August, May and June.
Each of these women have such different personalities. Firstly there is August, who is such a kindred spirit that you have to fall in love with her. She cares so much for Lily, who she just met, her sisters, especially an emotional May, and her bees.She is passionate for her life and is a perfect role model for Lily. She even senses that Lily is lying to her about why she is there, but isn't pestering her for an answer, but just waiting for when Lily sees fit to share.
May is similar to August as she is a kindred spirit, yet a lot more innocent. May is easily bothered by any unpleasant situation. She will start crying and need to leave to her wailing wall, where she writes all of her unpleasant thoughts to try to let them go. I am very interested by May, it really shows how she over empathizes with everyone and everything, so much that it pains her. I hope she finds a way to overcome this with the help of Lily and Rosaleen, as I predict she will, but emotional trauma like she has gone through is hard to do. It will take lots of help and I feel will only be solved by Lily talking about her mom and T. Ray.
Finally there is June. She is the hardest to understand as she is closed off and cynical compared to her two kindred sisters. June hates Lily very openly, yet I think this is more because of what happened to April. Her sister had committed suicide after learning how horrible the world is to black people. I think this event caused a hatred towards all whites, so Lily coming to live with them carrying an obvious lie, would be difficult. Eventually she will come around, but right now I understand her pain and anger towards Lily.
Lastly I want to briefly mention the new bond between Lily and Zach. It is obvious that they have strong feelings for each other, yet can't act upon them because of racial differences. It is horrible that they have to ignore their feelings just because it is frowned upon by the community. I hope that they end up together, yet the fact that it could be dangerous, as a white man sees it horrible for a black man to go for a white girl, and will beat him. Also I am curious to know how he will react once he finds out about all off Lily's lies and why she is truly there. I don't see it as a big problem, yet Zach may feel deceived and be indifferent towards her for a bit.
This second quarter has a lot more information shared and as we wait for Lily to share her secrets, I think we all have that feeling of dread as we wait for the impending arrival of T. Ray. This second half of the book will be very interesting to see it all enfold.
Sarah S.
May 18th, 2014
Tuesday, 13 May 2014
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Section 1 page 1-75
I have just completed the first 75 pages of The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. From what I have read, this is definitely not what I was expecting. Reading about the horrible relationship between Lily and her father, T. Ray, is heart wrenching. Through the book you can tell he truly does not care for her, and just treats her as a nuisance. She is unable to do anything and if she makes a simple mistake, she is physically punished. When she had slept outside one night and her father found her without her shirt undone, he immediately assumed she was with a boy and refused to hear her side of the story. She was then forced to kneel on grits for about an hour. I find it truly disgusting that her father treats her with so little respect. The names he calls her are horrible and how he emotionally punishes her too is unbelievable.
We also learnt about Lily possibly killing her mother. When I first read it, I assumed I had read it incorrectly and immediately reread the passage to find out she truly believes she accidentally killed her mother. During the story we can tell that her mother is packing up to leave when her father finds her. Her father claims it is to leave both he and Lily, but I believe that her mother just wants to escape the emotional and physically abusive father. The fact that she had a gun shows that she felt very unsafe in the house and by turning it on him, it shows how scared she was of him that she would resort to killing him to protect herself.
Another confusing thing we learn about is the Black Mary picture that once belonged to Lily's mother. This picture is obviously a big symbol throughout this book, as it leads Lily out of T. Ray's house and off to Tiburon, South Carolina. There is obviously lots of mystery with this picture and I'm not sure what I think it means. As she finds August, I assume that her mother was friends with her, which may give Lily some hope that at least one of her parents wasn't prejudiced and was friends with a black women.
Finally, I want to write about Rosaleen. She is about the only role model for Lily, besides her teacher. Rosaleen shows how to truly care for someone, as she sometimes shows her compassion for Lily. Rosaleen still has some flaws though as she refuses to back down to racial behaviour. Although it is good that she stood up to the men who were insulting her, she should have thought thoroughly about the consequences. If she could have just ignored the men, then she wouldn't have ended up in jail and with a man ready to kill her. Rosaleen still is the best role model for Lily and truly helps her out with her hard life, and now on her adventure in Tiburon.
This book is very adventurous, yet heart-breaking as Lily goes through so much. Now with August, she is in for an exciting time, where I am sure her lies will all fall apart soon.
Sarah S.
May 10th, 2014
We also learnt about Lily possibly killing her mother. When I first read it, I assumed I had read it incorrectly and immediately reread the passage to find out she truly believes she accidentally killed her mother. During the story we can tell that her mother is packing up to leave when her father finds her. Her father claims it is to leave both he and Lily, but I believe that her mother just wants to escape the emotional and physically abusive father. The fact that she had a gun shows that she felt very unsafe in the house and by turning it on him, it shows how scared she was of him that she would resort to killing him to protect herself.
Another confusing thing we learn about is the Black Mary picture that once belonged to Lily's mother. This picture is obviously a big symbol throughout this book, as it leads Lily out of T. Ray's house and off to Tiburon, South Carolina. There is obviously lots of mystery with this picture and I'm not sure what I think it means. As she finds August, I assume that her mother was friends with her, which may give Lily some hope that at least one of her parents wasn't prejudiced and was friends with a black women.
Finally, I want to write about Rosaleen. She is about the only role model for Lily, besides her teacher. Rosaleen shows how to truly care for someone, as she sometimes shows her compassion for Lily. Rosaleen still has some flaws though as she refuses to back down to racial behaviour. Although it is good that she stood up to the men who were insulting her, she should have thought thoroughly about the consequences. If she could have just ignored the men, then she wouldn't have ended up in jail and with a man ready to kill her. Rosaleen still is the best role model for Lily and truly helps her out with her hard life, and now on her adventure in Tiburon.
This book is very adventurous, yet heart-breaking as Lily goes through so much. Now with August, she is in for an exciting time, where I am sure her lies will all fall apart soon.
Sarah S.
May 10th, 2014
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