Blog Ten

I thought it would be interesting to compare Lilly’s story to the eight stages of the hero’s journey. Here is what I came up with:

1. THE CALL

She wakes up in the middle of the night, and hears the bees “speaking” to her, telling her to “go.” There is definitely a clear call.

2. THE THRESHOLD

Also defined as the “jumping off point,” I believe that the run-in that Rosaleen has with the men that beat her up could qualify as the threshold. This stands as the catalyst for Lilly to actually “go.”

Initiation and Transformation

3. THE CHALLENGES

There are plenty of these! Trying to find somewhere to go when she doesn’t even know where she’s looking is the first challenge she faces after the threshold, and T-ray coming after her is one of the last ones.

4. THE ABYSS

Also known as “the greatest challenge that must be faced alone.” Finding out the truth about her mother, Lilly must decide what the means for her.

5. THE TRANSFORMATION

After realizing the fantasies she has held about her mother for all of her life are untrue, the influence of the Boatwright sisters helps her realize that she has grown into an amazing young woman, even without her mother, and that finding out about her mother should not stunt her growth on this journey.

6. THE REVELATION

Lilly realizes that she has no desire to ever return to her old life, and that she belongs in the big pink house. The day of the picnick, everything seems to fall into place for this self-revelation to happen.

7. THE ATONEMENT

This happens when she finally places her hand over Mary’s heart. When she does this, she is at peace with herself.

8. THE RETURN

In Lilly’s case, the “return” is more of a choice to stay where she is. She returns to daily life, but it happens by her choosing to act on the feeling that she belongs where she is, and that she is accepted there.

Blog Nine

Love and Acceptance were some things that were sorely lacking in the time period in which this novel was written, yet when the August Boatwright met Lilly, she was quick to offer her both. It did not matter that she was black and Lilly was white any more than it mattered that Lilly was a teenage runaway or that she was lying about her past.

I believe that this was a way of showing what could be if love and acceptance were offered, regardless of race.

We saw how patient August Boatwright was with Lilly, and how she forgave her and loved her even before Lilly had come clean with her, and we see how great things worked out because of that. I think that was a way of showing how great things could have turned out, if only people would have been willing to offer love and acceptance to each other without making race an issue.

Blog Eight

“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.”

These words are spoken by August to Lilly, and while she is talking about bees, she is also talking about Lilly’s life, how it is involved with her life, and how she wishes to help.

The author does an incredible job in this literary work at using quotes that relate to multiple situations throughout the novel. At this point in the novel, the words August is speaking could be taken many different ways. She could simply be talking about bees, since that was what the focus was on in the moment that she said this, but it is more than likely she is speaking about something different, as that seems to be a theme with August. Here, I think she is speaking to Lilly about her life. Telling her, in a very non-aggressive way, that she knows that Lilly has a secret that no one else knows. While saying that she has taken the time to get to know the bees and the happenings about their lives, it is if she is reminding Lilly that she is there and willing to take the time to learn about her, and help her through the secret struggles of her life.

This is just one of many scenes in the book that show the strong sense of community, something the Author portrayed in a beautiful way.

Blog Seven

One of the reoccurring themes in The Secret Life of Bees is a strong sense of a feminine community. Having grown up most of her life without a mother, the things that Lilly lacked in her life could only truly be provided by female characters in her life.

We see Lilly first find comfort in Rosaleen, something she has done most of her life and continues to do on this journey, and Lilly and Rosaleen began this journey together. Then, when she happens upon the big pink house, a whole community of female characters await her to fill the gaps that have been left in her life. This starts with the three sisters living in the house, and ultimately ends with Mother Mary.

However, I really respect that the author was able to feature such a strong feminine voice without completely leaving out the male character. While Lilly has a rough go at it with her father, eventually a male character is introduced into the story (Zach,) and we see her begin to trust again.

Blog Six

While reading Secret Life of Bees, I found myself really appreciating the gravity of the situations the novel was dealing with, even though the main character was so young. Although it is a fiction novel, it dealt with things in a very "real life" way. I think this is true with most, if not all, African-American Literature that we have covered in class.

While some literature glosses over important issues without really getting into them and showing how heavy they are, and some other literature dances around certain issues all together, African-American Literature takes a refreshing, honest real life stance. The poems we have read in class are realistic and stay true to the time periods that they were penned in.

I so appreciate that this novel took a realistic approach to the way racism was in that time period. Just because Lilly was young did not mean she got to escape the havoc racism caused, and this novel fully acknowledges that, staying true to African-American Literature.

Blog Five

It is interesting how the author of Secret Life of Bees has chosen to make Lilly’s father (the “bad” character of the book) white, as well as making every other character that is viewed in a negative way white as well. On the opposite side, every character that helps Lilly find solace is Black. Everyone who helps her or cares for her, and really everyone she cares about, is African American. In the book, save for Lilly, white is portrayed as bad, and Black is portrayed as good.

It is thought-provoking to think about how different the story would be if the race roles were reversed, and even more interesting, how differently the story would be viewed. I think that if Secret Life of Bees was left with exactly the same plot and story line, yet the roles of the races were reversed to where Black is bad and White is good, then it would be a novel viewed as extremely racist. Not exactly fair, but definitely true.

Blog Four

““He met my mother when she went to see him with a toothache.”

I sat there a minute and thought about the odd ways of life. If it wasn’t for a toothache, August wouldn’t be here. Or May or June, or Black Madonna Honey, and I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to her.”

The Secret Life of Bees is different than a lot of African American literature that we’ve read in class due to the fact that it is so positive. It deals with horrific situations and issues, yet manages to maintain a positive outlook throughout the whole book.

I think the conversation above can also relate to the attitude the characters in this book had about the bad events that happened in this book, and, going even deeper, can relate to the attitude that the author had about racism and issues like that. They viewed them as terrible, awful things, yet looked for the good in them. They always stayed positive. They chose to see the “bright side” of things, no matter how much they were suffering. It is a beautiful portrayal of what I’m sure was a group of people in that time period, and I am so glad that someone decided to write book such as this one, allowing us to see a more positive side of things; not that any of the situations should be considered positive, but rather that the individuals involved in them did not give up, and kept a good outlook, despite the odds.

Blog Three

“People, in general, would rather die than forgive. It’s THAT hard. If God said in plain language, “I’m giving you a choice, forgive or die,” a lot of people would go ahead and order their coffin.”

What an honest view of humanity. Although the book ends while we only see a glimmer of hope that racism will one day die, this really relates to what we discussed in class about the residing effects of slavery and racism. Although as a people, African Americans were declared “free,” they had been in a type of bondage that transcends the physical realm for so long that simply being declared free did not make them free. I think this view on forgiveness relates to that.

It was a two-way streak. African-Americans were not forgiving towards the white man that had kept them in bondage and abused their humanity for so long (and I mean really, can you blame them?) And the majority of the white man still viewed himself as “master” over this race. Since this was how things had been going on for so long, one cannot expect forgiveness to just happen overnight, but it is really sad to see the toll that un-forgiveness took, and the role it played in slaves truly being “freed.”

Blog Two

I love how refreshing this book is. One thing I’ve noticed that I like is how Lilly comes to her own decisions by herself. Sure, she listens to other’s input, and (sometimes) takes into consideration the events going on around her, but at the end of the day, she does not let that sway her decision.

For example, when she starts to have feelings for Zach, he plainly tells her that it is “not okay” due to people’s feelings and beliefs. Yet, she doesn’t let that stop her from falling in love with him, even though she’s seen a handful of horrible things happen due to racism already.

I found it really refreshing to read a book that dealt with racism and featured a main character that was surrounded by racism, yet took great lengths to not let it affect her.

Blog One

“Knowing can be a curse on a person’s life. I’d traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth, and I didn’t know which one was heavier. Which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question, though because once you know the truth, you can’t ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies. Heavier or not, the truth is yours now.”

While this quote is Lilly talking about finding out the truth about her mother, I think the author had a double meaning in mind behind this sentence. I think it also relates to the way Lilly started off (or at least, when we first meet her in the book) rather unaware of the depths of the effects of racism. Sure, she knows about racism, because it was really prevalent in that time. However, until she was walking into town with Rosaleen, racism was not extremely prevalent in her own personal life. After that, several different events happen due to racism, and each change Lilly in some way.

I think that the author was alluding to that in this sentence. She now knew the truth about how ugly racism was, and how it changed everything. Yet knowing the truth was almost worse than living in oblivion.