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.
No comments:
Post a Comment