Blog 4

Blog 4: Symbolism of bees At the beginning of each chapter there is a quote about bees. Bees consume the lives of the Boatwright's and are always throughout the book, even though rarely are they the center of attention. The bees portray the theme of feminism throughout the book, in a quiet way. August teaches Lily about the bees and about keeping the hives. August has made a living for herself and her sisters by keeping bees and making honey. She makes the statement that there are no other African American women living in a house that they own and making their own money. She takes great pride in the fact that the bees have given her freedom. The bees are also driven by feminism because they cannot live or function effectively without the queen bee. There is only one queen bee per hive and that bee is the one that keeps everything going. Without the queen, the bees are thrown into complete and utter chaos. When a queen dies, she must be replaced quickly before other bees try to take her place. The bees were also the ones who led Lily out of her home with T. Ray. They came into her room and she wasn't afraid of them. The bees are the underlying theme and symbol of the entire novel.