The Secret Life Of Bees

1. The Secret Life Of Bees Written By: Sue Monk Kidd Published By: Penguin Books Published: 2002 PowerPoint By: Clare Smith

2. Introduction • Setting: South Carolina, 1964 • Lily, the main character, is a Caucasian 14 year old who lives with her father (T-Ray) • She is introduced in her bedroom where she’s listening to bees fly around in her room. • It is foreshadowed that her mother’s death had something to do with her in that scene

3. Protagonist and Antagonist • Lily: Determined teenager who wants her mother’s love • Rosaleen: Tough black woman, took care of Lily all her life • August Boatwright: Wise, hardworking black woman who took Lily and Rosaleen into her home • T-Ray: Lily’s abusive father • The Police: Racist, brutal men who almost beat Rosaleen to death

4. Central Conflict • Lily goes with Rosaleen when she tries to vote, but they are stopped by a group of racist white men and end up being arrested, Lily’s father takes her home but leaves Rosaleen • After T-Ray tells Lily that her mother was going to leave her, she runs away to look for someone who might have known her mother • She finds a picture of Black Mary in a box of her mother’s old things and decides to run away. While running away, she helps Rosaleen escape from a hospital and they make their way to Tiburon, South Carolina. • While there, she finds a store selling jars of honey with pictures of Black Mary on them and goes to August and her sisters’ house, where she and Rosaleen are invited to stay • Lily cannot decide whether or not to tell August about her mother

5. Minor Characters • Zachary Taylor: Lily’s crush, a black teenager who aspires to someday become a lawyer • June Boatwright: May and August’s sister, initially dislikes Lily (because of August’s ties with her mother,) but ends up becoming close with her. She plays cello for dying people in the hospital • May Boatwright: August and June’s sister. Mentally damaged after her twin committed suicide when they were children. She was extremely empathetic and would feel strong emotions whenever anything bad was mentioned. She drowned herself after Zach was arrested.