Nicole DSouza

Wilson
HELA 10
12th of May 2015
Secret Life of Bees Assessment
Analysis
1. How does the Mary symbol teach a lesson or theme?
The symbol of Mary proves to be an important one throughout the novel.
Mary can be seen as a symbol of how Lily grows as a character and ends up
being exposed to things that she was sheltered from in Sullivan. In Sullivan,
Lilys church didnt focus on Mary, and Lily is taught that it is bad for
Christians to focus on Mary. However, in Tiburon, the Boatwright sisters have
formed a sect that is centered on how miraculous Mary was. Lilys acceptance
of this sect can be seen as symbolic of how she is exposed to another world
in Tiburon. She falls in love with Zach, she sees life in America from the
African American perspective, and in general she is exposed to the unfairness
of the world.
2. How does June change or grow?
By the end of the novel, June learns to let go of her stubbornness. One
example of this is in how she finally agrees to marry Neil. After years of
asking, Neil finally gets her to say yes. The other way is in how June gets over
her resentment of Lily. At the celebration of Mary at the end of the book, June
apologizes to Lily over how June treated her.
3. How does opportunity present itself in the picture of the Virgin Mary?
The picture of the Black Mary presents Lily with an opportunity to find out
something about her mother by giving her a starting place to find out more
about her mother. The original picture which Lily finds in the attic says
Tiburon, South Carolina on it which encourages her to go there and find out
what she can. Upon arriving in Tiburon, Lily finds honey bottles with the same
picture of Mary on it, which leads her to the Boatwrights, where she ends up
learning a lot about her mother.
Comparison
4. What is the difference between August and June?
August is more willing to look at things from another persons perspective.
June is more set in her ways; examples of this can be seen in how long it
takes June to agree to marry Neil and how her dislike of Lily is really a
continuation of her dislike of Lilys mother. We can see that August is less
stubborn in Augusts willingness to become a housemaid for Lilys mothers
family. August said that June was unwilling to take that job and this is an
example of how August is more willing to deal with certain things she finds
unfair.

5. What are some similarities between August and Rosaleen?

Throughout the story, August and Rosaleen show many similarities. Both of
them are maternal characters. August shows that she cares about May in a
few ways. August lets May pick the color of the house, make graham cracker
trails to protect the roaches, and live with her. Rosaleen acts similarly
towards Lily. For many years, Rosaleen was Lilys primary caretaker. She also
helps Lily on her journey to find out more about her mother. They are both
strong characters. August shows that she is outspoken in how she reacts to
the harassment by the white men at the beginning of the book. August shows
she is strong in how she is willing to take care of her sisters and take Lily in.
6. What are some obstacles May and Lily faced?
Though May and Lily seem very different, they both faced similar obstacles in
their lifetimes. It can be assumed that both May and Lily feel a sense of
abandonment. Lily felt abandoned in that she never had her biological
mother, and, as she learns later, her biological mother abandoned her. May
would feel abandoned after the loss of her sister April. August tells Lily that
May and April were very close, so Aprils death would have had a profound
impact on May.
Application
7. Do you know another instance when a person was wrongfully imprisoned?
Another example of a person being wrongfully imprisoned because of their
race, like how Rosaleen and Zach were, would be in how many political
prisoners and journalists are imprisoned. Rosaleen and Zach were imprisoned
because they didnt act in the way that those who were more powerful
wanted them to, they fought back when people tried to push them down, and
were punished for it. In certain countries today, journalists are imprisoned
because they dared to tell the truth about what is happening in the world and
for telling a different story than what the government would like to be told.
8. What would have happened if Lilys mother had taken Lily with her to
Tiburon?
The book would have been different in several ways had Lilys mother taken
Lily with her to Tiburon. First, if T.Ray is to be believed, Lilys mother likely
would have been alive as Lily wouldnt have been in Sullivan to accidently
shoot and kill her mother. Secondly, Lily likely wouldnt have the relationship
with Rosaleen that she has now. Lilys relationship with Rosaleen grew out of
Rosaleens role as a caretaker. Not only would Lily have not needed Rosaleen
to take care of her, since she would have her mother, she probably would
have never met Rosaleen, since Rosaleen would likely be continuing to work
as a picker for T.Ray, while Lily was in Tiburon. Finally, it might be possible
that June would never come around to liking/tolerating Lily. According to
August, Junes dislike of Lily stems from Junes dislike of Lilys mother. If Lilys
mother had taken Lily with her to Tiburon, there is no reason to assume that
anything would have happened that would have caused June to care more
about Lily or her mother.

9.

How can you apply the Dont be afraid rule of Bee Yard Etiquette to the real
world?
The Dont be afraid rule can be applied to the real world because the rule is
about how people have a tendency to be overly- critical of themselves. Lily
says the logic behind the rule, for the beekeepers, is that no bee desires to
sting you, (it is only done as a protective measure). In the real world, people
have a tendency to stop themselves from doing things because they are
afraid of what other people would think, when in reality, other people usually
dont care what someone else is doing.

Evaluation
10.What is the best solution to the conflict of Junes dislike of Lily?
The best conflict to the solution is likely the one that played out in the book.
Junes dislike of Lily comes from her dislike of Lilys mother and is probably
rooted in her dislike of white privilege. Therefore, in order for June to come to
the decision to stop disliking Lily, June would need to see that Lily isnt as
privileged as some. Towards the end of the novel, June finally apologizes to
Lily, and it can be assumed by the reader that Junes original apathy towards
Lily (because shes white) has vanished.
11. Which theme teaches a better lesson to a 10 th grader: the theme of the
continuation of progress or the theme of things coming full circle?
I think that 10th graders can learn a better lesson through the novels theme
of the continuation of progress. While it is true that many things in the novel
do come full circle, the continuation of progress is probably a better lesson for
us to learn because it is basically a message of hope, while the other theme
perpetuates a message of an ending, but not necessarily a positive one. The
reader can see the theme of things coming full circle in a number of ways.
One example is in how Lily ends up working in the house of someone who
worked for her mother, while trying to learn more about her mother. Other
examples can be seen in how Lily finally learns the truth about whether or not
her mother abandoned her and Rosaleen registering to vote at the end of the
novel. The theme of the continuation of progress can be seen in how many of
the stories subplots have positive endings. T.Ray leaves Lily and Rosaleen
with the Boatwrights to live in peace, Zach is released from jail, and Lily
learns that while her mother did abandon her it was likely because of the fact
that her mother was depressed. This is a positive theme to learn because it
teaches us to never give up hope and that while it might take time; things
have a tendency to work out for the better.
12.Between the story of Lilys mother and the story of Zach and Lily, which story
ends more happily ever after? Why?
The two stories of Lilys mother and the story of Zach and Lily both conclude
at the end of this book. August is able to confirm to Lily that Lilys mother did
abandon Lily, but she also tries to convince Lily that Lilys mother was trying
to file divorce papers and get custody of Lily. Zach and Lily dont end up
dating, despite the books repeated insinuation that they are both interested
in each other. However, I would say that the story of Lily and Zach has a
happier ending because its ending wasnt touched with a sense of

abandonment. Lily and Zach will still have the opportunity to be together,
history tells us that the widespread racism that prevented Lily and Zach from
being together waned as the century progressed, so if the two of them would
like to date each other, they can. However, Lily is always going to have to live
with the fact that her mother abandoned her. This sadness can be slightly
undermined by the fact that Lilys mother was likely depressed and that it
seems she was trying to arrange for Lily to come with live her.
13.Was the resolution of Lilys mother better or worse than Lily expected?
It was worse because Lily was hoping to find out two things: that Lily wasnt
responsible for the death of her mother, and that Lilys mother didnt
abandon her. August confirmed to Lily that her mother did abandon her, but
she did try to convince Lily that her mother was depressed at the time. Lily
cant know for sure whether or not she was responsible for the death of her
mother because her only source is T.Ray, but T.Ray keeps telling her that Lily
was responsible for her mothers death so at least a small part of Lily must
feel that she was responsible. However, at the end of the novel, it seems that
Lily had come to terms with how the situation with everything that happened
with her mother.
14.How would you feel if you were in the same situation as Lily?
If I were in the same situation as Lily, I dont think that I would be able to take
as many risks as she did. By nature, I am a very reserved person, and
throughout the book, Lily showed that she could be bold when she needed to
be. The first example of this would be in her willingness to run away from
home. It was necessary if she ever wanted to learn more about her mother
and/or escape T.Rays abuse, but it still would have been a very difficult thing
to leave home based on a city name she found on the back of a photograph.
The second example of this can be seen in how she breaks Rosaleen out of
jail. A third example of this can be seen in how at the end of the book, she
lets T.Ray into the Boatwrights house. In that action, she basically let the
man she was running away from into the place she ran away to. She really
had no idea how T.Ray would act, and this was a big risk on her part.