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Final AnalysisFinal Analysis:
Relationships: Lily & June
Zack Greco
At the beginning of the story when Lily and Rosaleen first get to the Pink house June did not care for Lily as seen when June was talking to August and they said “Let’s see if we can help her, August said as June disappeared from my line of sight. We owe her that. I don’t see that we owe her anything, June said. A door slammed. August flipped off the light and let out a sigh that floated into the darkness” (Kidd 87). This showed that June did not care for Lily and she thought that they should not let Lily and Rosaleen stay in their house. As the story went on Lily and June bonded some more and June liked Lily a little bit more, but she still wasn’t comfortable with Lily in her house like when they were playing in the sprinkler and June didn’t want to laugh, but she ended up doing it anyway and doing it with Lily, “I saw the softening come around June’s eyes, how she was trying not to laugh, but it was like the Dutch boy pulling his finger out of the dike-the minute she softened her eyes, the whole thing collapsed. She let go and sprawled back on the grass in the convulsions of laughter. I plopped down next to her and laughed, too. We could not stop” (Kidd 169). It showed that June didn’t completely like Lily, but she had feelings for her and showed that they started to become friends. Later when May died Lily was there for the whole thing and she shared it with them like she was part of the family, “We’ve lost her, August said. I started to shiver. I could hear my teeth in my mouth, crashing against each other” (Kidd 193). This shows how Lily cares for May, and she took her death like she was apart of their family. Towards the end it showed that Lily and June loved each other because there were no harsh words expressed towards each other and they treated each other like they were sisters. The reason for that is because of May’s death. I believe that it made the whole family come closer. It also showed June that Lily really did care, and that is what made their relationship solidify. At the beginning June and Lily did not care for one an other, but as the book went on, and the more their relationship grew and by the end of the story they really did love, and care for each other.
-Zack

The relationship between Lily and Zach started off friendly but they began to like each other. Zach said “Lily, I like you better than any girl I’ve ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you.” (171) Even though they knew people wouldn’t like them together because Lily is white and Zach is black. It was almost something like love at first sight though, right after meeting Zach she says, “He smiled then, and I saw he had a one-sided dimple. It’s a feature that has always gotten to me” (116). And then towards the end of the book, after they both know that they like each other, Zach tells Lily something they both probably knew, “We cant be together now, Lily, but one day, after I’ve gone away and become somebody, I’m gonna find you, and we’ll be together than” (231). He says this from the bottom of his heart and he gives Lily his dog chain so she never forgets him. And that’s how the relationship stays until the day Zach comes and finds her again.
Shea T.
Themes:
In The Secret of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, one of the themes that are represented throughout the novel is motherhood. The definition of motherhood is the state of being a mother. This is tough because Lily’s mother Deborah was killed when she was a little girl. However when she is reminded of her mother whether it was one of belongings or someone mentions her she feels the state of motherhood with her even though her mother is long gone. On page 3 Lily says, “That night to be mother in I lay in bed and thought about dying and going to paradise. I would be her saying, “Mother Forgive. Please Forgive and she would kiss my skin till it grew chapped and tell me I was not to blame. She would tell me this for the first ten thousand years.” In this quote Lily portrays that her one paradise would be to quit the miserable life she has now and die so that she can be which her mother who she so deeply misses. On page 39 T. Ray says to Lily, “You listen to me, he said, his voice deadly calm. “The truth is, your sorry mother ran off and left you….” T. Ray is saying that the loving mother of Lily did not only leave her nasty husband, but her little 4 year old daughter. Then Lily goes on to say on page 40, I could understand her leaving him, but leaving me? This would sink me forever. Lily here is saying that it is a huge mystery to her and it would stay in her mind and keep haunting her.
Trevor Gabel

The relationship between Lily and June is not a good relationship due to the fact that June doesn’t want Lily around because she is white and also, because June doesn’t trust Lily. June lets lily know that she doesn’t want her there when she says, “But she’s white, August.” (Kidd 87) This shows how June is a racist and doesn’t want lily there just because she is white. On page 86 when it says, “You know she’s lying,” said June. This quote shows how June doesn’t trust Lily, which would cause June not to want Lily around. Also, the owner shows that June doesn’t want lily around and wants nothing to do with her when she states, “I don’t see that we owe her anything.” (Kidd 87). This was said while August and June where talking about Lily and Rosaleen. This shows how June wanted nothing to do with lily and only wanted her to leave. This shows how the relationship between Lily and June is tense and they don’t really want anything to do with each other.
Dan T.
Relationships
Lily and Zach
The relationship between Lily and Zach started off friendly but they began to like each other. Zach said “Lily, I like you better than any girl I’ve ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you.” (171) Even though they knew people wouldn’t like them together because Lily is white and Zach is black. It was almost something like love at first sight though, right after meeting Zach she says, “He smiled then, and I saw he had a one-sided dimple. It’s a feature that has always gotten to me” (116). And then towards the end of the book, after they both know that they like each other, Zach tells Lily something they both probably knew, “We cant be together now, Lily, but one day, after I’ve gone away and become somebody, I’m gonna find you, and we’ll be together than” (231). He says this from the bottom of his heart and he gives Lily his dog chain so she never forgets him. And that’s how the relationship stays until the day Zach comes and finds her again.
Shea T.

{http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/americanband/americanbandIMAGE/americanband.jpg} Dick Clark, Host of American Bandstand
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/americanband/americanbandIMAGE/americanband.jpg
Relationships
Lily and Zach
The relationship between Lily and Zach started off friendly but they began to like each other. Zach said “Lily, I like you better than any girl I’ve ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you.” (171) Even though they knew people wouldn’t like them together because Lily is white and Zach is black. It was almost something like love at first sight though, right after meeting Zach she says, “He smiled then, and I saw he had a one-sided dimple. It’s a feature that has always gotten to me” (116). And then towards the end of the book, after they both know that they like each other, Zach tells Lily something they both probably knew, “We cant be together now, Lily, but one day, after I’ve gone away and become somebody, I’m gonna find you, and we’ll be together than” (231). He says this from the bottom of his heart and he gives Lily his dog chain so she never forgets him. And that’s how the relationship stays until the day Zach comes and finds her again.
Shea T.

“She grew so powerful she became known even to the mast. One day he hauled her off on a wagon and chained her in carriage house. But then, without any human help, she escaped during the night and made her way back to the praise house. The master chained her in the barn fifty times, and fifty times she loosed the chains and went home. Finally he gave up and let her stay there.”
“They called her Our Lady of Chains not because she wore them. They call her our Lady of Chains because she broke them” (Kidd 108-110). Now every Sunday the Boatwright Sisters, Rosaleen and Lily, and the Daughters of Mary, said their prayers to the Black Madonna and worshiped her powers. They continue what the slaves have done and pray for freedom and to become citizens.
Katie Bausmith
Relationships:
At the beginning of the book, Lily said how sometimes she would get really mad at Rosaleen, and sometimes almost hate her because she would embarrass her and Lily was so annoyed by the things that she was doing. When Rosaleen spit on the peoples shoes, Lily was really annoyed and embarrassed how Rosaleen was being so manly. Also, after Rosaleen spit on their shoes, she got herself and Lily in trouble, and I’m sure Lily wasn’t very happy about that. However towards the end of the book, Lily realizes how much she loves Rosaleen. Lily even says “ I hugged her around her waist and said “I love you, Rosaleen” which I wasn’t expecting to come out.”
Also, Relationships between Lily and June changed drastically. At the beginning of the book, June definitely did not like Lily. When Lily touched the heart of black Mary, June stopped playing her cello. Also, June would ignore Lily, and say mean things about her, and about how her aunt must be worried about her, implying that June wanted Lily to go back to where she came from. But, near the end of the book, June also realizes how much she likes Lily, and how they are all like sisters, living in one big happy family. June started to love Lily, along with her sisters, August and May. The relationships between lily and other characters weren’t so great, because she was a little which girl in a house full on black women, but towards the end, everyone came to their differences and learned to love eachother.

Marisa S
After watching and comparing the movie and book of The Secret Life of Bees, I noticed many things that were different between the two. First, I noticed that many scenes that the author had in the book were not in the movie. One being the scene where the police come to investigate what had happened in relation to May’s death. Since the police did not show, the interview between Lily and the policeman telling Lily that it was not natural for her to stay there and that she should leave as soon as possible was overseen. Also, the scene where the Daughter’s of Mary were at the Boatwright’s house after May died having a feast and spending time with May’s open casket was also omitted. One of the scenes in particular that I found altered was the scene where Zach was arrested. In the book he was standing outside talking with his friends outside the movie theater and Lily was in the truck while the whole thing was going on. In the movie Lily and Zach were sitting together in the movie theater when a few men came and took him outside. There were also a few other changes I noticed between the book and the movie. One was how T. Ray found Lily. In the book Lily was in a law office waiting for Zach and used the secretary’s phone to call her father, and T. Ray was able to trace where the call came from. In the movie, he fixed one of the maps in Lily’s room and found a whole in the wall where she had pin-pointed her destination. Also, when Rosaleen goes to register to vote the first time, in the book she gets cleaned up, puts on her best outfit, and is very excited to go and vote; she had also practiced writing her name a few times so she could do it perfectly when she had to sign the paper. In the movie, though she is still making an effort to do so, her and Lily just kind of walk into town like it is a duty and not something she really believes in and really wants to do. Lastly, when Rosaleen goes to vote the second time, it comes out differently in the book and the movie. In the movie, it is not mentioned at all beforehand and Rosaleen just walks in the honey house one day and tells Lily that she is a registered voter. In the book, August takes her out and buys her a new dress and Rosaleen practices once again writing her name. After she gets back, she calls every one of the Daughters of Mary to tell them about her accomplishment. As you can see, the book and movie of The Secret Life of Bees are quite different from one another.
Colleen S.
The movie “The secret life of Bees” and the book, were a little bit different. For instance, August didn’t tell her that she, June, May, Rosaleen, and Zack loved Lily, which played a big part in the book. Also, the police didn’t show up in the movie, which wasn’t what I was expecting after reading the book. In the movie, Rosaleen was renamed July, which wasn’t mentioned in the book, which I thought was a pretty important part, because Rosaleen was finally accepted by someone for the first time, other than her family. Also, when T-Ray found Lily in Tiburon, the situation was different in the movie, than it was in the book. In the book, T-Ray used the collect phone call to track Lily down, but in the movie he used Lily’s map where a push pin was on Tiburon, which led T-Ray to Lily. Also, Lily asked two different questions after T-Ray started to drive off. In the book, she asked if she really did kill her mother, but in the movie she asked if he lied about Deborah coming to come pack up the rest of her belongings.

Lily was also furious when she and August talked, and reacted badly to the story of her mother. “You should’ve let him put her in there. I wish she rotted in there” (Kidd 252). At this point in the story, August had just told Lily that her mother left her in Sylvan, to come to Tiburon, to get away from T-Ray. Lily was angry at her mother for leaving her with T-Ray, and not taking her on Deborah’s journey to the Boatwright residence.
Afterwards, she became a mature, young woman, realizing reality, and making the most of her life. “I need to know…Did I do it?” (Kidd 299). Lily is more mature now, and she needs to know the truth, about her mom, her past, and her life, without the sugar-coating. Lily was mature enough to handle the truth, and everyone saw that in the way Lily acted. When T-Ray came, she was a good host, and not an immature 14 year old. She proved to T-Ray that she matured, and could handle the truth about her mom. This proved that Lily had matured throughout the story, and thus learned the truth about her mother.
Beatrice C.C
A main theme throughout the story is love. Lilly lost her Mother when she was very young and has had a desirable love for her ever since. She held on to many of her mothers things and in the beginning of the story, Lilly has a picture of a black Mary, that belonged to her Mother, and on the back of it, it said Tibourn, S.C and Lilly promised herself she would go there because she “wanted to go every place she had been.”(Kidd 15). Lilly actually fulfills this wish and ends at up at the Boatwright sister’s house and finds more than she expects. Lilly finds a new love at the Boatwrights’ house. She starts to love August Boatwright in a motherly way and looks up to her so much. When Lilly is listing things that she loves, she so badly wants to let August know “And you, I love you, but I felt too awkward.” (Kidd 140) Everyday Lilly loves August more and she is always amazed at how much August knows, and one of those things are love. August asks Lilly “did you know there are thirty-two names for love in one of the Eskimo languages? And we just have this one. We are so limited, you have to use the same word for loving Rosaleen as you do for loving a Coke with peanuts, Isn’t that a shame we don’t have more ways to say it?” (Kidd 140). This is a clear spot where love is evident in the book. There are so many ways to love different things and yet there is just one word to express such a strong emotion. August is saying that you have to use the same word to express how she loves her sister and how she loves honey, which is another contributor to the theme of love.
The Boatwright sisters have their own honey farm and honey is their everything. They use it for everything and it is not just a job for them, but a life style. Lilly even states that “We lived for honey. We swallowed a spoonful in the morning to wake us up, and one at night to put us to sleep. We took it with every meal to calm the mind, give us stamina, and prevent fatal disease. We swabbed ourselves in it to disinfect cuts or heal chapped lips. It went in our baths, our skin cream, our raspberry tea and biscuits. Nothing was safe from honey.” (Kidd 84). Honey is a theme in it’s own but it relates to love because this honey house and is where Lilly begins to love all the Boatwright sisters, sees how much she really does love Rosaleen, and how she loves Zach. So many levels of love unfold in this book so that is why love is a very big theme.
Lastly, we can see how times have really changed as public places such as schools are starting to integrate. The author writes, “Becca and I watch for Zach in the lunchroom and sit with him every chance we get. We have reputations as “nigger lovers,” which is how it is put to us, and when the ignoramuses ball up their notebook paper and throw it at Zach in the hallway, which seems to be a favorite pastime between classes, Becca and I are just as likely to get popped in the head as he is. Zach says we should walk on the other side of the hall from him. We say, “Balled-up notebook paper – big deal.”” (Kidd 301). From this epilogue piece, we see that the schools are now integrated and though some of the students are still being discriminated against, it is nothing like what it used to be, everything was slowly starting to get better; and with Lily’s optimistic views, this process would speed up considerably.
A lot of violence, discrimination, and segregation took place over these years and have heavily impacted the outcome of this novel. The beginning had a lot of discrimination which lingered throughout the book, and finally at the end everything seems to have gotten better after a few years. As you can see, there were many events in The Secret Life of Bees that related it to the time period.
Final AnalysisRachel S - relationships,Relationships: Lily and June- Rachel SJune
June and Lily had a pretty rough start to their relationship. June had a problem with Lily that actually didn’t have to do with Lily. June didn’t like Lily’s mother, which caused her to hold a grudge on Lily. She was always trying to convince August not to let her stay with them anymore. One night they were talking and in a sort of racist way of her own June said, “but she’s white August” (87). Lily almost felt the same way. She felt as though June’s hatred made it a little bit hard to stay with August. Later on in the book she started to hold an even bigger grudge, almost like Lily was the cause of their problems now. She stopped playing the cello when Lily was about to touch the Black Mary’s heart. This was a sign to Lily that she wasn’t one of them; which made her feel very unwanted.
Before May’s death and after the tension between June and Lily relaxed, they were outside in the hot weather and May was fixing lunch. June and Lily were out playing in the sprinkler and soon Lily could see, “the softening [coming] around June’s eyes [and] how she was trying not to laugh.” (169) Things were good for a while but after May’s death, June and Lily kind of separated again. While her and August were talking August mentions that, “June, despite her ways, loves [Lily] too. (242). Towards the end June and Lily’s relationship isn’t really brought up, but It is known that June still has love in her heart for Lily.
Movie Reflection
Movie Reflection
Beatrice C-C
The book and the movie were alike in some ways and different in others. There were a lot of scenes that were cut out of the movie that were in the book. The beginning of the movie cut out many things that were in the beginning of the book. The whole scene where Lilly breaks Rosaleen out of the hospital and then hitch hike was cut rather short and I actually preferred that because it helped the story move along faster and get into the main story quicker. Another scene that was cut out was when Lilly calls her T.Ray at the lawyers’ office and asks him what her favorite color is. I think this is a very important scene because it really shows that Lilly just wants someone to love her and someone to care for her, even if it is T.Ray who has done awful things to her. This scene also lets the reader know how much Lilly has been neglected mentally and I think it should have been in the movie to let the viewer understand the character better. There was one thing that I noticed that was out of order in the movie compared to the book. In the movie, May puts the graham crackers with the marshmallows on the floor as she tells Lilly she knows her Mother before Zach gives Lilly the journal. In the book version, the scene with Zach and Lily comes before the scene with Lily and May. Overall I actually liked the movie better than the book which rarely happens to me. The cast for the movie was very well and their acting was so amazing that I felt everything they felt.
Marisa S
After watching and comparing the movie and book of The Secret Life of Bees, I noticed many things that were different between the two. First, I noticed that many scenes that the author had in the book were not in the movie. One being the scene where the police come to investigate what had happened in relation to May’s death. Since the police did not show, the interview between Lily and the policeman telling Lily that it was not natural for her to stay there and that she should leave as soon as possible was overseen. Also, the scene where the Daughter’s of Mary were at the Boatwright’s house after May died having a feast and spending time with May’s open casket was also omitted. One of the scenes in particular that I found altered was the scene where Zach was arrested. In the book he was standing outside talking with his friends outside the movie theater and Lily was in the truck while the whole thing was going on. In the movie Lily and Zach were sitting together in the movie theater when a few men came and took him outside. There were also a few other changes I noticed between the book and the movie. One was how T. Ray found Lily. In the book Lily was in a law office waiting for Zach and used the secretary’s phone to call her father, and T. Ray was able to trace where the call came from. In the movie, he fixed one of the maps in Lily’s room and found a whole in the wall where she had pin-pointed her destination. Also, when Rosaleen goes to register to vote the first time, in the book she gets cleaned up, puts on her best outfit, and is very excited to go and vote; she had also practiced writing her name a few times so she could do it perfectly when she had to sign the paper. In the movie, though she is still making an effort to do so, her and Lily just kind of walk into town like it is a duty and not something she really believes in and really wants to do. Lastly, when Rosaleen goes to vote the second time, it comes out differently in the book and the movie. In the movie, it is not mentioned at all beforehand and Rosaleen just walks in the honey house one day and tells Lily that she is a registered voter. In the book, August takes her out and buys her a new dress and Rosaleen practices once again writing her name. After she gets back, she calls every one of the Daughters of Mary to tell them about her accomplishment. As you can see, the book and movie of The Secret Life of Bees are quite different from one another.

Movie Reflection
Movie Reflection
Beatrice C-
The book and the movie were alike in some ways and different in others. There were a lot of scenes that were cut out of the movie that were in the book. The beginning of the movie cut out many things that were in the beginning of the book. The whole scene where Lilly breaks Rosaleen out of the hospital and then hitch hike was cut rather short and I actually preferred that because it helped the story move along faster and get into the main story quicker. Another scene that was cut out was when Lilly calls her T.Ray at the lawyers’ office and asks him what her favorite color is. I think this is a very important scene because it really shows that Lilly just wants someone to love her and someone to care for her, even if it is T.Ray who has done awful things to her. This scene also lets the reader know how much Lilly has been neglected mentally and I think it should have been in the movie to let the viewer understand the character better. There was one thing that I noticed that was out of order in the movie compared to the book. In the movie, May puts the graham crackers with the marshmallows on the floor as she tells Lilly she knows her Mother before Zach gives Lilly the journal. In the book version, the scene with Zach and Lily comes before the scene with Lily and May. Overall I actually liked the movie better than the book which rarely happens to me. The cast for the movie was very well and their acting was so amazing that I felt everything they felt.

Chapter 14
Final Reflection
Movie Reflection
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Chapter 1
Madison L. - Relationships (Lily and Rosaleen)
You can tell Lily and Rosaleen have a special bond. The type of relationship they have is the same as a mother and daughter. Lily never really felt loved as a child. The only person that loved her was Rosaleen. She hadn’t realized Rosaleen loved her until she got a baby chick and stood up for her when T. Ray wanted the chick out of the house. It took a lot to stand up to T. Ray and Lily understood that it was hard for Rosaleen to do. “I was the only one who knew that despite her sharp ways, her heart was more tender than a flower skin and she loved me beyond reason,” (Kidd 11). The older Lily got, the more she cared for Rosaleen without realizing it. Even though Rosaleen bossed her around and said things that made Lily angry, she loved her anyway. When Rosaleen and Lily were arrested and brought to jail, T. Ray only preceded to get Lily out of jail. She promised Rosaleen she would be back soon and she wouldn’t leave her there. In the car, she got mad at T. Ray for not bailing Rosaleen out of jail. “I squinted at him sideways. ‘What about Rosaleen? You have to get her out…’ ‘You’re lucky I got you out!’ he yelled. ‘But she can’t stay there…’” (Kidd 37). That night, Lily fled the house and escaped with Rosaleen toward Tiburon, South Carolina before T. Ray could realize it. They had an argument that night, but then realized that they relied on each other. “I eased down beside her, suspending my breath at the water’s sting. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘Me, too.’ She reached over and patted the roundness of my knee like it was biscuit dough.” (Kidd 55). All in all, they both love each other and make up a family of their own before they find the Boatwright sisters.
Movie Reflection
Movie Reflection