The Secret Life of Bees (Chpts. 5-8)

By: Sue Monk Kidd
Pages: 82-164

Summary
During Lily's first week at the Boatwright's house she feels as if it was consolation. She starts her work with August working with bees to make honey. Rosaleen helps in the kitchen with May. Later on a boy named Zack who is August's helper returns. Here is an overview of the characters that are introduced in the story:
August: she's the oldest of the sisters and the one in charge. Se loves making honey and that's she makes her money off of. She is a strong believer of Mary and that's what her religion surrounds. She is very smart and always seems to know the right things to say. She also seems to be so free and has a strong sense of herself.
June: she welcomes Lily with palpable hostility. She is an Enlgish teacher. She spends her time playing the cello for the dead. In an earlier time in her life she was to get married but the guy never showed up for the wedding. So then she promised herself that she would never marry again and it has gone so far to the point where she refuses to marry Neil, whom she is in love with, no matter how much he asks her.
May: When she as younger she had a twin sister, April. They had an odd relationship with each other because whatever one felt the other also felt. When April committed suicide May began to feel everyone else's pain whenever she was expose to it. She had a very bright aura about her. She keeps a wall of all her pains as a way to get them out of her.
Zack: he wants to become a lawyer but the only thing that he fears can hold hime back is the color of his skin. He also starts to really like Lily but his skin color also becomes a factor for him.
During this part Lily does something that shell probably regret. She makes a collect call to T. Ray to ask if he knew what her favorite color is.

Quote
"I live in a hive of darkness, and you are my mother, I told her. You are the mother of thousands" (Kidd 164).

Reaction
This is when Lily gets touch the statue of Mary's heart. This is what she telling her as she is doing this. She believes that Mary is her mother and is watching over her. The second part of the quote is the same thing that August had told Lily and she kept it with her.

The Secret Life of Bees (Chpts. 1-4)

By: Sue Monk Kidd
Pages: 1-81

Summary
The book begins with the protagonist Lily Owens. It shows us a quick look into her life with T. Ray who is her father. Her mother died when Lily was very young and it was her fault. She had accidentally pull the trigger. After the death of her mother, Lily's life of mental abuse, harsh punishments, and a sense of no love surrounding her begins. However, one tragic day changes all of that. The story takes place in 1964 during a time of pure racism. When the right to vote is given to African Americans Rosaleen, Lily's "nanny", and Lily goes to the city to get her named signed up to vote. Before they even get there everything goes downhill. Rosaleen steals a fan from the church. Then when three white men start to mess around with her she drops a bottle of her spit on their shoes which angers them. They end calling the police and both Lily and her wait for T. Ray in jail. Rosaleen gets beat up during her time in jail and Lily get's out when T. Ray comes. When Lily gets back home she begins to realize that she can escape and does exactly that but not before rescuing Rosaleen from the hospital under the watch of a police. During their on the road they hitch hike and walk the rest of the way to Tiburon, South Carolina. She carried with her a black image of Mary which is what leads her to the Boatwright sisters, August, June, and May. After Lily tell them a made up of her journey the sisters invites them both with open arms, except for June. For some strange reason Lily feels as if she belongs in this pink house with the Boatwright sisters.

Quote
" My fist and only memory of my mother is the day she died" (Kidd 5).


Reaction
When I read this line it automatically made me pause and read it again. I thought it was really sad that the only memory she had of her mother was the day she died. I think that this one sentence really explains what the journey of Lily will be because it seems like she feels like she doesn't know herself and the absence of her mother is probably a huge part of that. This sentence was followed by her remembering the day her mother died. Her mother was taking clothes out of the closet and telling Lily to hurry up. When T. Ray comes up the stairs they get into an argument and she takes out a gun for protection. When the gun ends up on the floor Lily reaches for it and it goes off. That's the last of her memory from that day.