Literary Essay: The Secret Life of Bees

        The book, "The Secret Life of Bees", by Sue Monk Kidd, follows the adventure of 14-year-old Lily Owens, an isolated and insecure white girl living in South Carolina in the 1960s. When Lily was four years old, she accidentally shot and killed her mother, and ended up alone with her abusive father who she calls, "T. Ray". Lily is a complicated girl, afraid of lacking beauty and femininity as she grows up. Lily's housekeeper, Rosaleen, who helped raise her when her mother was no longer alive, is a feisty black Southern woman, who continuously pushes limits for the time period. When Rosaleen gets herself into trouble with a group of white men and escapes before she can be put into jail, she and Lily run away to find out more about Lily's mother. They end up at a beekeeper's house belonging to three black women named August, May, and June. Together, the five live together, shielded by their love for one another despite their differences, but unable to escape the realities of the views of the outside world. Throughout the book, the setting, the characters, and the plot line all work together to powerfully weave the themes of racism and injustice together. 
        By setting the story in the South in the 1960s, Sue Monk Kidd introduces the themes of racism and injustice that we know, historically, were so present in that time period. For example, after Rosaleen gets into trouble with a group of white men, she ends up in the hospital due to the injuries she received from the men. The author describes the hospital, saying, “Sylvan Memorial Hospital was a low brick building with one wing for whites and one for blacks.” This detail speaks for almost every public space that existed in the South in the 1960s. Everything was segregated based on race, and Sue Monk Kidd uses the setting of this hospital to show this discrimination and racism that existed. Setting plays an important role while illustrating the physical differences that existed within the story and the time period. 
        In addition to the setting, Sue Monk Kidd creates strong characters, some very flawed, others very endearing, who contribute to and fight against the themes of injustice and racism during the book. For example, when Lily and Rosaleen run away, they end up being taken in by a trio of warm, friendly, black beekeeping sisters, who defy the racism of the time. August, May, and June take in Lily, a little white girl, without any problem of having mixed races in their house. By taking her in without second thought, and loving her like a daughter, they show how ridiculous and unjust racism is. Another example that shows a character who contributes to the themes of injustice and racism (instead of fighting against it like August, May, and June do) is T. Ray, Lily's father. After Lily had been staying with August, May, and June for a while, one day T. Ray shows up and is appalled by the fact that Lily could be living with black women. He says, "So you've been here the whole time, staying with colored woman? Jesus Christ." (pg 291) This comment shows his surprise and disgrace at the fact that Lily would be staying with these black woman, which shows how apparent that theme of racism is, and that racism is what creates injustice. 
        Finally, the author clearly shows how powerful and consuming the themes of injustice and racism are throughout the book by designing scenes and making the plot arch illustrate those themes. An example of this is the scene in which Rosaleen gets arrested for "causing a disturbance", along with other charges. The scene starts out with Lily and Rosaleen harmlessly shopping, and that is when white men start to taunt Rosaleen. This scene builds, with Rosaleen responding to them by tumbling chewed tobacco on their shoes which leads to a physical fight. When the police come, the officer says to Rosaleen, "You're under arrest… Assault, theft, and disturbing the peace." (pg 33) He lets the white men go without any trouble-- even though they were the ones who began the brawl in the first place. Rosaleen didn't commit any of those crimes. The white man taunted her with racist remarks about her skin color which provoked Rosaleen. The injustice came from the racism- Rosaleen would not be in any trouble had it not been for the men’s provocative, racist comments. It is alarming how horribly accurate to history that moment was, and clearly the author did a very good job of using scenes like this one to demonstrate the themes of racism and injustice that are painted throughout the story. 
        All in all, the themes of injustice and racism are woven together and carried throughout the book through the characters, the setting, and the plot arch. Sue Monk Kidd does an excellent job of showing how consuming those themes are. The characters and their lives are taken over by racism of the time, which creates the overwhelming theme of injustice. Lily is a girl who doesn't care about what she considers to be small, trivial things like race. She is a character who looks past skin color, and looks for personality and the warmth and love someone is willing to give her. She shows readers just how unfair it is when people are judged and treated differently, or thought of as something less, because of their skin color. As a reader reading this book in modern times, it could seem distant and less impactful given how much more equal our society is. But, Sue Monk Kidd beautifully transposes those themes of injustice and racism into the story, so that the anger and dismay readers feel at the injustice is just as powerful, no matter how far our society may have come.