The Secret Life Of Bees

Written By: Sue Monk KiddPublished By: Penguin Books

Published: 2002

PowerPoint By: Clare Smith

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

Introduction

T-Ray: Lily’s abusive father The Police: Racist, brutal

men who almost beat Rosaleen to death

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

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

Central Conflict

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.

Minor Characters