The Secret Life of Bees is the story of Lily Owens, a girl who has molded her life around one devastating memory—the afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Besides her harsh and unyielding father, Lily’s only real companion is Rosaleen, a tender, but fierce-hearted black woman who cooks, cleans and acts as her "stand-in mother."
In the beginning of the story, her mother died an accidental death, and lily has been trying, for many years, to find out who her mom was as a person.
The narrator, who is the main character in the story, uses her flashbacks to describe her loss of her mother. After finding some of her mother’s belongings, she finds a picture, and behind the picture was engraved “Tiburon”. She soon makes it her mission…show more content… The connection between Lily and Tiburon, South Carolina is that her mom once stayed there for a period of time. Tiburon is very important because it is the key to finding out more about her mother. Thus, the connection between Lily and Sylvan is that she grew up there on a peach farm, and her late mother died there.
The title of the story is not just a random title. The title has a meaning, and it is appropriate for the story. The title if appropriate because while finding things about her mother and herself, she also learns about bees and their “secret” life.The title uses symbolic significance, and appears in the book while lily was helping August with beekeeping.
One of the many styles the arthur uses in the story is Allusion. Allusion is the literary device of referencing famous people, places, things, or other works such as a novel, poem, play, song, or piece of art - with the expectation that the reader will understand the reference. An example of allusion in the story: “ The queen for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed form the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness.” The allusion applies to the death of Lily’s mom in chapter 1, we learned after the accidental death of her mother, Lily has lived a “queenlessness’ childhood, with no “unifying force” or feminine
