Non-Fiction: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

                The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is set in racist South Carolina in the summer of 1964. It tells the story of a young girl named Lily who runs away from her abusive home and finds herself in the company of three African-American sisters. The sisters take Lily in and give her a bed, food, clothes, and shelter in exchange for her working with the bees that produce their honey. Lily grows vastly throughout the story, and as she begins to find love and acceptance, thinks less about the haunting memory of accidentally killing her own mother. The Secret Life of Bees, overall, is an incredible story about female strength, passion, and acceptance. Although the beginning of the story starts out slowly, the rest of the novel is filled with drama that keeps the pages turning.

                The characters in The Secret Life of Bees are well developed and well spoken. There are the protagonists: Lily, the Boatwrights, Zach, and Rosaleen, and the main antagonist: T-Ray, Lily’s father. Each character has flaws and a strong past. Kidd shows great human strength through the characters in her novel as they let go of pain inside of them and learn about love and companionship.

Author Sue Monk Kidd with Oprah Winfrey!!!!!!

                The writing style of The Secret Life of Bees is filled with mass amounts of figurative language, perhaps too much, that flows perfectly. With the story written from Lily’s point of view, it allows the audience to feel everything that Lily is feeling, whether it is pain, desperation, fear, excitement, or passion. Especially at the beginning of the book when Lily describes her memory of killing her mother and being abused and neglected by her father. Sue Monk Kidd does a wonderful job of describing this pain and desperation that Lily feels inside: the idea of being loved and cared for by somebody is completely absurd and unrealistic to the extent that the only thing that Lily has to hold onto is the uncertain memory of her deceased mother.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

 

                There are various themes and metaphors throughout the novel. Sue Monk Kidd writes about incredibly important subjects: racism, female power, growth, and mothers. When Lily falls for Zach, she begins to question the concept of racism that she has grown up with. By the end of the novel, racism is completely irrational to Lily and she decides that it will not keep her from being with the Boatwrights, Rosaleen, or Zach. Female power runs strongly through the novel as it is questioned, with the violent death and suicide of Lily’s mother and May, and admired, with the strength of August Boatwright and Lily herself. All throughout the novel, Lily carries the baggage of killing her mother and is continuously longing for a mother’s love. Interestingly enough, throughout the novel Lily really is surrounded by mothers: the memory of her mother, Rosaleen, and the Boatwright sisters. Surrounded by these women, Lily begins to heal.

Historical Fiction: Life Through Another's Eyes

Some of the most famous or well-known Historical Fiction authors are Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, and many more.

There are mass amounts of remarkable, critically acclaimed books that have come out of this genre including, The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, and Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

More recently, major titles include The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

The characteristics of this genre include an emphasis on human destruction and flaws in the world. A lot of the books take place in the times of war, slavery, female oppression, and evil leaders, e.g.; Adolf Hitler, King George, and King Louis. Authors of historical fiction take important events in history and make the audience aware as well as able to relate to the characters and events.

One award that has been devoted to historical fiction is The Scott O’ Dell Award for Historical Fiction that is given out to top historical fiction novels and authors. Legendary author Mark Twain has won numerous Newberry Honor Awards and the American Humor Award. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Let me just put that into perspective… SHE WON A PULITZER. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was awarded prizes including the ALA Best Books for Young Adults and the Michael L. Printz Honor Book awards among many others.

Historical fiction, according to Readwritethink.org, is mainly described as “stories that are written to portray a time period or convey information about a specific time period or an historical event. Usually the event or time period is about 30 years in the past.” A historical fiction novel includes fictional characters in a real-life setting. My favorite time period to read about in historical fiction books is usually about the Roaring 20’s because of the outfits, parties, and culture.

So far, my book, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, relates quite well to the historical fiction genre. It is set in the 1960’s so the 30-year aspect of the genre is correct. It is about a major time in American culture-the Civil Rights Movement. It includes fictional characters in a real-life setting, South Carolina. It also includes real-life events such as the jailing and release of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Although I’m not historical fiction’s biggest fan, I have enjoyed being able to reach out of my comfort zone. I wanted to stop reading this book, actually, about ¼ of the way through because it is incredibly sad and slow (at the beginning) and kind of a downer. I am, although, glad that I continued reading because the plot has definitely developed, advanced, and strengthened (so have the characters).

 

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson404/HistoricalFictionDefn.pdf

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/historical-fiction

Book Three: The Secret Life of Bees

     For my third book, my genre is realistic fiction. I chose to read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. TSLoB is a book about a young girl growing up in South Carolina in the time of racial discrimination against African-Americans. She runs away from home, escaping her abusive father, and finds comfort in the home of three African-American sisters.
      I chose this book because I have heard that it is a wonderful book about overcoming differences and racial discrimination in the South. I also thought that this book was different from many other books, especially ones about the Civil Rights movement, because it is told from the perspective of a young, White girl.
      So far, I am glad I chose this book. It is incredibly well-written and the main character, Lily, is such a vivid, intelligent, and strong young girl. I enjoy reading from her perspective even though it is sad learning of the abuse that she has to go through.

Analyzing My Reading

        I have always loved to read, so that was easy.
       As a reader, I have learned that I really enjoy books that make me think and kind of make me look back on what I have just read. I have this obsession with the "Roaring 20's," 1920's era and I have been very interested in reading about that. I have read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and since many of his books take place in the early 1900's, I have begun reading This Side of Paradise. I watch Downton Abbey and I love the fashion and just the feeling of that era (if you were wealthy, of course,) so I really enjoyed The Great Gatsby, which captured the essence of it all.
       I personally enjoy reading realistic fiction the most because it allows me to relate to the feelings, settings, and circumstances of the characters in the books. John Green is my favorite young adult author, (and probably a lot of other people's) because, unlike many authors, he understands teenagers in another, foreign way. He understands our feelings, motives, and actions-and doesn't judge. That, to me, is amazing. I also enjoy reading non-fiction books. Right now, I am reading Jonathan Safran Foers' Eating Animals. As a vegetarian, I find it is a very interesting read. I love finding facts from books and I enjoy reading books for knowledge.
       Right now, I think science fiction is the most popular genre, probably all thanks to The Hunger Games (at least for young adults.) Right now, there are series' including The Hunger Games, the Divergent series, The City of Bones series, and The Maze Runner series. These novels are all incredibly popular and constantly talked about at the moment.
        Lastly, as a reader, I think I have changed this trimester by opening my mind to reading outside of my comfort zone. I didn't think I would enjoy non-fiction before I tried it. But once I did, I found I really enjoy it.

Book to Film: Where the Wild Things Are

       I believed that the film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are was successful in the fact that it conveyed the moral of the story well. That being said, I think that there was room for improvement on the special effects and the adaptations of the monsters.
      Spike Jonze did a wonderful job in emphasizing the importance of imagination: an escape. Jonze emphasized the importance of family, honesty, and being yourself. In that case, Jonze did a great job in adapting this into a children's film.
     On the other hand, the physical adaptation of the monsters in the film could have been better. I was surprised that they spoke English, first of all, which, now that I think about it, was probably a positive. I personally think that the film would have looked better animated because the monsters are so difficult to make realistic.

My Favorite Book As A Movie

      One of my favorite books is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The story follows protagonists Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Skeeter Phelan. Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson are African-American house maids working for white families in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960's. A White writer, Skeeter Phelan asks Aibileen and Minny to write down their what it is like living in segregation; which is a very dangerous thing to do. The story embarks on a tale of bravery, wit, and overcoming white supremacy in a time where it was forbidden to do so.
      I was extremely impressed and satisfied with the movie version of The Help. It was nominated for three Academy Awards and four Golden Globes in 2012 including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Song, and Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. The screenplay was consistent in sticking to the book and the acting was incredible. Only one major part of the book was taken out in the movie but it was a part that would have made the film Rated R. I thought the movie was incredibly touching and was a great example of the danger of standing up for racial justice in that time period. It also shows the differences in the social classes and the ways the White people lived to the African-Americans. I am a big fan of who they chose to cast in the film including Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Bryce Dallas Howard. They took on the characters very well and their emotions were incredibly believable.
        If I could have chosen to change any one thing in the film, I think I would play more into how the maids had to care for the children of their employees almost 24/7 while their own children were left at home, neglected and unfed. This was incredibly unfair and I think it would have emphasized even more the injustice of the racial system in the South in the 1960's. This really touched me when I read the book and watched the movie because every child deserves a loving, warm home where their parents are there to look after them. These maids were forced to look after other children in order to feed their own.
        I would not choose to change any of the cast because they were all incredible. My favorite character was Celia Foote, the kind but ditzy employer of Minnie after she gets fired from the household of the racist Miss Hilly Holbrook. Celia was so kind to everybody no matter their race and I admire Kathryn Stockett's choice of putting her in the novel as she adds not only a comic relief, but a sense of the future equality for Blacks in the South. Most importantly, Celia Foote symbolized how African-Americans and Whites are in no way different and can love each other if they manage to get over their prejudices. Celia has a good heart and an open mind and is incredibly kind to Minny, offering her home up as a safe haven for Minny and her family.

 

(From left to right: Hilly Holbrook played by Bryce Dallas Howard, Aibileen Clark played by Viola Davis, Skeeter Phelan played by Emma Stone, and Minny Jackson played by Octavia Spencer.)

 

(The quirky Celia Foote, played by Jessica Chastain, and my favorite character.)