Analysis of the Main Themes in Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

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In the book Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd uses very powerful themes throughout the book. A major theme that caught my eye throughout the entire book would be prejudice and the real meaning of family. Throughout the book Sue Monk Kidd also uses death as a major theme through this book and it makes it a very powerful and emotional piece of literature.

When reading this book you learn the true meaning of what family is and that it does not matter what you look like or what you believe in. It also shows that just because someone has a different skin color than you it does not make them less of a person or inferior to you which makes the theme of prejudice in the novel. Lily was loved the most by the people that had colored skin, they treated her more like family than her own father did, they took her in as their own when they knew that it was not right to do that during this time period. Lily grew up being abused and neglected by her father and even when her mother was around she would leave Lily and then eventually come back for her but she was never her mothers main priority. Even Lilys housekeeper Rosaleen gave her most of the love and affection that she did not get from her parents. When Lily arrived at the Boatwright house they also gave her so much love and gave her a home and were really kind to her.

This is what the meaning of family is, that even though you may have different skin, even though you are not blood or share any genes you can still love someone and be as passionate towards them as your own blood and skin. Many people were hateful of colored people during this time and that shows the prejudice in the book.

In the book it talks about Lily seeing the bees in her room and that it was a connection to her deceased mother. Death is another major theme in this book because death is a real thing and many people will eventually face some type of death in their life and the way they respond to it and see it will truly affect the way of life that they will live. Many of the characters in the book face a death of a family member in their life and it shows how they handle that situation and use it to guide them and help them live a better life. For example, May Boatwright commits suicide by drowning herself, but her sisters August and June take this situation and try to lighten it up because they knew they pain that May was in they felt that now that she was gone that she had no pain anymore and it showed how the matured through the situation.

They way Sue Monk Kidd presents death in this novel is very powerful and it shows that many people handle death in different ways and you get to see that throughout the novel and it is very impacting to learn how everyone handles a certain situation. Reading this wonderful novel makes you want to hold your loved ones close and really never take a moment with them for granted because you may not know what is going on with them on the inside.

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