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The Secret Life of Bees
- 260 statements
- 50 feature instances
- 13 referencing feature instances
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The Secret Life of Bees is a 2002 novel by Sue Monk Kidd.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })Lily Owens is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives under the care of her abusive father T-Ray. She's constantly tormented by her blurred memory of the day that her mother died, and desperately wishes to know what really happened. When Rosaleen, a former orchard worker who T-Ray promoted to Lily's nanny and general housekeeper, is arrested and beaten just for being black, Lily is horrified when T.Ray casually mentions that the man who did it will come back and finish the job.Threatened with losing Rosaleen and being severely punished by T.Ray for standing up for her, Lily decides that now is the time for her to finally leave her home, and find out what really happened to her mother. She breaks Rosaleen out of the hospital, and the two head for Tiburon, a town written on the back of one of Lily's mother's possessions.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })There Lily meets the Boatwright sisters, three black women who are determined to make their mark on the world, despite the prejudice of 1950s America. Beekeeper August, the oldest sister, takes to Lily, and teaches her not only how to take care of the bees, but several important life lessons as well.A movie based on the novel was released in 2008, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_1439161f | type |
Heroic BSoD | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_1439161f | comment |
Heroic BSoD: Lily has a temporary one after talking with August about her mother and learning that her mother left her behind when she ran away. She gets out of it after talking with August some more and finding out that her mother came back on the day of her death to get her. May after she finds out about Zach being arrested. It does not end well. | |
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The Cutie | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_1b6f11d2 | comment |
The Cutie: May, who retained a sweet, childlike innocence well into her adult years. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_28c1d543 | type |
Defrosting Ice Queen | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_28c1d543 | comment |
Defrosting Ice Queen: June is very cold towards Lily to start with, but gradually warms up to her once she gets to know her better. Turns out it's because Lily greatly resembles her mother, who June still holds a grudge against. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_2bc77899 | type |
I Am Not Pretty | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_2bc77899 | comment |
I Am Not Pretty: Lily seems to think she's pretty average, and hopes that she'll become prettier when she's older. However she seems to have no issues attracting boys, given that both Zach and his friends are implied to find her very attractive. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_322f6b34 | type |
Angsty Surviving Twin | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_322f6b34 | comment |
Angsty Surviving Twin: May. It's ultimately subverted when May commits suicide. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_3618ebb9 | type |
TheSixties | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_3618ebb9 | comment |
The '60s: The book takes place in South Carolina during 1964. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_3f11ef74 | type |
Parental Substitute | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_3f11ef74 | comment |
Parental Substitute: Rosaleen to Lily from the beginning of the novel. And eventually the Boatwright sisters as well. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_4a57732a | type |
Friendless Background | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_4a57732a | comment |
Friendless Background: Lily had no friends back in her hometown. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_4c8e8078 | type |
All of the Other Reindeer | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_4c8e8078 | comment |
All of the Other Reindeer: While with T. Ray, Lily has a hard time at school. She is lonely because she wears lousy dresses she made in home ec, has a nest of cowlicks, and is socially awkward. Not even the boys whom are desperate in town are attracted to her, and she mentions that she hates nothing more than a group of schoolgirls that stop talking and stare at her when she passes by them. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_532a8261 | type |
Bookworm | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_532a8261 | comment |
Bookworm: August is incredibly well read, and is often seen with a book in hand when she isn't working. She even tells Lily that while growing up, her mother would allow her and her sisters to forgo chores and do and eat whatever they like during the month that they're named after. August spent the entire time reading. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_599f943f | type |
Karma Houdini Warranty | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_599f943f | comment |
Karma Houdini Warranty: The three racist white men who beat up Rosaleen don't get charged at all by the corrupt police. That is, until irrefutable evidence forces the police to charge the perpetrators. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_66dfe36a | type |
Missing Mom | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_66dfe36a | comment |
Missing Mom: Lily's mother died when she was four. Because Lily accidentally killed her while her parents were fighting. | |
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Aluminum Christmas Trees | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_67013b78 | comment |
Aluminum Christmas Trees: Lily and August decide to have Coke with peanuts in them for dessert one night. Some thought this was a shared quirk between Lily, her mother, and August, since June's response was that of disgust. However, Coke with peanuts in it is actually a thing people do in the Deep South. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_675d358e | type |
TellMeAboutMyMother | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_675d358e | comment |
Tell Me About My Mother: Much of the story focuses on Lily wanting to learn more about her mother on her quest to find her. | |
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Where da White Women At? | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_6849cc47 | comment |
Where da White Women At?: Lily and Zach develop a mutual attraction, but are extremely hesitant to act on it because they know it would likely get Zach killed. Their relationship ultimately does not materialize beyond one kiss, but Zach promises that they will be together one day. | |
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Meaningful Name | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
Meaningful Name: Zach is named for president Zachary Taylor. | |
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Driven to Suicide | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_6d332aea | comment |
May after she finds out about Zach being arrested. It does not end well. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_780a078e | type |
Self-Made Orphan | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_780a078e | comment |
Self-Made Orphan: A tragic, accidental example. Lily remembers how when her mother and her father were in a fight, a gun was picked up and thrown to the floor. The 4 year old Lily picks it up and accidentally pulls the trigger, shooting her mother dead. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_7aa858c1 | type |
Consummate Liar | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_7aa858c1 | comment |
Consummate Liar: Lily is quite talented at lying, she's certainly quick at thinking up things on the spot. Her lies are only ever seen through by the worldly and wise August, who admittedly has the upper hand because she knows who Lily ''really' is from the moment she shows up on her doorstep. Rosaleen is also pretty quick off the mark when it comes to telling a tale, and can easily keep up with Lily if they're forced to make up something on the spot. | |
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Nudity Equals Honesty | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_82757925 | comment |
Nudity Equals Honesty: When Lily and Rosaleen have an argument one night while on the run, the former feels guilty about it and looks for the latter the next morning to apologize. She finds her in the pond, completely naked. Lily decides to apologize after stripping off herself and both are nude. For obvious reasons, this scene is not in the movie. | |
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Broken Pedestal | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_868409c | comment |
Broken Pedestal: Lily towards her mother in the later chapters of the novel, when T. Ray turns out to have been right about Lily's mother leaving her. She gets over this, though. | |
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Kill the Cutie | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_9c5e78d0 | comment |
Kill the Cutie: The sweet May commits suicide after Zach is arrested. | |
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Adaptation Dye-Job | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_a4414a05 | comment |
Adaptation Dye-Job: Lily has black hair in the novel, but is played by blonde Dakota Fanning in the movie. Her mom has black hair as well - they have a Strong Family Resemblance - and thus is blonde in the film as well. | |
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Mood Whiplash | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_a4c37cbe | comment |
Mood Whiplash: Lily is starting to settle in with the Boatwright sisters, June has warmed up to her, May has confirmed that Lily's mother did stay there some time ago and hasn't had one of her 'episodes' for a very long time. Then Zach is arrested for something he didn't even do, and May kills herself when she finds out, having had enough of living in such an awful world. | |
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Parental Neglect | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_a54534a0 | comment |
Parental Neglect: T. Ray toward Lily. He is a distant father, emotionally and physically. | |
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SelfMadeWoman | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_a977e7bc | comment |
Self-Made Woman: August Boatwright. There's only ONE black business in town and it's hers. | |
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I Choose to Stay | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_add931af | comment |
I Choose to Stay: Lily chooses to stay with Rosaleen and the Boatwright sisters at the end of the novel, standing up to T. Ray once he comes back to retrieve her. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_adf84dea | type |
What Beautiful Eyes! | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_adf84dea | comment |
What Beautiful Eyes!: Played With. Lily narrates how she has "Sophia Loren" eyes. Also, this serves as a Strong Family Resemblance to her mother, who presumably had the same type of eyes. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_b11ac9f5 | type |
Abusive Parents | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_b11ac9f5 | comment |
Abusive Parents: T. Ray. is both physically and emotionally abusive towards Lily, often making her kneel on grits for hours at the slighted provocation. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_b1e8a3b3 | type |
Coming of Age Story | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_b1e8a3b3 | comment |
Coming-of-Age Story: For Lily, who starts out as a young girl who dreams of finding her mother and seeing the world beyond the four walls of her bedroom, envying the bees who are able to go wherever they please. Lily also learns that she's quite prejudice towards black people, even if it's subconsciously, which is something she quickly overcomes on getting to know the Boatwright sisters. | |
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Maybe Ever After | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_b97c2cfb | comment |
Maybe Ever After: For Lily and Zach. They admit they're attracted to each other, but the fact that they're in the South in the sixties does them no favors. Zach promises that one day when the world is different, they can get together then. | |
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You're Not My Father | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_bdf0640e | comment |
You're Not My Father: Lily cannot bring herself to call T. Ray her father for much of the novel, since she feels he "isn't exactly the Daddy type. Only towards the end of the novel does she finally call T. Ray "Daddy", although this was done in order to snap him out of his trance. | |
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Calling Parents by Their Name | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_bfc84d44 | comment |
Calling Parents by Their Name: Lily refers to her abusive father as "T.Ray". Until the end, when he mistakes her for his wife, she calls him "daddy" to snap him out of it. | |
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Strong Family Resemblance | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_c5fe6c81 | comment |
Strong Family Resemblance: Lily bears a striking resemblance to her mother, so much that it leads T. Ray to vent his frustrations with Deborah on Lily for several years and eventually see her as the living incarnation of her mother during a trance at the end of the novel. | |
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Too Many Halves | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_ca27661f | comment |
Too Many Halves: Or "Too Many Thirds". When Lily and Zach are bonding outside at night, she tells him that he's one-third friend, one-third brother, one-third bee partner, and one-third boyfriend. Zach tells her that there were too many thirds in the equation, and Lily notes that she was sort of bad with math. | |
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No Periods, Period | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_d0bf8a6d | comment |
No Periods, Period: Averted. Lily mentions how she remembers when she got her first one. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_d240712a | type |
Temporal Theme Naming | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_d240712a | comment |
Temporal Theme Naming: The Boatwright sisters are all named for months: August, June, May, and May's deceased twin April. | |
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Sugar-and-Ice Personality | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_e24a1629 | comment |
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: June, who has a difficult time warming up to Lily when they first meet due to her resentment of her mother. | |
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| The Secret Life of Bees / int_e2ccee25 | type |
Animal Motifs | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_e2ccee25 | comment |
Animal Motifs: Bees. Bees are said to be hard workers who work together in harmony underneath their mother, the Queen Bee. Many parallels are made to the hardworking Boatwright sisters and their attempt to make a mark on the world despite the colour of their skin holding them back, all while united underneath the Virgin Mary's watchful eye. | |
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Star-Crossed Lovers | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_e596f27b | comment |
Star-Crossed Lovers: Lily and Zach, who are unable to act on their feelings for one other due to the racial barriers between them. | |
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Dirty Cop | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_eb251937 | comment |
Dirty Cop: When Rosaleen gets arrested, the racist white cop who did so takes her back to the police station, where the even more racist thugs who got Rosaleen arrested in the first place are waiting. The policeman doesn't even intervene when one of them smacks Rosaleen in the head with a flashlight, which would be battery with a deadly weapon. He even lets them beat her again when they are at the hospital because of Rosaleen's head injury. | |
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Tender Tears | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_ece948d8 | comment |
Tender Tears: May, the most sensitive of the Boatwright sisters by far, because of her trauma. | |
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Locked Out of the Loop | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_f06b07ff | comment |
Locked Out of the Loop: When Zach gets arrested, Lily and the others do not want to tell May about this because they do not want add to her worrying. This causes a major problem when Zach's parents call the Boatwright residence about his arrest, and May answers the phone. She is implied to be horrified not only because of this devastating news, but also because she was kept in the dark from her own family and friends. This turns out to be the final straw that leads her Driven to Suicide. | |
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Promotion to Parent | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_f12d9d83 | comment |
Promotion to Parent: August and June are this for the emotionally vulnerable May. While it's never quite stated if May genuinely has some sort of disorder, it's clear that she relies on her sisters to take care of her, especially during her 'episodes'. | |
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Strongly Worded Letter | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_f6b70c98 | comment |
Strongly Worded Letter: Lily wants to rescue Rosaleen from the hospital and find answers about her mother, but has to get away from T. Ray in order to do those. So, she sneaks out of the house while he's out in the peach farm. But before doing so, she leaves him a taunting letter that infuriates him. | |
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Don't Explain the Joke | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_fabef10f | comment |
Don't Explain the Joke: After Rosaleen goes downtown to register to vote (again), she spends the dinner that night discussing how she's voting for President Johnson and Hubert Humphrey, not "Pisswater". She laughed about it, then added, "Goldwater, Pisswater, get it?" | |
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Accidental Murder | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_fd497706 | comment |
Accidental Murder: As a child, Lily witnessed her parents fighting, and when they dropped a gun, Lily picked it up and it went off, killing Lily's mother. | |
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Innocently Insensitive | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_ff17ccf1 | comment |
Innocently Insensitive: Lily tells Rosaleen that she shouldn't have goaded those racist white men whom were teasing and just ignored them instead of retaliating. This angers Rosaleen, as she seemed to think that she should just LET them harass her like that. The fact that Lily is white and Rosaleen was a Black worker of hers further complicates this argument. | |
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Pet the Dog | |
| The Secret Life of Bees / int_ff7f34c5 | comment |
Pet the Dog: When T. Ray talks to Lily about her mother's death right before she starts kindergarten, Lily remembers that he "almost sounded kind" when speaking to her, and although he quickly loses his temper, the conversation remains surprisingly soft for him. He also genuinely thanks the neighbor who cares for Lily in the months after Deborah's departure and death, saying that they wouldn't have gotten by without her help. Eventually, he also allows Lily to stay in Tiburon instead of taking her back with him. | |
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The Secret Life of Bees |
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