In The Secret Life of Bees, w... free essay sample

In The Secret Life of Bees, written by Sue Monk Kidd, it is apparent that the social issue between Whites and African Americans arises into something bigger during the Civil Rights period. The issue of racial discrimination is amplified throughout the novel when it acts as a barrier between the protagonist character, Lily Owens, and her only mother figure, Rosaleen, who is colored. The search of freedom and spirituality of Lily, who is desperate to escape her abusive father, leads to the deliverance of guilt, abuse, and separation. Kidd uses the novel to express herself and society through the characters in The Secret Life of Bees by incorporating the interconnectedness of life, nature, and spirit (Emanuel 2). The combination of racial tensions, social wounds, and political uprisings are used by Kidd to demonstrate the universal need for love and redemption in both private and public relationships throughout the novel (Hamilton 1).Born on August 12, 1948 in Sylvester, Georgia, Kidd was exposed to racial discrimination as the Civil Rights movement took place in her adolescent years through the 1950s to the 1960s. We will write a custom essay sample on In The Secret Life of Bees, w or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Her environment was used as inspiration in The Secret Life of Bees as the setting of Sylvan, South Carolina reflects Kidds hometown of Sylvester, Georgia. Living in the South during this era, racism along with the search of spirituality played a huge role in Kidds life as her surroundings left her abandoned in pneuma. Growing up Kidd had a passion for writing in which she wrote short stories but acquired a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Nursing at Texas Christian University (TCU) in 1970. It was not until after marriage and two children later that Kidd decided in taking writing classes where she wrote her autobiography, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, in which she recounts her own attempt to find a feminine God in 1996 (Emanuel 1). As her interests in feminine theology grew, Kidd tackled her encounters of racism in society and spirit by publishing her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, where she still possessed the search for spirituality through Lily Owens while combining the exclusion of women from society and racial discrimination. Kidd allowed this novel to reflect herselfs coming of age along with her search of having to find her own spirituality in times of white patriarchy and chauvinism (Gale Cengage).Many issues are incorporated in The Secret Life of Bees as they exemplify t he period of the Civil Rights movement where women are excluded and the main social issue becomes racism. Growing up in the South, Kidd was exposed to racial discrimination in which the racial tensions were absorbed and used as fuel for her first novel. Kidd depicts herself through the eyes of Lily Owens, the main character in The Secret Life of Bees, who experiences neglect from her parents, racial discrimination, and guilt. At only fours years of age, Lily took her own mothers life after her parents got in an argument. Dealing with this guilt of knowing what happened and not being able to talk to her father about it, Lily mourned for freedom to find answers about her mothers past. Now at fourteen years of age, Lily is in search of her mothers past as she only has a picture of the Black Madonna to follow that has Tiburon, South Carolina on it. This symbolizes Kidds own struggle and journey to find spirituality in times where racism exists while African Americans and Whites are not allowed to have interracial churches thus, leading to separation and disoriented spirits that become unfulfilled. By embracing her own life to resonate Lilys character, Kidd includes her own struggles making the novel more personal and surreal feeling. Lily shows acceptance that she has prejudice inside of her even though her mother figure and nanny, Rosaleen, is colored. T. Ray did not think colored women were smart. Since I want to tell the whole truth, which means the worst parts, I thought they could be smart, but not as smart as me, me being white. Lying on the cot in the honey house, though, all I could think was August is so intelligent, so cultured, and I was surprised by this. Thats what let me know I had some prejudice buried inside me ( Kidd 78). Lily is neglected by her father as he exposes her to racial discrimination and makes her believe it is right to mistreat colored people. Lily and Rosaleen encounter a group of Caucasian men who beat Rosaleen and land her in jail after she attempts to register to vote. This becomes the first time Lily witnesses racism and cruelty. Lily then breaks Rosaleen out of the jail hospital in which they set out on their life changing journey to Tiburon, South Carolina. Here they find the Boatwright sisters who are all African Americans and are also known as the Calendar sisters as their names are May, June, and August. The sister take Lily and Rosaleen in and give them a home and eventually a family. Lily has to overcome what she has been taught about the place of African Americans, using her own humane intuition and moral judgement (Gale Cengage 239) as she accepts the Boatwright sisters generosity and guidance. While being in the home of the sisters, they are all aware of the fake story Lily is selling them of her parents being dead and June dislikes Lily. With the reverse racism, Lily becomes shocked. Through time Lily forms a bond with all of the sisters as they become mother figures to her and also forms a romantic bond with Zachary Taylor. He captures Lilys attention as he is handsome, intelligent, and plans to become a lawyer despite how difficult it is for African Americans. Racism interferes in their relationship with Lily being Caucasian and Zach being African American as they have to hide their love affair in the home of the Boatwright sisters with hidden kisses and sweet looks to each other. Interracial relationships were not a thing during this period as it was a disgrace.