The Secret Life of Bees Group

Question:

oceans11
oceans11
Teacher
Elementary / Primary

How would you describe Zach and Lilly's relationship?  Put into context comparing it to then and how it would be now in 2009.

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Posted by oceans11 on Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 5:52 AM and tagged with characters, lilly, relationship, zach.

Answers:


  1. charcunning Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Because Zach is African-American and Lilly is Caucasian, their "friendship" and eventually their love is taboo because of the time period. Keep in mind that this novel is set in the deep south, so racism runs rampant. This can easily be seen in the scenes in which Zach is beat up by the white men and the through the issues of voting and Civil Rights.

    These two have a relationship that begins as a friendship that slowly blossoms into one of a more romantic nature. In today's society, interracial relationships are rather commonplace, and Zach and Lilly's relationship would not be so highly frowned upon as it is in the book.

    Their relationship faces limitations set up by the setting of the book: location and year. If those two factors change, then the entire context and acceptance of their relationship can change too.

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    Posted by charcunning on Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 12:45 PM