The Secret Life of Bees Group

Question:

rashaundra5
rashaundra5
Student
College - Freshman

Lily learns that some people are not what they pretend to be in The Secret Life of Bees.  Why do you think some people are hypocrites?

Why do people say one thing and do another?  Why do people pretend to be somtheing they are not?

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Posted by rashaundra5 on Sunday October 25, 2009 at 9:19 AM and tagged with hypocrite, lily, the secret life of bees.

Answers:


  1. akannan Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    Perhaps, a reason as to why people act in a duplicitous nature is socially driven. There is a great deal of pressure placed on individuals from a social context to embrace certain values and embody certain elements.  This results in a situation where individuals say one thing, and might be compelled to do another.  In Kidd's novel, the idea of race in American society helps to provide much in the way of challenging notions of the good, as well as fighting through the idea of justice and injustice.  Racism and the behaviors that tag along with racism help to provide many a moment where hypocrisy is demonstrated.  Kidd exposes this with contrasting a time period in America where individuals were told to act on their dreams, but also kept in metaphorical chains when the color of their skin impeded such activity.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/secret-life-bees/themes

    Rate answer:

    Posted by akannan on Sunday October 25, 2009 at 10:17 AM