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The Secret Life of Bees

by Sue Monk Kidd

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Discussion Topic

Events leading to the quote about aging in The Secret Life of Bees and its significance to the novel's progression

Summary:

In The Secret Life of Bees, the quote about aging occurs when characters reflect on their personal growth and the passage of time. This moment is significant as it highlights the themes of maturity and self-discovery, marking a pivotal point in the novel where the protagonist and others recognize their transformations and the impact of their experiences.

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What events in The Secret Life of Bees lead up to the given quote, and why is it significant in the narrative?

"Walking along the weedy strip beside the highway for the second time that day, I was thinking how much older fourteen had made me. In the space of a few hours, I'd become forty years old."

Lily speaks these words in the second chapter of Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, and they reveal Lily's loss of innocence. Let's look at the context of this quotation to help you get started on your answer.

Shortly before Lily finds herself walking down the highway, she has witnessed her family's housekeeper, Rosaleen, abused by white men in the presence of a police officer. T. Ray comes to get Lily but leaves Rosaleen, and Lily is terrified that the men will kill her.

Then T. Ray takes a swing at Lily in the midst of his anger. He misses, but he hurts Lily deeply when he tells her that her mother never loved her and left her on purpose. Lily decides that she has to leave home. She can no longer live with her father. At the same time, she determines that she will rescue Rosaleen.

This is a tall order for a fourteen-year-old girl, but whatever innocence Lily had left is gone now. That is why she feels like in only a few hours, she has “become forty years old.” Lily has discovered some hard truths and made some tough decisions. Now she much find out if her courage is up to acting on what she has decided to do.

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What events in The Secret Life of Bees lead to the quote about aging, and why is it significant to the novel's progression?

"Walking along the weedy strip beside the highway for the second time that day, I was thinking how much older fourteen had made me. In the space of a few hours, I'd become forty years old."

This quotation occurs in the second chapter of The Secret Life of Bees. Lily has been having a very hard time of things, to say the least. She and her father, T. Ray, just had an explosive altercation in which she was told that her late mother never really loved her. She is also under the impression that she is responsible for her mother's death ten years prior. Furthermore, Lily is very unpopular in school and has no real friends other than Rosaleen, a woman much older than her. Wracked by guilt and anger, Lily has decided to run away from home.

Even though Lily is still a child in many respects, this quotation indicates that she feels that the events in her life have forced her to become an adult before she is truly ready. Lily associates being an adult with freedom. Now that she has decided to rid herself of a life that felt confining, she is feeling freer than she ever has. She is embracing the idea that her future belongs to her, and therefore, she feels more like an adult than the teenager she really is.

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