The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd employs various literary devices, including allusion and foreshadowing. An example of allusion is the comparison of bees to the angel Gabriel, symbolizing...

In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily frequently alludes to bees and compares them to aspects of her life. The novel opens with an epigram about the queen bee's role as a unifying force, symbolizing...

Rosaleen's head injury is caused by a white man who attacks her with a flashlight after she stands up to racial slurs by pouring snuff juice on their shoes. This occurs when Rosaleen and Lily are...

Lily daydreams of Rosaleen as her real mother, imagining scenarios where Rosaleen is white and married to T. Ray, making her Lily's true mother. Alternatively, Lily envisions herself as a Black...

Rosaleen provokes the men at the Esso station by defiantly telling them she is going to register to vote, which incites their mockery and racial taunts. In retaliation, Rosaleen pours her snuff jar's...