In the following blog post, I will continue writing about my spring break read -- The Secret Life of Bees. As previously mentioned in the last post I truly enjoyed this simple but heartfelt novel. Above you see a quote that I found on the internet when I looked up bees. I really appreciated the quote and I am going to make several connections to the bee and the protagonist, Lily Owens. Initially, I felt a connection between the insect and the girl because they are both theoretically not supposed to or be allowed to do what they are doing but nevertheless continue in their pursuit as it makes them happy.
A background of Lily Owens:
Lily Owens is a 14-year-old girl that has a very difficult and somewhat messy life. She seems to be defying other characters preassumed judgments of her left and right. She is repeatedly physically and emotionally abused by her father whom she calls T. Ray. These harsh actions against the young protagonist lead her to make a rash and life changing decision. Lily decides to run away from home with her feisty colored maid without a plan and for a slight period of time finds herself in quite some trouble. At the set time period in the 1960's in the south, Lily's decision was potentially very harmful to her well-being and this plot was carried throughout the entire novel as a leading plot. Her nervousness continued until she was found by a caring group of 3 sisters who had the answers to the biggest, most prominent question of her entire life; Who was her mother?
A background on Bees:
Basic laws of aviation all state that there is no possible way that a bee should be able to fly. In short, the wings that a bee possess are much too small to lift its fat body off of the ground. It is said that the fragile wings would not be able to conduct enough force for the wings to sustain flight. This was first noted by French entomologist August Magnan in the 1930s. The conversation erupted of how, like most insects, the bee flaps its wing in a motion similar to up and down. This is what led biologists to believe that bees defy that laws of physics and a continuation of studiesare still occurring.
My Comparisons:
- A bee is said to defy every law that is placed on its back, every assumption of human logic saying that it should not be doing what it is. This is the same with Lily, she is a young white girl repeatedly told that she is not to live with a colored family. She seems to break this assumption like stereotype as beautifully as a bee. While Lily knows what she is doing is not always considered 'correct' the bee does not, yet they both show defiance and courage to those who are waiting and explaining every reason why they should fail. Even June, one of the sisters does not welcome her presence saying "But she’s white, August". As a reader, this comparison is easy as the protagonist shows her strong sense of bravery time in and time out similar to how a bee goes about its daily life as well.
- The hardworking character and the bee both must complete daily tasks that are known to be difficult in order to find their happiness. I think everyone can relate to this as life is like that, as lily said: "There is nothing perfect, There is only life". We all must do taxing works in order to find what makes us happy. Although what is good is not always easy as a person we all strive to get there even if that means a little bit of hard work. This is prevalent in Lilly as although she must frequently be alert lives with fear, she risks it in order to find her happiness.
MOVIE TRAILER
Comments
Post a Comment