There are many secret meanings to words and things all throughout The Secret Life of Bees. In this novel, the title relates to the book in a way that might take the readers by surprise. The bees have a secret life outside of making honey, it’s a life humans just don’t understand. A bee hive represents people working together. The hive is overseen by the queen, which acts as a mother to the bees. When the queen bee dies she can be replaced, even though all the bees are lost without her. If the queen is replaced quick enough the bees will be perfectly fine. This relates a lot to the character Lily when her mother died. When she found August she found a alternate mother figure and she too was perfectly fine. Just like the bees are living a secret life Lily is also living a secret life away from
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The bees are a huge symbol in the novel. The bees working together symbolizes that without each other the hive would not function. In the book, "The Daughters of Mary" rely on each other to function also. Another form of symbolism throughout the novel is the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary was a symbol as a mother figure to the Daughter's of Mary, especially for Lily. After Lily's mother died, she was in need of a mother figure. Even though August and Rosaleen served as wonderful physical mothers, the Virgin Mary provided Lily a way to express herself when she was feeling lost. Usually Lily would begin to feel lost and lonely at night when things were quiet and no one was around. But Mary was always there for Lily. Mary represented a mother figure for Lily. The wailing wall for May was also very symbolic. The wall represented the sorrow and hurt May experienced throughout her lifetime. When May was upset she would place all of her feelings on pieces of paper and place them in the cracks of the wall. This symbolized the hurt and sorrow May was going through before she took her own
The bees are a huge symbol in the novel. The bees working together symbolizes that without each other the hive would not function. In the book, "The Daughters of Mary" rely on each other to function also. Another form of symbolism throughout the novel is the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary was a symbol as a mother figure to the Daughter's of Mary, especially for Lily. After Lily's mother died, she was in need of a mother figure. Even though August and Rosaleen served as wonderful physical mothers, the Virgin Mary provided Lily a way to express herself when she was feeling lost. Usually Lily would begin to feel lost and lonely at night when things were quiet and no one was around. But Mary was always there for Lily. Mary represented a mother figure for Lily. The wailing wall for May was also very symbolic. The wall represented the sorrow and hurt May experienced throughout her lifetime. When May was upset she would place all of her feelings on pieces of paper and place them in the cracks of the wall. This symbolized the hurt and sorrow May was going through before she took her own