Bees

The main objective of the laboratory was to identity different species of honeybees based on their physical and genetic attributes. Due to the invasion of African honeybees in North America, hybridization has increased between African and European honeybees. The hypothesis is that the four unknown bees are hybridized with a European mother and an African father. The wing-lengths of European, African, and unknown bees were measured, and the mtDNA of eight different bees were subjected to gel electrophoresis. The results showed that African bees were small with one band of mtDNA, European bees were large with two bands of mtDNA, and the unknown bees were of various sizes with two bands of mtDNA. The hypothesis was supported due to the unknown…

Bees play an important role in Lily’s life,they guide Lily, accompany her, and drive her forward. For every important action Lily takes in the novel, bees and their products play a role: from realizing she is in love with Zach (when she licks honey off his finger) to realizing she loves August (when she lets the bees rest on her body), showing that she trusts him. The epigrams at the beginning of each chapter concern bees; the bees in Lily's room reach out to her and show her she must leave; and…

Secret Life of Bees: Motif In her novel, The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd includes many motifs to reinforce the story’s theme. The Virgin Mary is a recurring figure that enhances the strong, feminist plot. The motif serves as a guide for the character Lily as she goes on a journey to discover who her mother was and escape the abusive clutches of her father, while also representing hope and being a figure of feminism. As Lily escapes the miserable peach orchard, she is steered by a…

Sue Monk Kidd adopts many themes and uses many symbols throughout the book "The Secret Life of Bees." The book takes place in the 1960 's. During this time, the fight for Civil Rights was taking place, so racism played a role in the book. The main themes that developed were female power, prejudice, and forgiveness. The main symbols used were the bees, the black Mary, and the whale pin along with the photograph. During this time period, women did not have a say in much at all. Female power was…

”I look to a day when people will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King Jr. (Reference). In the novel, The Secret Life of Bees written by Sue Monk Kidd, the protagonist of the story, Lily Owens narrates the novel in the first-person, describing events she experiences from her unique perspective and retelling the stories told by others in the same sort of manner. Throughout this novel, Lily witnesses a lot of violence, in the forms…

The moon has always been a strong symbol throughout human culture, representing mystery and time and, throughout many cultures, femininity. In The Secret Life of Bees, the moon makes many appearances, from the space program to Lily’s dreams to it’s typical position in the sky. The author uses the moon to tie the whole story together through repeated symbolism and themes, serving as one of the many motifs of the book. One of the first major uses of the Moon comes from a dream Lily has after she…

Sue Monk Kidd's first novel The Secret Life of Bees belongs to the bildungsroman genre of literature that portrays the journey of its young protagonist, Lily Owens to selfhood in the company of her black caregiver Rosaleen. Kidd through her narrative piece, reveals the power of black women, not only Rosaleen but also a group of beekeeping sisters and a Black Mary to construct a safe haven where Lily can survive amidst her crumbled life, eventually developing psychologically into a self…

the life of Lily, the protagonist, in the novel The Secret Life Of Bees written by Sue Monk Kidd. The story begins with Lily at the age of fourteen experiencing more than most typical fourteen year olds. Lily lives in Sylvan, South Carolina in the same house where she accidently shot her mom when she was four years old. Lily’s memory of the day of the shooting is very foggy but throughout the story continues to haunt her. Her father, T. Ray tells Lily that her mom, Deborah, was gonna leave them…

The Secret Life of Bees is a well-acclaimed bildungsroman and historic novel written by Sue Monk Kidd about the protagonist Lily Melissa Owens, and her growing personal independence, her expanding knowledge of the world, her revelation about the family in the past, and her spiritual journey. The entire novel was written in first-person angle about Lily’s experiences and thoughts, focusing largely on the spiritual aspect; nonetheless, Sue Monk Kidd did also elaborate her thoughts about the issue…

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…