Author Sue Monk Kidd Sue Kidd, was born in Sylvester, Georgia, Sue Monk Kidd listened to her father’s stories growing up in the tiny town of Sylvester, Georgia. Teachers encouraged her to write her own stories and keep journals Kidd graduated from Texas Christian University with a B.S. in nursing in 1970 and worked throughout her twenties as a Registered  and college nursing instructor Secret Life Of Bees was her first novel, ( 2002), was written over three and a half years. It has been produced on stage in New York by The American Place Theater and been adapted into a movie by Fox Searchlight.

SETTING Summer, 1964 – outside Sylvan, South Carolina Historical Context - Timeline (August 28, 1963) The March on Washington and King’s speech South Carolina, 1964 - A time of civil unrest (racial divides- painful reminders of the cruelty of racism) The Civil Rights Act of 1964- Officially outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places and employment. National Voting Rights Act of 1965 - Outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been used to keep blacks from voting at certain booths in the South.

The Secret Life Of Bees is historical Novel that takes place in Tiburon South Carolina  The novel’s protagonist and narrator is 14 year-old Lily Owens born in 1950 ,who is in search of her mother's past. She lives in a house with a neglectful father and a black maid, Rosaleen. The book opens by showing Lily's memories of the day that her mother died.

Protagonist and Antagonist Lily: Determined teenager who wants her mother’s love Rosaleen: Tough black woman, took care of Lily all her life August Boatwright: Wise, hardworking black woman who took Lily and Rosaleen into her home T-Ray: Lily’s abusive father The Police: Racist, brutal men who almost beat Rosaleen to death

Central Conflict Lily, who’s mother dies when she is young lives unhappily with her emotionally detached father. Her father claims that Lily, as a small child, accidentally killed her mother. When her black maid—and only friend—Rosaleen gets arrested for confronting three racists, Lily decides to break Rosaleen out of jail. Together they run away to a place Lily suspects her mother once spent time. Lily is struggling to not only find who she is, but she wants to find out more information about her mother.

The Boatwright Sisters August, June and May live in a pink a house in Tiburon. They took Lilly and Rosaline in after Lilly and Rosaline escaped from S.C . August has her own business which making and selling honey, she named it The Black Madonna.

Zachary Taylor Lily’s best friend and romantic interest. Zach He is handsome and ambitious and hopes to be a lawyer someday, although he has never heard of a black lawyer. . He works on the Boatwrights’ farm to earn money to be self-reliant.

Themes The major theme, as expressed in the title, comes from August’s statement: “Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about” (Kidd 148). Throughout the novel, the reader learns how most characters are not what they seem on the surface. Major Themes Secrets and secret lives are major themes. Coming of age Search for identity Relationships with parents Resilience of the human spirit Man’s inhumanity to man Discrimination, prejudice, bigotry, class structure Literacy—the role of writers How death gives way to life

Symbolisms The Beehive Our Lady of Chains Statue The Whale Pin