1. The Secret Life of Bees
a novel by
Sue Monk Kidd

2. Historical Context 1964: Year of Change!
The setting in is South Carolina during the Civil Rights Movement.
The novel deals with racism found throughout the South.

3. The Issues at Hand Verbal/ Physical Abuse Racial Discrimination
Violence
Death
Survival of the Human Spirit

4. The Basics
Genre: Fiction, Coming-of Age (main character grows and becomes more mature)
Protagonist: Lily, a teenage girl who struggles through the summer of 1964.
Point of View: First person, told from the perspective of Lily

5. Themes Secret Lives Coincidences and Signs
The Importance of Mother Figures
Race
Death and Life: the connection

6. Sue Monk Kidd Born 1948 Grew up in Sylvester, Georgia
Lives near Charleston, South Carolina
Novel based somewhat on her life growing up in the rural South.