1. The Secret Life of Bees, The Color Purple, and The Bell Jar
Finding Yourself
The Secret Life of Bees, The Color Purple, and The Bell Jar

2. Sue Monk Kidd Born in Sylvester, Georgia, in 1948 Majored in nursing
Inspired by Thoureau’s Walden and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening
Enrolled in a writing class after she was married
Started out as a non-fiction writer but changed to fiction when she wrote The Secret Life of Bees in 2002
Used the power and spirituality of women in many of her novels

3. The Secret Life of Bees
14 year old, Lilly Owens, goes on a search to find out about her mother and in reality herself
Themes
Feminine power is represented by four black women:
Rosealeen Daise
August Boatwright
June Boatwright
May Boatwright
Controversy of black and white
Dates someone of a different race
Maturity
Stands up to her father
Grows mature enough to forgive her mother

4. Events
Lilly runs away to find out about her mother
Gains courage and independence
Symbols
Use bee keeping as an example to teach Lilly about love, sisterhood, and independence
''Let's imagine for the moment that we are tiny enough to follow a bee into a hive. Usually the first thing we would have to get used to is the darkness... -Exploring the World of Social Insects

5. Sunflower and Bees
Ginette Fine Art LLC

6. Alice Walker Born in Eatonton, Georgia in 1944
Youngest of eight children
Parents believed education was very important; went to school and college
Worked as a teacher, social worker, and lecturer
An accomplished poet and essayist but best known for her novels
Won the Pulitzer prize for The Color Purple
“Don't wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you've got to make yourself.” – Alice Walker

7. The Color Purple
Celie is abused and undermined by her stepfather and husband
Epistolary novel
Dear God
Letters to Nettie in Africa
Themes
The effect of rape and abuse
“Dear God, I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me” – Celie
"You better not tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy" - Alphonso
Strong Women
Shug
Sofia

8. The letters from Nettie is what keeps her alive and her hopes up
Events
Celie has to find the courage to stand up to her stepfather and husband
Celie takes what she learns about independence and passes it on to Squeak
Symbols
The letters from Nettie is what keeps her alive and her hopes up
Celie making pants
Form of independence

9. By Golden Pear Art

10. Sylvia Plath Born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, in 1932
Was a perfect student and won a scholarship to Smith College and internship to work in New York
Wrote 400 poems while at Smith
Wrote an autobiography of her life, The Bell Jar, in 1963
Committed suicide at the age of thirty

11. The Bell Jar
Esther Greenwood is a unhappy young women “living the life” during the 1950s
Themes
The uncertainty of what her life is and what it should be drives her crazy
Misconception
Esther seems to have everything
Men push her further away
Buddy Willard
Doctor Gordon
Events
Wants to become writer
Doesn’t achieve the goal of finding herself
Tries to commit suicide many times
Lives in a mental home…

12. Symbols The bell jar Perfection Represents the minuteness of her life
Feels like she’s trapped inside
“sour air”
Perfection
Envies Doreen for being perfect

13. Untitled

14. Finding Themselves The Secret Life of Bees The Color Purple
Lilly runs away to find out about her mother
Uses the strong, feminine power of the Boatwright sisters to gain independence
The Color Purple
Abused and undermined by her step father and Mr. ____
Shug is the role model that encourages Celie
Celie in return helps Squeak
The Bell Jar
Didn’t achieve the goal of finding yourself
The searching drove her insane

15. Similarities and Differences
The protagonist of Secret Life and Color Purple both accomplish their goal
They both use the feminine power around them
The Bell Jar doesn’t accomplish this goal
The first two characters come from abused families and Esther comes from a good family

16. Bibliography
"Sunflowers & Bees Watercolor Painting by Ginette." Art Prints by Ginette Fine Art LLC Web. 18 May < Mark. "Sue Monk Kidd." About.com Contemporary Literature Web. 18 May <
No One, but Me | The Secret Life of Bees Slide program. 
Youtube. 13 Aug Web. 5 May <  
The Color Purple - Best Scene. Dir. Stephen Spielberg. 
Youtube. 13 Dec Web. 5 May <  
"Alice Walker Biography." 
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 18 May <  
"Alice Walker Quotes." 
BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 18 May <  
"Memorable Quotes for the Color Purple." 
IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 18 May <  
"Biography of Sylvia Plath." 
Sylvia Plath. Web. 5 May <  
Arriola, Drew. "Sylvia Plath Reads "The Stones"" 
YouTube. YouTube, 10 May Web. 18 May <  
"Google Images." 
Google Images. Web. 18 May < of sunflower, sleeping woman, and bell jar)