Freshmen Summer Study Guide The Secret Life of Bees Page 1-41: These pages focus on Lily s unhappiness and set up the events of the story. 1. Dialectical Journal: A dialectical journal is a running record of your reading. As you read, you will need to find important quotes from each of the sections listed below. Then explain the context (what is happening when this quote occurs, who is talking, etc.). Finally, you will explain the deeper meaning of the quotation (why is it important? What does it explain about the characters of the book?). For this first set of dialectical journals, find quotes that show how Lily feels and what she thinks about the world at the beginning of the novel. Quote with page Example: I would meet her saying, Mother, forgive. Please forgive (3) Context of the Quote Lily is thinking to herself while lying in bed and wishing she could see her mother. Interpretation of the Quote: Deeper Meaning Lily says, Please forgive. This shows me that she feels guilty about her mother s death. She is also not afraid of death and would rather die than be without her. 2. Characterization: Listed below are other characters with whom Lily comes in contact in the first part of the novel. Describe each character s role, importance and relationship to Lily. Example: Snout- Snout is T. Ray s dog. T. Ray shows more love to the dog than he does to Lily. For Lily, the dog is a source of hurt that her father would love a dog more than her. 1. T. Ray 2. Rosaleen 3. Mr. Avery Gaston (Shoe) 4. Brother Gerald 5. The men at the gas station
Page 40-66: These pages describe Lily s journey and reveal Lily s realization of the actions she has taken. 1. Dialectical Journal: Follow the same directions as above. This time, focus on how Lily s ideas are changing from those at the beginning of the novel. Quote and page 3. Historical Context: In order to understand the events in this book, you must have some understanding of the historical background. Write 1 to 2 sentences to explain how each of these terms are connected with the story. Example: President Johnson: Johnson was the President of the United States from 1963-1969 and this book takes place in 1964. Lily sees Johnson sign the Civil Rights Act on t.v. and realizes how important the issue of racism is in the world around her. 1. Civil Rights Act 2. Vietnam 3. Castro 4. CIA 5. Malcolm X 6. Martin Luther King
Page 67-176: These pages reveal Lily s physical, mental, emotional and religious growth. 1. Dialectical journal: Follow the directions above. This time, focus on those quotes that depict Lily s internal struggles (those problems she is dealing with inside herself). s 2. Internal struggle: What are Lily s internal struggles? Name the major problems she is having at this point of the novel. Where do these struggles originate from? How is she choosing to deal with the struggle at this point in the novel? Example: Lily is having difficulty dealing with the possibility that her mother abandoned her. Lily needs to figure out if what T. Ray told her about her mother is true. Lily is choosing to ignore the issue at the moment. She is in denial and believes that her father lied to her to punish her. 1. 2. 4. Characterization: Listed below are other characters with whom Lily comes in contact in this part of the novel. Describe each character s role, importance and relationship to Lily. Example: Neil is June s boyfriend. He is one of the few men with whom Lily comes in contact. Her experience with him is positive because it shows her that some men, unlike her father, are loving and caring. 1. May 2. June 3. August 4. Zach 5. The Daughters of Mary 6. Mr. Forrest
Page 177-230: In these pages, Lily continues to have internal struggles, however, external struggles (outside forces) are more prominent. Lily must put her own problems aside and learn to deal with the external problems. 1. Dialectical Journal: Follow the same directions as for other dialectical journals. This time, your focus should be on Lily s reaction to external struggles. s 2. External struggles: Name the major external struggles that occur in this section of the book. Name the major characters involved in that struggle, how this struggle affects Lily and how she reacts to this struggle. 1. Example: One external struggle for Lily is her lying to August. She feels weighed down by the lie and wants to set things straight. Lily realizes that she must tell August the truth when the time is right for August, not just because she is ready. August has her own trouble and it would be selfish to add to her trouble just for Lily to make herself feel better. 2.
Page 232-302: In the final part of the book, Lily has to face the internal and external struggles of the entire novel. Lily has a deeper understanding of who she is by the closing of the story. 1. Dialectical Journal: For your final set of dialectical journals, you will focus on those quotes which show the understanding Lily gains about herself, life and the work around her. 5. Reflection: Reflect upon the following questions and write 2-3 sentences to explain your thoughts. 1. Who is the queen bee in the story? 2. Describe your feelings towards T. Ray at the beginning, middle and end of the novel. What information changes how you feel about him? 3. Name all of the mothers that Lily has in this novel. What does she gain from her relationship with each one? 4. Why is Zach such an important character? Is he more than a boyfriend? What does Lily learn from him?