Secret Life of Bees Chapter 1 questions
Who is the narrator of the story?
Lily Owens, a 14-year old girl
When Lily sees that Rosaleen has stayed late to watch tv what does Lily think has happened?
Lily alludes to Mr. Khrushchev and the fallout shelters. People were afraid at that time that the Communists in Russia would drop atomic bombs. Lily think a bomb may have been dropped.
What does Lily do to prove to T. Ray that there are bees behind the wall in her room?
Lily captures a jar of bees to show T. Ray.
In chapter 1, Lily says that the bees could have stung her until she died, and t would not have been the worst thing to happen to her. What does this tell us about Lily?
Lily is very unhappy.
How do we know that Lily is self-conscious?
Lily picks at her scabs, worries about how she looks, and wonder why the other girls whisper about her. She feels like she is trying to act like a girl, but does not really know how to be one because she did not grow up with a mother.
Lily says that in paradise she will tell her mother something. What does Lily want to tell her mother?
Lily says she will ask her mom to forgive her and her mom would tell her she was not to blame for ten thousand years. For the next ten thousand years, her mom would fix her hair.
When Lily tells her teacher that she wants to go to beauty school, what does her teacher tell her?
Lily's teacher tells her that she is too intelligent for beauty school and that Lily should be a professor or writer.
Why does Lily smell all the perfumes in the local store?
On page 6, Lily remembers the scent of her mother and wants to find it.
How does Lily's mom die?
On page 6-8, Lily implies that she accidentally shot her mother with the gun she picked up.
What actually claimed Rosaleen's attention on the TV?
President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
Why does Rosaleen take Lily to town?
Rosaleen plans to register to vote.
What does Rosaleen steal from the church?
Rosaleen steals paper fans from the church because she and Lily are hot.
Why does Lily say Rosaleen has "less sense that I'd dreamed of"?
Rosaleen tells the hostile men that she is going to town to register to vote.
On page 2, what allusion does Lily makes about the bees in her room?
She alludes to the story of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, being visited by the angel Gabriel. She compares the bees in her room to the visitation of the angel. She hints (foreshadows) that the presence of the bees signals things to happen.
Why does T. Ray tell Lily about her mother?
T Ray says that he wants Lily to hear about her mother from him before she starts school. He says he wants her to hear "it" from him, not from "people out there talking."
When Rosaleen stands up to T. Ray about the chick, what does T. Ray do? What does it symbolize?
T. Ray gave up the fight with Rosaleen. When Rosaleen refers to the chick, she is actually referring to Lily.
How does T Ray punish Lily after he finds her in the peach orchard?
T. Ray makes her kneel on Martha White grits.
When is Lily's birthday?
The fourth of July.
