The Secret Life of Bees Quest

In what year did the book begin?

1964

What does Zach give lily?

A journal because she wants to be a writer

What does Zach want to be when he grows up?

A lawyer

What does May leave them with?

A suicide note saying to live their lives fully;August interpreted it as June marrying Neil

How did May act when she found out Zach's incident

Acted more collected and went to the wailing wall alone. And drowns herself

Who is April Boatwright? What is her relationship with May?

April was May's twin. She committed suicide. After her death, May feels the wrongs of the world as if they were her own. She is easily overwhelmed when she hears bad news.

What happens when Lily tells August the truth about her visit ?

August knew the whole time

How does Lily realizes that her mom did love her

August showed her Deborah's belongings and one of it was a picture of Lily as a child with her mother.

How is August and Deborah related?

August worked as Deborah's housekeeper.

What are the Daughters of Mary? What do they do?

August's spiritual community-arrive for services. Made up of six women.

Why does August think Lily is a true beekeeper?

Because she got stung by bees

What's Lily's favorite snack/color?

Coca cola and peanuts / blue

What was Lily's mother's name?

Deborah Fontanel

How does T. Ray find Lily?

Discovered Lily's location by calling a strange number that appeared on his phone bill; Ms. Lacy answered, and told T. Ray about Lily

Where does Lily accompany Rosaleen to?

Go to town so Rosaleen can register

What causes Lily to run away from T.Ray

He said that Deborah abandoned her

What does Lily do while living with the Boatwrights?

Helps August with the bees

What tragic event happened when Lily was just 4 years old?

Her mother died

How does Lily and Rosaleen find August's house?

In the Frogmore General Store, she noticed the same picture of Black Mary that her mother had was on the honey jars.The clerk tells Lily that August lives on the other side of town

Where does Lily find Rosaleen? How does Lily help her escape?

In the hospital because the men beat up Rosaleen more. Lily made a call. She called pretending to be a jailer's wife. And they escaped

Who's Neil?

June's lover but she refuses to marry him.

How does T.Ray punish Lily?

Kneeling on dried grits

Theme-Dependence

Lily finds comfort in her eight "mothers" at the end of the novel. She accepts her dependence on others as a replacement for her dependence on her mother's memory.The bees demonstrate a non-human form of interdependence.Without the queen, the bees are rendered useless; they are extremely dependent on the queen. At the same time, the queen depends on her attendants to take care of the hive.

How did her mother die?

Lily shot her mother by accident

Theme-Power of Female Community

Lily's journey toward a much larger and more fulfilling female community: the one she finds at the Boatwright house. Lily sees how strong women encourage, and love one another by witnessing the bonds between the Daughters of Mary. Through their examples, and by being included in their group, Lily begins to feel empowered as a woman.

Who is Zach?

Lily's love interest

How does May cope with her condition?

May has a therapeutic wailing wall. It is where she goes to cry. She writes on little pieces of paper on why she is upset and places it in between the stones

Who lives in the Boatwright house?

May,June, and August Boatwright

What do the Boatwright Sisters have in their living room?

Our Lady of Chains

The Wailing Wall

Represents sorrow, and suffering but also strength and support. Gives May and also Lily the ability to move on. Gives a sense of peace

Who is Lily's nanny

Rosaleen

What does Lily do to help T.Ray?

Sell peaches since he owns a peach farm

How does Lily conclude that her mother did live in the house?

She found May on the ground with marshmallows and graham crackers to get rid of roaches. Her mother also used this technique. When she asked May if she knew her, she said yes

What happens at town with Rosaleen?

She got in an altercation with white men because of her color. She poured her chewing-tobacco juice on their shoes. She was arrested and beaten up by the men who accused her

Why did Deborah left T.Ray and Lily to go to August? How did Lily feel after hearing this?

She grew depressed and left them. Lily was very disturbed by that idea and said she loathed her mother

What happens when Rosaleen tries to register to vote again?

She is able to register

What does August Boatwright do for a living?

She's a beekeeper

What does June do for a living? What else does she do?

She's a history teacher and plays the cello

What is the story of Our Lady of Chains

Slaves found a black Mary statue and worshiped it. But the owner took it and chained it up. But miraculously and continually escaped. The statue offered the slave group unity and power

Where does the Owen family live?

Sylvan, South Carolina

Beehive

Symbolizes people working together in a society. The queen bee dominates the hive just like August in the pink house. She is the mother to everyone just like the Queen Bee

What does Lily call her father?

T.Ray. She doesn't call him "daddy," because he is abusive

Where does Lily plan to run away

Tiburon, South Carolina because it was written on the back of her mother's picture of Mary. She was determined to find out more about her mother since T.Ray was unwilling to speak more about her

Why is T.Ray there in Tiburon? How did August react?

To bring Lily back home; August was able to persuade him not to

How does Zach get arrested?

Zach's friends and other white men await for the white movie star and his black girlfriend. One of Zach's friends threw a bottle at the white men. But none of them revealed which boy did it and was taken

What are the items Lily owns that were Deborah's?

a photograph of her mother in front of an old car, a pair of white cotton gloves, and a small wooden picture of a black Mary with the words "Tiburon, S.C." written on the back

How did August get this twenty-eight-acre bee farm

inherited from her grandfather

What did Lily realize when T. Ray was yelling at her as if she was Deborah

she realizes that T. Ray harbors a lot more resentment toward Deborah than Lily initially realized. She sees how hurt T. Ray was by Deborah's leave-taking. Lily realizes that both she and T. Ray have been suffering from Deborah's departure and death.