Tuesday, March 9, 2010


The queen bee mentioned in the epigrams is Lily.

11 comments:

  1. True, because the quote "a queen bee never leaves the hive" shows how Lily never left the house and say the outside world that much, so she had an even harder time forgetting the past.

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  2. The queen bee mentioned in the epigrams is not Lily, but August. In the very first epigram of the book, it says, "The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly senser her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness." This epigram shows how Lily is confused without her mother. Because her biological mother is dead, she has no one to be the mother figure. But when she meets the Boatwrights, August takes over the role of her mother. At the very end of the book, Lily is standing in the driveway looking back at the porch. "And there they were. All these mothers. I have more mothers than any eight girls off the street. They are the moons shining over me." All Lily wanted in her life was a mother, and August took over that role.

    MaeFlowers

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  3. I agree with MaeFlowers but I think she needed to add that when May killed herself and August went into a slump how the whole house was disturbed. The days stared to seem out of order when Lilly realized she was wearing the underwear on the wrong days. When August decides to get out of it the whole house becomes happy and cheerful.
    Red Power Ranger

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  4. "True, because the quote "a queen bee never leaves the hive" shows how Lily never left the house and say the outside world that much, so she had an even harder time forgetting the past."

    I think this is more about August more then lilly because the queen of the bee hive is the omother of the hive. Which August show a mother figure out through the whole book to lilly. When lilly didnt have much of a mother.
    MilaGreen

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  5. prestige world wide
    false,August was the queen bee because she was the strongest mentily for a girl. She also realizes the consequences and is a natural leader. She is very caring and doesnt want any of her friends getting hurt and is very protective. Her friends can be looked at as her bee children that she watches over and makes sure they they are doing well.In the epigram "The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly senser her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness. She is the main lady of the house

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  6. MilaGreen
    You are wrong on every level; Lily is not anything like a bee. She has to be around 1,000 times bigger and heavier than a bee. While she does like honey she does not produce it using the pollen from flowers. When they talk about the color of the house (it’s pink) it’s proven that it is a house, not a hive or the so called super. Bees and humans are very different and Lily is not bee.
    Cats and waffles

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  7. I disagree with the people who have said that Lily is the queen bee, because she seems to me like someone who is not taking charge, rather going through life and learning from others. If anyone is the queen bee, I would say it is August because she continuously takes the leader role. She is also sort of like the mother of the household, so it's hard to say she is not the queen bee.

    -Awesome Town

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  8. i don't agree with anonymous up there at the top. The Queen Bee could not be refering to Lily because she ran away from home saying that she wasn't really that afraid to leave, she had just hoped that T.Ray would change. the queen bee is obviously refering to June. Ever since she was dumped at the alter she decided that she would not marry a man. Since then she has met Neil. Due to her vow to be an old an married woman she refuses to marry him. in this sense she is afraid to leave the saftey of her home.

    Fish & Muffins

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  9. Pretige World Wide, I understand where you are coming from in this excerpt, but I think you left something out of your explination. If you look at Lilly as the queen bee you have to remember that the queen bee is always hidden in the dark. The whole book is written about Lilly being hidden from her truth. The plot of The Secret Life of Bees shows Lilly hiding the whole time being the queen bee untill finally she is forced out of the hive when the truth is uncovered.
    -Mary Merriwether

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  10. Prestige world wide, I agree with you greatly and you have some really good points. But i think that you should put something more than just an epigram. Maybe put an example like when August runs the show when they are all on there own.

    Trim Mcbush

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  11. The queen bee mentioned in the epigrams is not Lily, but August. "And there they were. All these mothers. I have more mothers than any eight girls off the street. They are the moons shining over me." All Lily wanted in her life was a mother, and August took over that role.
    This quote was in the end of the book when Lily was standing outside and looking out upon her house. This epigram is a prime example as to why the queen bee is August and not Lily. This shows hidden examples as to how in the book, August appears to grow into the role of being Lily's mother. This makes her the queen bee. All of the adive and facts of knowlege that are given in these epigrams are subliminally proving that "mother knows best". Mostly throughout the book, Lily doesnt take charge like August does. The Queen Bee could not be refering to Lily because she ran away from home saying even after saying that it was because she simply wanted T.Ray to change. She wasnt actually afraid to leave. This shows how childest and fragile Lily really is. Therefore, I strongly stand by my belief that August is the queen bee that the epigrams are referring to, due to her motherly roles throughout the story and her strong willed behaviors.

    Christine Jean

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