Symbols and Their Meanings
Charles Slate
Beehives
In the book The Secret Life of Bees, beehives are one major symbol. The pink house is symbolized by a beehive. Every person in the house represents a bee in that hive (more on that below). All bees in a hive have a job, and if all bees do not do their job, all bees die. This symbolizes the day-to-day chores that everyone has to do, the jobs that are being done outside the house, and of course, the hive itself: The pink house.
Bees
Bees play an important part in this novel. Almost every main character in the novel can be compared to one of the bees in the hive. Every character represents a working part of the beehive (see above). For example, the worker bees would be August, Zach, Lilly, and Neil. They are the ones that go out to collect the honey. They are the only ones that routinely leave the hive. They are the beekeepers. Then next class of bees will include May and Rosaleen. The bees are the caretaker bees. They keep the hive clean and functioning. They are almost constantly inside the hive. May and Rosaleen fall under this description of this class because they are the ones that stay at home and cook and clean. The third class of Bees in the hive are the mortuary bees. Only June falls under the description. These bees are the ones that clean out the hive of the dead. They respect the dead, in the same way June plays for the people who are grieving. The fourth class in a hive is the queen’s attendants. These are the sisters of Mary. They all gather to prey to and attempt to appease their queen, which brings us to the final class of bee, the queen. The queen in this hive is the Black Mary. She has been in the hive for generations, and all have prayed to her and drawn support from her. She is, in effect, the mother of the hive.
The Black Mary
The Black Mary is one of the largest Symbols in the book. To different characters, it means different things. For instance; To Lilly, the Black Mary is a tie to her mother. For the Frogman General Store clerk, it is the label of a product that doesn’t sell well. To the Daughters of Mary it is a point at which their whole religion revolves around. Overall, the Black Mary is a Symbol of hope and aspiration. The original Black Mary was originally a holy symbol from all over Europe. In this way she is the most diverse symbol in the book.
The Photograph
Another symbol in the book is Lilly’s Photograph of her mother. This symbolizes her tie to her mother and her own insecurities. It is the only lasting tie that she has that she can be sure is her mother’s. The Black Mary that she has is a tie, but it is not as powerful as a picture of her mother. Neither are the gloves. It is the only thing that even gives her a visual of her mother. It is also an emotional rock in her life. It is one thing that will never change, and gives her a purpose in her unstable life.
The Color Blue
The color blue is a symbol of love in the novel The Secret Life of Bees. It symbolizes the fact that someone knows Lilly well enough that they know that her favorite color is blue. This is apparent on two main occasions. The first is when Lilly calls T-Ray and asks him if he knows what her favorite color is. He responds by yelling at her and she hangs up. The second time the color is brought up is when one of the Daughters of Mary ask Lilly what color she wants her hat to be. Before Lilly can respond, August tells her blue and winks at Lilly. This shows that a stranger (or so Lilly thinks) loves her more than her own father did.
The Whale Pin
The whale pin that Lilly finds in the hat box is a symbol of T-Ray's affection for Deborah. This is shown because he gave her the pin when they were dating. After they were married, he still had access to the pin (because it was in the house or with Deborah). The only time this changed was when Deborah ran and took the pin with her. After this he had no access to her love, and vice versa. en after she came back (to get Lilly) she didn't have the pin, and she also had no more love for him. Even after she was killed he couldn't access the whale pin, or her love.
The Wailing Wall
The wailing wall is a symbol for both the troubles of the world, and for may's dead sister, April. The symbolism for the troubles of the world are created in it by Mays stuffing them into it's cracks. The wall represents the personal mental wall that most people have to keep themselves apart from the suffering they know of. May had no such wall, so she built one in the only way she could. she built the wailing wall and placed all the troubles she knew of in it. It also resembles April, because April used to be may's wall. she could feel only what April felt if she chose to. With the death of April, though, she was forced to find another wall.
In the book The Secret Life of Bees, beehives are one major symbol. The pink house is symbolized by a beehive. Every person in the house represents a bee in that hive (more on that below). All bees in a hive have a job, and if all bees do not do their job, all bees die. This symbolizes the day-to-day chores that everyone has to do, the jobs that are being done outside the house, and of course, the hive itself: The pink house.
Bees
Bees play an important part in this novel. Almost every main character in the novel can be compared to one of the bees in the hive. Every character represents a working part of the beehive (see above). For example, the worker bees would be August, Zach, Lilly, and Neil. They are the ones that go out to collect the honey. They are the only ones that routinely leave the hive. They are the beekeepers. Then next class of bees will include May and Rosaleen. The bees are the caretaker bees. They keep the hive clean and functioning. They are almost constantly inside the hive. May and Rosaleen fall under this description of this class because they are the ones that stay at home and cook and clean. The third class of Bees in the hive are the mortuary bees. Only June falls under the description. These bees are the ones that clean out the hive of the dead. They respect the dead, in the same way June plays for the people who are grieving. The fourth class in a hive is the queen’s attendants. These are the sisters of Mary. They all gather to prey to and attempt to appease their queen, which brings us to the final class of bee, the queen. The queen in this hive is the Black Mary. She has been in the hive for generations, and all have prayed to her and drawn support from her. She is, in effect, the mother of the hive.
The Black Mary
The Black Mary is one of the largest Symbols in the book. To different characters, it means different things. For instance; To Lilly, the Black Mary is a tie to her mother. For the Frogman General Store clerk, it is the label of a product that doesn’t sell well. To the Daughters of Mary it is a point at which their whole religion revolves around. Overall, the Black Mary is a Symbol of hope and aspiration. The original Black Mary was originally a holy symbol from all over Europe. In this way she is the most diverse symbol in the book.
The Photograph
Another symbol in the book is Lilly’s Photograph of her mother. This symbolizes her tie to her mother and her own insecurities. It is the only lasting tie that she has that she can be sure is her mother’s. The Black Mary that she has is a tie, but it is not as powerful as a picture of her mother. Neither are the gloves. It is the only thing that even gives her a visual of her mother. It is also an emotional rock in her life. It is one thing that will never change, and gives her a purpose in her unstable life.
The Color Blue
The color blue is a symbol of love in the novel The Secret Life of Bees. It symbolizes the fact that someone knows Lilly well enough that they know that her favorite color is blue. This is apparent on two main occasions. The first is when Lilly calls T-Ray and asks him if he knows what her favorite color is. He responds by yelling at her and she hangs up. The second time the color is brought up is when one of the Daughters of Mary ask Lilly what color she wants her hat to be. Before Lilly can respond, August tells her blue and winks at Lilly. This shows that a stranger (or so Lilly thinks) loves her more than her own father did.
The Whale Pin
The whale pin that Lilly finds in the hat box is a symbol of T-Ray's affection for Deborah. This is shown because he gave her the pin when they were dating. After they were married, he still had access to the pin (because it was in the house or with Deborah). The only time this changed was when Deborah ran and took the pin with her. After this he had no access to her love, and vice versa. en after she came back (to get Lilly) she didn't have the pin, and she also had no more love for him. Even after she was killed he couldn't access the whale pin, or her love.
The Wailing Wall
The wailing wall is a symbol for both the troubles of the world, and for may's dead sister, April. The symbolism for the troubles of the world are created in it by Mays stuffing them into it's cracks. The wall represents the personal mental wall that most people have to keep themselves apart from the suffering they know of. May had no such wall, so she built one in the only way she could. she built the wailing wall and placed all the troubles she knew of in it. It also resembles April, because April used to be may's wall. she could feel only what April felt if she chose to. With the death of April, though, she was forced to find another wall.