Major Characters
Sam Cohen
Lily Owens:
Lily is the main character of the book "The Secret Life of Bees". She is fourteen throughout the course of the novel, and she has had a hard life. Her father is abusive towards her, and when she was younger she accidentally shot her mother and killed her after her parents had been arguing. She runs away from her home at the age of 14 and journeys with her maid Rosaleen to Tiburon, South Carolina. Rosaleen and Lily find themselves at the Boatwright house, where the Boatwights make their legendary honey. Throughout the story, Lily matures from a child into a young woman and learns things about herself that she's never known before as she stays at the Boatwright house. She learns about love and is inspired to work hard in life by her beekeeping habits.
Lily is important to the novel because she represents a 'coming of age' character. At the start of the novel, she is still just a child at heart; very young and lacking in her knowledge of the world around her. However, by the end of the novel, she flourishes into a mature young woman who can handle and stand up for herself. Her experiences at the Boatwright house and her times away from her bad living conditions back home allow Lily to live her life to a fuller extent and learn about herself and her environment.
Zach Taylor:
Zach is an African American resident of the Boatwright house. He is athletic and handsome, and has grown up in a safe environment around the Boatwright sisters throughout his life. He sets many goals that seem very out of his reach, because he is an ambitious young man. Zach aspires to become a lawyer, despite his disadvantage of being black in the 1960's. He falls in love with Lily shortly after meeting her for the first time when she shows up at the Boatwright house. Lily and Zach tell each other to follow their dreams, even though they may seem unreachable at the time.
Zach is an important character in this novel because he serves as a foil character for Lily. Lily and Zach are complete opposites; one being a black male who grew up with a good family and the other being a white female who grew up with a bad family. Despite these opposing forces, however, they have things in common; they both are in love with one another, and enjoy bee-keeping. This love is an important theme for the novel, and it makes Zach an extremely important character.
T. Ray:
T. Ray is Lily's angry, abusive father. When Lily was just a young child, T. Ray's wife, Deborah left him to go the Boatwright house, and when she came back for Lily, she and T. Ray got in a fight. A gun was pulled, and Lily got a hold of it and accidentally shot her mother. T. Ray raised Lily from then on without the help of a mother. This was bad for Lily because her father was a deceitful, and aggressive guardian. He would punish her in very harmful ways and always told her horrible things. Because of this, Lily ran away from home to find a better, more suitable place to live.
T. Ray is important to the novel because he is the reason Lily found her way to a better life. Without T. Ray, Lily would have never have had the life changing experience that she did at the Boatwright house with the sisters and Zach. T. Ray forced Lily out of the house because of his unbearable treatment of her, and this led Lily to a moment of her life that defined her as a person and helped her get over her past mistakes. Without T. Ray there would be no novel.
August:
August is an African-American woman who owns a business in the South during the 1960's. This makes August a very unique and charismatic character in the novel. August is a friendly and accepting person; she accepts Lily and Rosaleen into her home with warm welcome. August owns the honey making business that the residents of the Boatwright house work for. August and her fellow housemates give Lily and Rosaleen a nice place to stay around from the hate that surrounded them back at Lily's home.
August is important to the novel because she serves as a kind of mother for Lily in her time of need. Without August, Lily would not have been able to mature as she did during her time with the Boatwrights because she was taught so much by the owner of the honey farm. August guides Lily throughout the novel and shows her the way to a better life. Lily's coming of age was defined by August's teachings, and without her there would be no story.
Lily is the main character of the book "The Secret Life of Bees". She is fourteen throughout the course of the novel, and she has had a hard life. Her father is abusive towards her, and when she was younger she accidentally shot her mother and killed her after her parents had been arguing. She runs away from her home at the age of 14 and journeys with her maid Rosaleen to Tiburon, South Carolina. Rosaleen and Lily find themselves at the Boatwright house, where the Boatwights make their legendary honey. Throughout the story, Lily matures from a child into a young woman and learns things about herself that she's never known before as she stays at the Boatwright house. She learns about love and is inspired to work hard in life by her beekeeping habits.
Lily is important to the novel because she represents a 'coming of age' character. At the start of the novel, she is still just a child at heart; very young and lacking in her knowledge of the world around her. However, by the end of the novel, she flourishes into a mature young woman who can handle and stand up for herself. Her experiences at the Boatwright house and her times away from her bad living conditions back home allow Lily to live her life to a fuller extent and learn about herself and her environment.
Zach Taylor:
Zach is an African American resident of the Boatwright house. He is athletic and handsome, and has grown up in a safe environment around the Boatwright sisters throughout his life. He sets many goals that seem very out of his reach, because he is an ambitious young man. Zach aspires to become a lawyer, despite his disadvantage of being black in the 1960's. He falls in love with Lily shortly after meeting her for the first time when she shows up at the Boatwright house. Lily and Zach tell each other to follow their dreams, even though they may seem unreachable at the time.
Zach is an important character in this novel because he serves as a foil character for Lily. Lily and Zach are complete opposites; one being a black male who grew up with a good family and the other being a white female who grew up with a bad family. Despite these opposing forces, however, they have things in common; they both are in love with one another, and enjoy bee-keeping. This love is an important theme for the novel, and it makes Zach an extremely important character.
T. Ray:
T. Ray is Lily's angry, abusive father. When Lily was just a young child, T. Ray's wife, Deborah left him to go the Boatwright house, and when she came back for Lily, she and T. Ray got in a fight. A gun was pulled, and Lily got a hold of it and accidentally shot her mother. T. Ray raised Lily from then on without the help of a mother. This was bad for Lily because her father was a deceitful, and aggressive guardian. He would punish her in very harmful ways and always told her horrible things. Because of this, Lily ran away from home to find a better, more suitable place to live.
T. Ray is important to the novel because he is the reason Lily found her way to a better life. Without T. Ray, Lily would have never have had the life changing experience that she did at the Boatwright house with the sisters and Zach. T. Ray forced Lily out of the house because of his unbearable treatment of her, and this led Lily to a moment of her life that defined her as a person and helped her get over her past mistakes. Without T. Ray there would be no novel.
August:
August is an African-American woman who owns a business in the South during the 1960's. This makes August a very unique and charismatic character in the novel. August is a friendly and accepting person; she accepts Lily and Rosaleen into her home with warm welcome. August owns the honey making business that the residents of the Boatwright house work for. August and her fellow housemates give Lily and Rosaleen a nice place to stay around from the hate that surrounded them back at Lily's home.
August is important to the novel because she serves as a kind of mother for Lily in her time of need. Without August, Lily would not have been able to mature as she did during her time with the Boatwrights because she was taught so much by the owner of the honey farm. August guides Lily throughout the novel and shows her the way to a better life. Lily's coming of age was defined by August's teachings, and without her there would be no story.