“The Secret Life of Bees” By Sue Monk Kidd In the novel, “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd, the story reflects the time when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved. Tension is rising in the southern states of the United States where most of the people there are against this bill. One of these states is South Carolina where the story takes place. It tells the story of Lily a fourteen year old girl living in Sylvan, South Carolina with her abusive father called T.Ray and a black maid named Rosaleen.
After having to confront some troubling events, Lily and Rosaleen get to stay in the house of the Boatwright sisters, who are known to make the best honey in South Carolina. T.Ray had already fought in the war. He is a resentful and an angry man. The main cause of his behaviour is because when her wife died, she was about to leave him. This causes him to take out all of his anger on his innocent daughter, being really cruel sometimes towards her.
At the end of the novel, Lily’s father let her stay with the Boatwright sisters. This decision is consistent with T.Ray’s character because it shows us how he is a careless, unloving and prideful person. First of all, T.Ray is a careless person. For example, he does not take care of his daughter even though it’s somehow a father’s obligation to take care of his children.
As mentioned in the novel by the protagonist, “As I fixed T.Ray’s plate, I considered how to bring up the delicate matter of my birthday, something T.Ray had never paid attention to in all the years of my life, but every year, like a dope, I got hopes up thinking this year would be the one’’(21). This tells us how T.Ray does not c. .
ve to his daughter, Lily explains how he reacts, “He seemed suddenly ashamed. I watched him pushing out his lips, trying to gather back his pride, his anger, all that thunderclap he’d first come striding in here with” (296). Furthermore, she explains with her point of view of why he wants her to come with him, “Even as he said it, I could tell he didn’t want me, didn’t want me back on the farm, didn’t want me to be reminded of her. Another part of him –the good part, if there was such a thing–might even be thinking that I’d be better of here. It was all pride now, all pride. How could he back down?” *(297).
It was only because of his pride that he did not want to leave her with the Boatwright’s. In conclusion, T.Ray’s character is in consistent with the decision that he made to leave Lily with the Boatwright sisters because he is careless, unloving and prideful.
