Week 7: The Secret Life of Bees

When I last posted about the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, I explained how Lily Owen's mother died. Lily, the main character, is now a 14 year old girl who lost her mother due to a tragic accident. She lives with her ever so cruel father, T-Ray, and Rosaleen, a black worker in T-Ray's orchard. As you know, the story was set in a time of racial discrimination. One day, Rosaleen comes into Lily's room and tells her to tell her father that she wouldn't be coming to the house tomorrow morning because she's going to her church to register to vote for the fourth of July. Lily, with it being her birthday tomorrow, wants to get out of the house, so she asks Rosaleen if she could accompany her. Rosaleen agrees and comes early in the morning to pick her up. They had to walk all the way to town. Because it was so hot outside, they stopped inside the church that T-Ray and Lily go to to rest. The deacon there is racist and doesn't welcome Rosaleen with much heart. They left the church after a while and finally got to Sylvan, which is the worst part of town. They walked past, or tried to anyways, a small group of men who started saying things like "Where're you going to nigger?" Lily, attempting to get Rosaleen to not turn around failed and Rosaleen couldn't help but wave the fact that she was going to get registered to vote in there faces. The men kept on throwing slanderous things and words at Rosaleen, so she spit on their shoes. The men called the police on her and she was arrested for assault, theft, and distubing the peace.