Hello
everyone! Hope you guys are feeling well. By the way, did you guys enjoy the
camp? Today,
my group will be talking about one of the theme, which is lying, storytelling
and confession. Throughout the story in The Secret Life of Bees, you might have
notice this theme being portrayed.
In the beginning of the novel, this theme can be seen when the
main character, Lily Owens who lied to Brother Gerald, the priest about
Rosaleen being deaf in one ear, thus she did not know that she stole the fans.
Lily also lies about going to the toen to take some things for Rosaleen where
she's actually running away from home. Next, the theme is also shown in the
character August Boatwright who told Lily the story behind the May's wailing
wall. August said that since April, May's twin dies, May become strange. She
would be deeply depressed if anything tragic happens to anyone. Thus, she made
the wailing wall to deal with their suffering by tucking scraps of paper into
the wall.
"But she's deaf in one ear," I said. "I think she
just mixed up what you said. She's always doing that. T.
Ray will tell her, "Iron my two shirts," and she'll
iron the
blue shirts." (pg 68)
"Wailing wall," she said again. "Like they have
in
Jerusalem. The Jewish people go there to mourn. It's a
way for them to deal with their suffering. See, they write
their prayers on scraps of paper and tuck them in the
wall." (pg 144)
August is, hands down, a legendary story teller. August tells
the story of how Black Mary became the mother of thousands. From Lily's
perspective, she thought and I quote, "I could tell she had repeated those
opening lines a thousand times." To give the story a soul, August had to
be as influential and emotional as the story is, so that she could spread the
message woven into the story by its' original storytellers.
On the other hand, Lily told stories too, but false ones. This
cunning technique called lying were used by Lily to give people what they
believe to be true. However, Lily eventually realised that truth is more
powerful than lies when she thought, and I quote, "I didn't know how long
Black Mary could keep the curtains drawn."
In the last 4 chapters, the themes of storytelling and
confession started when Lily was waiting for August in August’s room. Lily
reminds August that August wanted to have a talk with her soon, and August
nods: she remembers. Lily shows August the photograph of her mother. August
explains that she knew that Lily was Deborah’s daughter as soon as she laid
eyes on her, but never revealed the truth to Lily, because Lily wasn’t ready to
face the truth. August tries to tell Lily everything. Years ago, she
says, she worked as a maid in Deborah’s house in Richmond. Deborah was a lively
child, though a bad student. Before August says anything more about Deborah,
she asks Lily to tell her the truth about her own parents. Lily confesses that
she’s been lying: her father, T.Ray, isn’t dead, as she’d claimed. She also
tells August that T. Ray told her that Deborah was going to leave the family
forever: this is why she decided to leave Sylvan. As she says this, Lily bursts
into tears. August embraces Lily and tells her to “let it out.”
“It’s my mother,” I said.
“I know, honey. Your mother was Deborah Fontanel Owens.”
… “I’m so glad that we’re finally going to talk about this out.”
… “You knew she was my mother all along,”
… “The first day you showed up, I took one look at you and all I
could see was Deborah when she was your age. I knew Deborah had a daughter, but
I thought no, you couldn’t be; it was too much to believe that Deborah’s
daughter would turn up in my parlor. Then you said your name was Lily, and
right that minute I knew who you were.”
… “But – but – you never said a word. How come you didn’t tell
me?”
“Because you weren’t ready to know about her. I didn’t want to
risk you running away again. I wanted you to have a chance to get yourself on
solid ground, get you heart bolstered up first. There’s a fullness of time for
things, Lily. You have to know when to prod an when to be quiet, when to let
things take their course. That’s what I’ve been trying to do.”
… “I used to take care of her,” August said.
… “ She loved her dolls. She would hold little tea parties for
them in the garden, and I would make these teeny-tiny sandwiches for their
plates.”
… “What she didn’t like was schoolwork. I had to stay after her
all the time about it. Chase her around calling out spelling words. One time
she climbed a tree, hiding up there so she wouldn’t have to memorize a poem by
Robert Frost. I found her and climbed up there with the book and wouldn’t let
her come down till she could say the whole thing by heart.”
[chapter
12]
After she’s finished crying, Lily explains the rest of her
story: she and Rosaleen snuck out of Sylvan after Rosaleen went to jail
for trying to register to vote. As she admits this to August, she begins crying
again. Lily thinks to herself that she’s a bad person: a liar and a thief, full
of hate for other people. Reluctantly, Lily tells August the truth: she
believes herself to be responsible for her mother’s death. As she says this,
she says, “I am unlovable.”
… “Plus, Rosaleen and I got in trouble downtown, and I knew if I
didn’t leave, T.Ray was gonna half kill me, and I was tired of being half killed.”
… “A policeman took us to jail,” I said.
… “The policeman said Rosaleen assaulted the men, but I was
there, and she was only protecting herself. That’s all.”
[chapter
12]
The next day, Lily goes to meet August by the
beehives. August shows Lily a beehive that’s missing a queen bee. As they look
at the hive, August reminds Lily of the story of the runaway nun. The point of
the story, August claims, was that in Deborah’s absence, the Lady of Chains
could be a mother for Lily. She adds that Mary isn’t just a statue: she’s
something inside Lily. Lily doesn’t understand what August
means. Then, she closes her eyes, and for a few moments, feels exactly what
August is talking about.
… “Our Lady is not some magical being out there somewhere, like
a fairy godmother. She’s not the statue in the parlor. She’s something inside
of you. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
… “You have to find mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if
we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside.”
… “You don’t have to put your hand on Mary’s heart to get
strength and consolation and rescue, and all the other things we need to get
through life,”
… “You can place it right here on your own heart. Your own
heart.”
[chapter
14]
In our opinion, lying should be allowed when you have to protect
something or ensure its privacy. However, it is always better to speak out the
hard truth rather than lying to people as lying may lead to mistrust between
people in a relationship.
By storytelling, someone would have a better understanding
regarding an issue. For instance, when August told Lily about the wailing wall,
she get to understand May's condition better.
Guilt
from hiding something can make us feel mixed up inside and cause us to lose our
peace and enjoy. This is why confession is important. When Lily confessed to
August the real intention of her coming to the parlor, she started to be more
happy instead of worrying about her secrets.
References :
1. www.litchart.com
