Secret Life of Bees Chapter 13-14 Comprehension Check Questions
Chapter 13:
- “A worker bee is just over a centimeter long and weighs only about sixty milligrams; nevertheless, she can fly with a load heavier than herself.” How does this apply to Lily? Support your answer with examples from the book.
- Is Lily correct? Is it true that you can’t talk yourself out of anger? “Either you are angry or you’re not.” Does Lily’s anger justify her smashing August’s honey? What else could Lily have done to get her anger out?
Chapter 14:
- Why did Lily carry around mouse bones? Does that make sense to you?
- “I wish that she had been smart enough, or loving enough, to realize that everybody has burdens that crush them, only they don’t give up their children.”(p 278) “In a weird way I must have loved my little collection of hurts and wounds. They provided me with some real nice sympathy, with the feeling that I was exceptional.” (p 278) “Regrets don’t help anything, you know that.” (p 280) Compare these statements. Can grieving or self-pity help a person heal? At what point does it become destructive?
- Rosaleen is going to finish what she started. She is going to register to vote. How has Rosaleen changed from the beginning of the story? Do you think that life for African Americans in the South will change dramatically after this summer (The summer of Freedom)?
- Discuss the quote at the beginning of the chapter as it might relate to Lily.
- The story about Our Lady of Chains would suggest that she has magical powers. What is a more accurate description of our lady?
- “He seemed happy to carve up the rocking chair like he was all of eleven years old, putting his initials in a tree.” Why did T. Ray do this?
- Did Deborah leave T. Ray because he was mean, or did T. Ray become mean because Deborah left him?
- Lily sometimes imagines that T. Ray shows his love for her by remembering her at Christmastime. Do you think that this is wishful thinking? What are the positive and negative aspects of her imagining T. Ray showing his love for her?
- Lily began the story with Rosaleen as a mother figure for her. How has living in the pink house changed that? If Deborah had lived today, how might things have been different for Lily? Consider that August and her sisters may have been part of Lily’s family from the beginning in your answer.
- Using details from the story, discuss what kind of parent Lily will be, if she ever becomes a mother. Think about what she has learned from the adults around her and think about how likely she is to use that knowledge in her own parenting, especially during stressful times.
- Who shot Deborah? Use details from the book to support your answer.