Blog Post #7: The Secret Life of Bees

     


     The first significant element in my book, The Secret Life of Bees, is the setting of the story. "T.Ray and I lived just outside Sylvan, South Carolina, population 3,100. Peach stands and Baptist churches, that sums it up." (Monk Kidd, 8) This southern setting in 1964 was a time where there were many racial issues which creates the base of the novel. Black women and men were degraded and harassed often by whites even with the civil rights act coming into place. This made it a massive significant element of the story since if everyone was white in the story, many different problems and dilemmas would not have arose. We can tell this southern setting is significant through the line, "But she's white, August.", so we know that the colour of your skin in this setting is very significant. Also, this setting element effected the character's personalities. Rosaleen, the black nanny of the Owens family, would likely not have such a rebellious personality if she didn't need to go against the stream by getting her voting card. All of these elements make the setting very significant to this incredible novel.