Literary Analysis-Secret Life of Bees

The film, The Secret Life of Bees, is a powerful film full of happy and devastating moments. It is a movie that brings up issues about interracial relationships and women’s empowerment. This film portrays a young girl’s journey of finding who she really is and where she belongs. She has to deal with being a poor farmer’s daughter, who has a father who is abusive and blames her for her mother’s death. She also has to deal with trying to understand racism, not only what she thinks, but also why people treat blacks the way they do. When she finally finds her place in life, she realizes how loving people can be, especially when others think of you as trash.

The 2008 film, The Secret Life of Bees, was an adaptation of the book by Sue Monk Kidd. The movie and book were set in 1964, in South Carolina; it was “inspired by the author’s memories of the civil rights movement” (Contemporary Literary Criticism, 183). The main character of this movie is Lily Owens, played by Dakota Fanning; she is a petite white girl that lives on a peach farm with her father, T. Ray, and their black nanny Rosaleen Daise, who is played by Jennifer Hudson. The other main characters are, the three black sisters August Boatwright, who plays the strong older sister, who once was Lily’s mother’s nanny and is played by Queen Latifah. May Boatwright, who is very empathetic, and has never been the same person since her twin died when they were young; Sophie Okendedo plays her. And then there is June Boatwright, who is the stubborn strong-willed sister, and is played by Alicia Keys. They own a honey farm in Tiburon, South Carolina, and take in Lily and Rosaline. And then there is Zachary Taylor, the black boy who works for August Boatwright, and ends up being Lily’s love interest in the movie.

The Secret Life of Bees received some reviews about how strong of a cast it had for the type of movie it was. One critic wrote, “The ensemble cast is the film's strongest asset. It shouldn't need remarking upon,...