Essay # 1 The Secret Life of Bees.

Elinton Jeronimo

English 70/Clara Bauler

October 19, 2012

 

Handling Racism and Discrimination

In the 1960’s the United States was a country that was well known because of the developing of its economy, industry and its power as one of the best nations in the world. Besides all this development, the US also was well known as one of the countries where racism and discrimination, especially against black people, was present along the country. These issues make the country to live one of the hardest times in its history.

Nowadays, many stories have been told, movies and documentaries been made, and many books written about the reality of those issues. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monkk Kid, transport us to those hard moments in the life of Lily Owens, a white teenager, who accidentally killed her mom who had abandoned her with her father. Her father was mean with her, and she decides to live home looking for the story of her mom. She also gets in trouble saving her best friend Rosaleen from the anger of racist people. However, Lily and Rosaleen leave Sylvan S.C. to get Tiburon S.C, where they find the Boatwright sisters, three black women that help them, and Lily has her first encounter with love meeting a black guy named Zachary. At the end of the story Lily finds out the whole story about her mother deciding to stay with the Boatwright sisters. What gets the attention of the reader is the role that discrimination and racism takes an important role in the story and how the characters deal with this situation. Furthermore, it is important to understand the reactions of the characters in the novel, when they love someone, but their relationship is not accepted by society.

            Lily and Rosaleen create a connection that is the nearest relationship a mother and a daughter can have, with the only issue that they belong to different races and their relationship is affected when they face racism or discrimination. Rosaleen gets in trouble because she is disrespectful to a white racist man. Rosaleen is forced by the withe men to apologize for her actions, but denies doing it. The consequence is that Rosallen gets beaten and put in jail, but if we think about why Rosaleen didn’t want to apologize, we have to accept first the courage she has to face a white person. We have to think on what she was thinking on that moment, and I believe that a black women tired of been treated on a bad way and been discriminated, just wanted to show the anger she has been keeping inside for all the racism against her race. I believe that as Rosaleen did, there were many black people that fight for what they believe was right and many of them were killed just to speak out. So I think that apologizing could represent for Rosaleen the acceptance of a superiority of the white race over the black race. Her actions show the braveness that many others had to move people to get into the Civil Rights Movement that ended with the approbation of the Civil Rights Act against discrimination and racism.

            On the other hand, we can see the actions of Lily trying to save Rosaleen from the racism provoked for people of her own race. Lily witnesses all the bad things racist people do to Rosaleen, and she tries to convince her to apologize, but she doesn’t get it. Then she helps Rosaleen to escape from police because she knows how dangerous that could be for a black prisoner. It is understandable why a white girl takes these actions for a black woman if we think that Rosaleen has been the only figure se has as a mother.  The relationship this time is stronger than the ideals of her race because she feels that her mother can be killed, so she will be willing to do anything to save her. Black women were destined to be nannies of white babies, and I believe that the new white generation, raised by black women, had a big influence on changing the history of racism. Lily is an example of one of those people that have changed the way black people were seen in the US.

            The most dangerous relationship that faces racism in the novel is the one that exists between Lily and Zachary, which brings different reactions from the characters. It is unimaginable that love could happen between a white girl and a black guy in the worst times of racism in the US, but in the novel Lily and Zach make it possible. Lily is confident with her feelings, and she is careless about what people can say about their love. In contrast, Zachary is concerned about the danger the relationship can carry. In effect, Zachary faces racism, and Lily is afraid she can lose her love. After Zachary is affected by this issue, something grows inside of him, and he decides that he will study as much as he can and someday be a lawyer and change the way he is seen for been black. Instead to use his anger against white people, he decides to use that anger to push himself to have a better future. Also, his decision is moved for the love he has for Lily. Zachary can be a representation of one of those leaders that against everything never give up.

            Racism and discrimination represent the worse side the US had in past times. However, leaders and the mobilization of people to fight for their rights was the key to get rid of these issues. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, is evident how these issues affect not only black, but also white people. The relationships between Lily, Rosaleen and Zachary, represent the hard times people could face when they try to mix the two races. Racism and discrimination against minorities are issues that some people still have to face in the US. Some states like Arizona and Alabama have laws with racial profile that affect illegal immigrants, but the only way they can handle it is, as the characters in the novel did, staying together and supporting each other.