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Zachary Taylor / Zach
The sister of May, August, and April Boatwright. Like August, June is an intelligent, educated woman, but where August welcomes Lily into their home with open arms, June is suspicious and contemptuous of Lily—partly because Lily is white, and she is black. During the novel, June refuses marriage to Neil several times before accepting. In the end, June comes to accept Lily as her friend, and apologizes for her rudeness.
June Boatwright Quotes in The Secret Life of Bees
The The Secret Life of Bees quotes below are all either spoken by June Boatwright or refer to June Boatwright. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 11 Quotes
“I’m sorry for being so hard on you when you first got here…”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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June Boatwright Character Timeline in The Secret Life of Bees
The timeline below shows where the character June Boatwright appears in The Secret Life of Bees. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...hesitation, Lily and Rosaleen decide to approach the house. At the door, a woman named June Boatwright (August’s sister) greets them and invites them in. Inside, Lily and Rosaleen meet May...
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Chapter 5
...May, who’s very simpleminded. She spends much of her time catching spiders and eating bananas. June teaches English in a local black high school. One night, Lily overhears June and August...
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Chapter 6
...Boatwrights who the man is. They explain that it’s Neil, a man who’s “sweet on June.” June likes Neil, but refuses to marry him. Lily realizes, for the first time, how...
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June and Neil walk inside, and June asks what’s upset May. Impulsively Lily answers that May’s...
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Chapter 7
...mixing honey: catching beeswax, filtering pollen, etc. In the evenings, Lily makes awkward conversation with June, who, she knows, doesn’t like her at all. Lily’s favorite time of day is her...
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It’s been two weeks since Lily arrived with Rosaleen. One day, June approaches Lily and asks her how much longer she’s going to stay. Lily lies and...
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One night, Neil comes to the Boatwrights’ house and has a hushed conversation with June. Lily eavesdrops on the conversation, and overhears Neil saying he’s not going to “wait forever.”...
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...hear a fight on the other side of the house. Lily sees Neil arguing with June: he tells her she’s a “selfish bitch” and storms off. June yells, “Don’t ever come...
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Chapter 8
August continues to tell Lily about her life. She and June studied at a teachers’ college in Maryland, but they never got teaching jobs. August then...
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In the afternoon, Lily and August return to the house for a late lunch. June and May are preparing a delicious feast, and May proudly claims that she hasn’t put...
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Chapter 10
Lily sits in the kitchen with August, June, and Rosaleen while May goes to the stone wall. May doesn’t return for a very...
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...The stone weighs down her body, preventing her from breathing or floating to the surface. June and August rush into the water and try to lift the stone off May’s body,...
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...left a suicide note underneath an oak tree. In the note addressed to August and June, May apologizes for leaving, but says that she’ll be with their family very soon. She...
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Chapter 11
After May is buried, August stops making honey, and she and June eat their meals alone in their rooms. Lily feels a strong need to talk to...
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Neil now comes to the Boatwright house all the time, and June and Neil go for car rides together. Zach visits, and on one visit Lily asks...
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The next morning, Lily wakes up and goes downstairs, where June tells her that today is August 15—the Feast of Assumption (a Catholic holiday celebrating the...
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There’s a knock on the door—it’s Neil. June asks Neil what he’s doing here: she can tell that he’s feeling nervous. Neil says...
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The rest of the Boatwright house proceeds with work for Mary Day, overjoyed by June’s good news. Lily makes garlands all day, and the Boatwrights offer to make Lily a...
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Chapter 12
August comforts Lily, telling her that everyone loves her—even June, who resented Deborah. Confused, Lily asks August what she means. August explains that June, who...
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Chapter 14
June sets a date for her wedding: October 10. It occurs to Lily that she needs...
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