The Secret Life of Bees
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Themes
All Themes Race, America, and the 1960s Mothers and Daughters Religion, Guilt, and Forgiveness Lying, Storytelling, and Confession Ceremony and Ritual
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Lily Owens August Boatwright Rosaleen Deborah Fontanel Owens T. Ray Owens May Boatwright Zachary Taylor / Zach June Boatwright
Symbols
All Symbols Bees The Black Virgin Mary The Color Blue The Stone Wall The Moon
Literary Devices
All Literary Devices Allusions Flashbacks Foreshadowing Genre Hyperbole Idioms Imagery Irony Metaphors Mood Personification Setting Similes Situational Irony Style Tone Verbal Irony
Download PDF
Download Teacher Edition
The LitCharts.com logo.
Sign In Sign up for A+
The LitCharts.com logo.
AI Tools
  • Ask LitCharts AI
  • Discussion Question Generator
  • Essay Prompt Generator
  • Quiz Question Generator
Guides Guides
  • Literature Guides
  • Poetry Guides
  • Shakespeare Translations
  • Literary Terms
Sign In Sign up for A+ Sign up

The Secret Life of Bees

by

Sue Monk Kidd

Upgrade to A+
Introduction Intro
Plot Summary Plot
Summary & Analysis
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
  • Chapter 4
  • Chapter 5
  • Chapter 6
  • Chapter 7
  • Chapter 8
  • Chapter 9
  • Chapter 10
  • Chapter 11
  • Chapter 12
  • Chapter 13
  • Chapter 14
Themes
  • All Themes
  • Race, America, and the 1960s Theme Icon
    Race, America, and the 1960s
  • Mothers and Daughters Theme Icon
    Mothers and Daughters
  • Religion, Guilt, and Forgiveness Theme Icon
    Religion, Guilt, and Forgiveness
  • Lying, Storytelling, and Confession Theme Icon
    Lying, Storytelling, and Confession
  • Ceremony and Ritual Theme Icon
    Ceremony and Ritual
Quotes
Characters
  • All Characters
  • Lily Owens
  • August Boatwright
  • Rosaleen
  • Deborah Fontanel Owens
  • T. Ray Owens
  • May Boatwright
  • Zachary Taylor / Zach
  • June Boatwright
Symbols
  • All Symbols
  • Bees Symbol Icon
    Bees
  • The Black Virgin Mary Symbol Icon
    The Black Virgin Mary
  • The Color Blue Symbol Icon
    The Color Blue
  • The Stone Wall Symbol Icon
    The Stone Wall
  • The Moon Symbol Icon
    The Moon
Lit Devices
  • All Literary Devices
  • Allusions
  • Flashbacks
  • Foreshadowing
  • Genre
  • Hyperbole
  • Idioms
  • Imagery
  • Irony
  • Metaphors
  • Mood
  • Personification
  • Setting
  • Similes
  • Situational Irony
  • Style
  • Tone
  • Verbal Irony
Theme Wheel Theme Viz
Download this Chart (PDF)
Download the Teacher Edition
Download this Chart (PDF)
Previous
The Moon

The Secret Life of Bees Literary Devices

Next
Allusions
Previous
The Moon
Previous
The Moon
Next
Allusions
Next
Allusions

Company
About Us Our Story
Support
Help Center Contact Us
Connect
Facebook Twitter
Legal
Terms of Service Privacy Policy Privacy Request
Home About Contact Help
LitCharts, a Learneo, Inc. business
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Terms Privacy Privacy Request
The LitCharts.com logo.
Save time. Stress less.
Sign up!
  • AI Tools for on-demand study help and teaching prep.
  • Quote explanations, with page numbers, for over 49,919 quotes.
  • PDF downloads of all 2,238 LitCharts guides.
  • Expert analysis to take your reading to the next level.
  • Advanced search to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
  • Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.
  • Expert analysis to take your reading to the next level.
  • Advanced search to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
  • Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.
The LitCharts.com logo.
Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account
You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to request a guide
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Get your answer with a free account
You’ll also get tons of other helpful features, including free quizzes and saving guides.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Last step: complete your free account
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account.
You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to access notes and highlights
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Saving guides requires a free LitCharts account
Easily access your saved guides anytime.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to save guides
Already have an account? Sign in