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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Key Examples in The Secret Life of Bees
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Sophia Loren:
In this passage, the author uses an allusion to show how Lily measures her appearance against a period-specific cultural ideal. At the beginning of the novel, Lily reflects on how others see her and wonders why her “nice” features aren’t enough to attract potential boyfriends:
I had nice eyes, though, what you would call Sophia Loren eyes, but still, even the boys who wore their hair in ducktails dripping with Vitalis and carried combs in their shirt pockets didn’t seem attracted to me, and they were considered hard up.
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Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Making the Paper:
After they escape from Sylvan, Lily buys a newspaper to see if she and Rosaleen have been mentioned after fleeing the jail. Kidd uses allusion and situational irony to show how Lily’s private crisis pales beside the larger, more chaotic events of the 1960s:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I dropped a dime into the slot and took one of the papers, wondering if the story was inside somewhere. Rosaleen and I squatted on the ground in an alley and spread out the paper, opening every page. It was full of Malcolm X, Saigon, the Beatles, tennis at Wimbledon, and a motel in Jackson, Mississippi, that closed down rather than accept Negro guests, but nothing about me and Rosaleen. Sometimes you want to fall on your knees and thank God in heaven for all the poor news reporting that goes on in the world.
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Explanation and Analysis—General Sherman:
When giving her first impressions of the town of Tiburon, Lily reads the worn look of its shopfronts through the lens of Southern history. She tries to describe the place by joking that even a Union Commander like General Sherman wouldn’t have been interested in looting it:
Unlock with LitCharts A+General Sherman had probably ridden by here and decided to spare it on the basis of its name, because I’m sure it hadn’t been on looks. The whole front of it was a forgotten bulletin board: Studebaker Service, Live Bait, Buddy’s Fishing Tournament, Rayford Brothers’ Ice Plant, Deer Rifles $45, and a picture of a girl wearing a Coca-Cola bottle cap on her head. A sign announced a gospel sing at the Mount Zion Baptist Church that took place back in 1957, if anyone wanted to know.
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Explanation and Analysis—Thoreau:
In this reflection the author uses allusion, simile, and the motif of finding comfort in nature to show how Lily sees her escape from T. Ray’s house as the start of a new life. As she wakes beside the creek next to Rosaleen, she thinks back to her favorite authors from English class:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Next to Shakespeare I love Thoreau best. Mrs. Henry made us read portions of Walden Pond, and afterward I’d had fantasies of going to a private garden where T. Ray would never find me. [...] A barge of mist floated along the water, and dragonflies, iridescent blue ones, darted back and forth like they were stitching up the air. It was such a pretty sight for a second I forgot the heavy feeling I’d carried since T. Ray had told me about my mother. Instead I was at Walden Pond. Day one of my new life, I said to myself. That’s what this is.
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Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Birmingham, AL:
When Lily discovers the stone wall near the woods, she reads one of the notes May has pressed into its cracks. Kidd uses this moment to make an allusion to one of the great tragedies of the Civil Rights Era:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Where the grass gave way to the woods, I found a stone wall crudely cemented together, not even knee high but nearly fifty yards long. It curved on around the property and abruptly stopped. It didn’t seem to have any purpose to it. Then I noticed tiny pieces of folded-up paper stuck in the crevices around the stones. I walked the length of the fence, and it was the same all the way, hundreds of these bits of paper. I pulled one out and opened it, but the writing was too blurred from rain to make out. I dug out another one. Birmingham, Sept 15, four little angels dead.
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Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Lily's Note:
The narrator uses a metaphor and an allusion to describe Lily seeking a place where she can set down the pain she carries about her mother. After August explains the purpose of the Wailing Wall, Lily walks to May’s wall at night and tries to understand how the Boatwright women use the space for comfort:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I tore a piece of paper from a tablet and wrote my mother’s name on it. Deborah Owens. When I looked outside, I knew I would have to make my way by starlight. I crept across the grass, back to the edge of the woods, to May’s wall. Hiccuping all the way. Placing my hands on the stones, all I wanted was not to ache so much. I wanted to let go of my feelings for a little while, to pull in my moat bridge. I pressed the paper with her name into a cranny that seemed right for her, giving her to the wailing wall. Somewhere along the way my hiccups disappeared.
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Explanation and Analysis—May's Wall:
Knowing that her sensitivity to the world can be overwhelming, August gives May a structured way to handle grief by having her build a “wailing wall.” When Lily asks about the notes she found stuffed into the stone wall in the woods, August makes an allusion to explain why May needs it:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“Mother was good about taking care of her, but when she died, it fell to me and June. We tried for years to get May some help. She saw doctors, but they didn’t have any idea what to do with her except put her away. So June and I came up with this idea of a wailing wall."
"A what kind of wall?"
"Wailing wall," she said again. "Like they have in Jerusalem. The Jewish people go there to mourn. It’s a way for them to deal with their suffering."
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Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Ranger 7:
In this passage from Chapter 6, Kidd uses an allusion, hyperbole, and a flashback to show how Lily begins to intertwine the scientific ideas she hears in the news with her own hopes. She stays outside in the garden after August and Rosaleen leave to go to bed and lets her thoughts drift toward the sky:
Unlock with LitCharts A+August disappeared into the house, and Rosaleen headed for her cot in the honey house, but I stayed on and stared at the sky, imagining Ranger 7 blasting away for it. I knew one day I would go back into the parlor when no one was around and touch the Lady’s heart. Then I would show August the picture of my mother and see if the moon broke loose and fell out of the sky.
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Explanation and Analysis—Satellite Surveillance:
Even in the Boatwrights’ garden, Lily doesn’t feel completely safe from the threats of the outside world. Kidd uses an allusion and hyperbole to show how Lily’s fear rises while she sits alone near May’s wall and lets her thoughts drift toward the sky above her:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I sat on the ground with my back against the stones and my head tilted back so I could see the stars with all the spy satellites mixed in. Maybe one of them was taking my picture this very minute. They could spot me even in the dark. Nothing was safe. I would have to remember that.
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Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Jane Eyre:
As August sits on the porch reading a new book from the bookmobile, Lily notices the title and stops to ask her about it. In this passage, Kidd uses a literary allusion to link Lily’s situation to the story of a famous orphaned heroine:
Unlock with LitCharts A+August sat on the porch swing that was suspended from two chains in the ceiling. She was rocking back and forth, having her orangeade break and reading her new book, which she’d gotten from the bookmobile. I turned my head to read the title. Jane Eyre [...]
“It’s about a girl whose mother died when she was little,” she said.
Then she looked at me in a way that made my stomach tip over, the same way it’d tipped over when she’d told me about Beatrix.
“What happens to the girl?” I asked, trying to make my voice steady.
“I’ve only started the book,” she said. “But right now she’s just feeling lost and sad.”
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