The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd

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The Secret Life of Bees: Idioms 1 key example

Definition of Idiom

An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition

Key Examples in The Secret Life of Bees

Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—June Bristles:

June’s quiet hostility toward Lily takes a long time to fully fade, even though Lily and Rosaleen have settled in well with everyone else. Lily spends her free time in the kitchen so she can hear June practice the cello, yet she never forgets that June remains the one person who does not want her there:

If I got finished early in the honey house, I went to the kitchen and watched May and Rosaleen cook, but really I was there to listen to June play the cello. She played music for dying people, going to their homes and even to the hospital to serenade them into the next life. I had never heard of such a thing, and I would sit at the table drinking sweet iced tea, wondering if this was the reason June smiled so little. Maybe she was around death too much. I could tell she was still bristled at the idea of me and Rosaleen staying; it was the one sore point about our being here.