The Secret Life of Bees: By Melany Gianiotis

Sue Monk Kidd’s, Secret Life of Bees, concerns a young girl searching for stability in a complex environment. In the beginning of the novel, Kidd uses imagery to help the reader visualize what’s happening in the book. For example, the reader experiences the sensation of tiredness: “Finally, sometime close to midnight, when my eyelids had nearly given up the strain of staying open, a purring noise started over in the corner, low and vibrating, a sound you could almost mistake for a cat.” Another example is how the imagery reinforces the relationship between the narrator and her father: “Suddenly I couldn’t stand not showing it off to somebody, even if the only person around was T. Ray.” Lastly, this shows that she misses her mother and would much rather die and be with her than have to live with her father, who she doesn’t have a good relationship with: “That night I lay in bed and thought about dying and going to be with my mother in paradise.” Overall there is a lot of visualization in this novel.