Strong Impact

Character Analyses

Emily Becker

Authors Note:
This is a piece that analyzes how the main character, Lily, in the book The Secret Life of Bees changes when she meets August throughout the journey of a lifetime.

“I’d been kneeling on grits since I was six, but I still never got used to that powered-glass feeling beneath my skin. I walk toward them with those tiny feather steps you expect of a girl in Japan, and lowered myself to the floor, determined not to cry, but the sting was already gathering in my eyes.”(page 25) In the book Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd the main character, Lily changes from the inside out as she meets the right people to help her through her life.

As the story begins Lily and her "fill in mother" Rosaleen, run away from home to get away from her abusive and cruel dad and she wants to learn more about what happened to her mom who had died when she was four. After Rosaleen gets arrested for confronting three racists, Lily decides to break Rosaleen out of jail, and together they run away to a place Lily suspects once was a special place to her mother.

When Lily and Rosaleen run away they end up living with the Calendar sisters in Tiburon, South Carolina. All the sisters are super polite people but the one who had a strongest impact in Lily's life would be August. August is a strong person physically and emotionally, she is an exceptionally wise person whose words give you hope and fill you with knowledge. When Lily and Rosaleen showed up at the sisters doorstep they  were hungry, dirty, and tired; yet the sisters took them in with open arms. Since lily and Rosaleen were strangers, the sisters wanted to know some things first, but because Lily and Rosaleen needed to find a place to stay; they had to lie to Calendar Sisters about their past that were filled with crimes. As there connection grows,  Lily trusts August so much that she finally confesses the guilt she felt from her past, namely that she accidentally killed her mother when she was four and broke Rosaleen out of jail. After Lily told the truth August helps Lily confront her father and August convinces him that Lily should stay in Tiburon to live a joyful and free life.

In the book Touching Spirit Bear the main character, Cole, is in a bad place in his life. He has resorted to lying, stealing, and injuring innocent people. After Cole attacked someone on the street and nearly gave them life threatening brain damage he is banished to a remote Alaskan island. There is where he come to meet a white bear from the native american legend, and that bear transforms his inner soul and shows him the consequences for  his horrific actions. This is just like Lily because although Lily does not critically injure anyone around her, she does start to lie and steal but fortunately when she meets August her whole life changes. In the two books the white bear is like August, they both use the skills they have in different ways to transform a young person's life.

Once cole met the bear he was changed because he was surrounded by good people. In the book Secret Life of Bees, Lily changes when she meets the right people in life and that is true for anyone. Having good dependable people in your life can help you structure yourself so you can have a successful future. When Lily was living with her dad she was a mess, her dad wasn’t any help at all he was just mean to her, but when she moved to the Calendar sister’s house she was well balanced and better setup for success in life. The best people in your life are going to be the ones who help you through tough times and be with you all through life so you can live happily for many years.