How does may die in The Secret Life of Bees?

How does may die in The Secret Life of Bees?

She is not by the wailing wall. They call the police, but, before the police arrive, they find May’s body drowned in the river. She has committed suicide. When the police come, they interrogate Lily and tell her that living with black women is beneath her dignity.

What does May’s death symbolize in The Secret Life of Bees?

May’s death is filled with symbolism. The stone that weighs her down in the river is the material of her wailing wall. All of the sadness, evil, and ugliness of the world are contained in that wall, and now a piece of that same stone weighs May down in death, just as the knowledge of evil weighed her down in life.

What is symbolic about the way May dies?

It is as if she lives within a hive that has lost its queen bee, the mother of all the bees. When May Boatwright commits suicide after succumbing to the weight of the emotional suffering she has always borne, Lily learns that bees have long been regarded as symbols of rebirth after death.

Why did April Boatwright die?

April Boatwright May’s twin sister. She committed suicide in childhood by shooting herself with a shotgun. Her childhood temperament was very similar to May’s adult temperament: overly sensitive and depressed.

How did May Boatwright died?

May Boatwright commits suicide by drowning. Though it comes as something of a shock, May’s death is hardly a surprise. There’s something deeply symbolic in the manner of May’s death. She weighs herself down with a heavy rock just as the world itself always weighed heavily upon her shoulders.

How did Lily’s mom die?

Lily has a horrific memory that haunts her. Deborah, her mother, died on December 3, 1954, after a heated argument with T. Ray.

Why is June so resentful of Lily?

And finally Lily says, “I am unlovable.” August replies that there are all kinds of people who love her, including June: The reason June resented her at first was because August had worked as a maid in Deborah’s house. August says she loves Lily.

Who is May in The Secret Life of bees?

May is a pivotal character — she not only tells Lily that Deborah once lived with them but also gives advice posthumously to June that convinces June to marry Neil. May was one of a set of twins, and her twin sister April committed suicide long before Lily came to the Boatright house.

How many bees die in The Secret Life of bees?

The book on bees informs us that a bee’s life is very short—most worker bees die in less than 4 weeks. This signals that we’re reading a chapter about death—though whose we don’t know. Lily sits in the kitchen with August, June, and Rosaleen while May goes to the stone wall.

How old is Lily in The Secret Life of bees?

Lily, a fourteen-year-old white girl, lives alone with her father, a peach farmer, in Sylvan, South Carolina. As the novel opens, she lies in bed, waiting for the bees that live in the walls of her bedroom to emerge and fly around, as they do most nights.

Who are the Twins in The Secret Life of bees?

May was one of a set of twins, and her twin sister April committed suicide long before Lily came to the Boatright house. May also suffers from depression, and because of this, her sisters, June and August, keep an eye on her.