Reader Response Chart

Setting: 1964 RuRal Community in South Carolina
Unkown Word and Definition: Juvenile-Immature,Childish,Infantile.
This story reminds me of: A movie called Death Sentence, in that movie one brother is killed and the family falls apart and the little brother became neglected.
What happened in this chapter: Lily was introduced and she describes her family and life situation.
An inner conflict: Lily will not forgive herself for what happened with her and her mother.
When did this take place: 1964
Significant Quotation: "When I pulled them out (her mothers gloves), I thought, her very hands were inside here."-Lily
Emotions in this peice: Depression, Remorse,Curiosity,Embarrassed.
Prediction:Lilys going to find out some information about her mother that is going to change her life.
Quotation from Another Character: "Were going to Highway Forty and Thumb a ride to Tiburon South Carolina. At least were gonna try." -Roasleen
Unkown Word And Definition: Ebenezer- Hebrew- Stone of help
Somebody: Lily a depressiong young girl who is just going through puberty
Wanted: To know her mother more because she never did
But: Her mother is passed away, and all she has left is a box of her things
So: She decides to run away to pursue memories of her mother.
A social Possible Social Commentary: Society is very old fashioned and depressing.
My Advice is: Keep on the adventure you have nothing to loose.
A power Conflict: How are Lily and Rosaleen going to get to their destination.

Imagery

“At night I would lie in bed and watch the show, how bees squeezed through the cracks of my bedroom wall and flew circles around the room, making that propeller sound, a high-pitched zzzzzz that hummed along my skin. I watched their wings shining like bits of chrome in the dark and felt the longing build in my chest. The way those bees flew, not even looking for a flower, just flying for the feel of the wind, split my heart down its seam.”
That quote makes me feel imagery in this story because of the detail she gives when she talks abou them and the compassion that she has for them at night. With that quote you can see how much Lily cares about the only thing that is consisent in her life. Also, when Lily lets the bees out of the jar, she exclaims the reason she lets the bees out, she wants them to be free. It has only been the first coulpe chapters but I can already forsee some more connections throughout the story with Lily and the bees.

Bringing back unwanted memories

Lily remorses about the memory of her father telling her what happened the day before he died in grade 1.
T.Ray reveals that she had in fact, shot her mother by accident in the middle of a heated fight between her mother and T.Ray. What I found depressing in this part of the book was that after T.Ray tells Lily what happens. He does not offer her any comfort or love at all, he just lets her sit there with a broken heart and a twisted mind.

Lilys place of Nirvana

Nirvana: a place or state characterized by freedom from or oblivion to pain, worry, and the external world.

Lily describes her place of Nirvana as a place between two orchids of her fathers peach farm that she would go to when her father fell asleep, or was not home. "There was a special place out there in the long tunnel of theres no one knew about, not even Rosaleen." Lily explains as she talks about the location of her special place.

The reason this scene grabbed my attention was because it was the first realistic thing that she spoke with passion for, other than her mother and the memories that she has of her.

"But later I would slip out there, sometimes after T.Ray had gone to bed, just to lie under the trees and be peaceful. It was my plot of earth."

This quote supports my blog because she talks about being peacefull and how this is her "plot of earth" which connects my point to the definition of Nirvana.

Rosaleen.

Rosaleen is the maid of the house that Lily and her father live in. She began working for them when Lily's mother had passed away. She was an African-American woman who "T.Ray" had taken out of the Peach Orchids to help their torn apart family with maintaining the house and helping Lily grow up. "She lived alone in a little house tucked back in the woods, not far from us, and came every day to cook,clean, and be my stand in mother" was the quote by Lily that was used to describe her relationship with Rosaleen.

Early Confrontation and Symbolism

Right from the beginning of the book you see Lily's father that she calls "T.Ray", does not have much interest in Lily. When he does show interest, his input is bitter and negative. When Lily tries to show her father the bees flying around in her room, he threatens her carelessly, as she is racing him to her room. It is clear that Lily's father is still upset about the death of his wife and still holds a grudge towards Lily.

The only symbolisim I've found in this story so far was the box that Lily has full of memories of her mother.  That is the family and love aspect of Lily's life that she does not have anymore. Also, the bees represents the fun and entetainment part of her life as she watches them every night laying in bed. This eventually leads to Lily catching them in a jar to show her father and Rosaleen.

What made my decision

What really helped me to pursue this book was the description of the novel that I found on the internet when searching for this book. The book then became more appealing to me only after reading a couple pages learning the base of the main character Lily. The book starts off with Lily telling her life situation and the depression she deals with on an everyday basis due to lack of family and love. Lily explains within the first 10 pages how her mother was killed and she blames herself for it as does her father, there is a breif description of what happened but it was not very specific. A quote that really grabbed my attention was, "She was all I wanted. And I took her away."
I like this quote because it makes you feel Lilys emotion in that scene.

Secret Life of...

The book I have chosen to do is "The Secret Life of Bees"
It was published in 2002. By author Sue Monk Kid
It is 301 pages and my goal is to read 15-20 pages a night.

late change books

I decided to switch books..just looked up the plot on the secret life of the bees and looks pretty interesting, going to pick it up tonight and start my english adventure of literature!!!