The book that I read is called, “The Secret Life of Bees”, by Sue Monk Kidd. The main character and point of view the story is told from is 14 years old Lily Owens. She lives in Sylvan, South Carolina on her families peach farm. When Lily was very young her mother was shot and killed and now Lily taken care of by her African American nanny and housekeeper Rosaleen. Lily also lives with her father and she says in the book that it never felt right to call him dad so she just settled on T. Ray.
In her novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson tells the story of Melinda Sordino. She is a new student at Merryweather High School. Melinda’s first year as a freshman is full of misery and desperation. She calls herself an “outcast” (4). Melinda’s best friend, Rachel, hates her after the horrible party in last summer.
Travis Greenwell AP Literature Mr. Goodlett September 14, 2009 Lily Owens: girl to young woman During the time of the civil rights movement, racism was at its peak in America. However, the journey of a determined 14-year old girl named Lily Owens takes center stage in the novel The Secret Life of Bees when she escapes from her abusive father in search of what happened to her deceased mother. She ends up in the household of three African American women who teach her key principles that contribute to success in life. Throughout this novel, Lily’s determination drives her to discover the truth about her mother while maturing in the Boatwright household. In this story, the main focus is on Lily’s journey to find everything she can about her mother and her longing for motherly love.
The Secret Life of Bees is the story of Lily, a fourteen-year-old girl who runs away from her very unloving father, to look for the secrets of her dead mother's past. The setting of the book is in South Carolina in 1964, a time when racial tensions were inflamed by the civil rights movement and white racists' frequently had violent responses to it. Throughout all this, Lily and her house-keeper, Rosaleen, find shelter in the home of the Boatwright sisters, three African American beekeepers who worship before the statue of a Black Madonna they call "Our Lady of Chains." In the Boatwright household, Lily finds love and acceptance and begins to come to terms with the guilt she feels over her mother's death. As a result of the experiences in her life and the way she interprets them, Lily is able to mature and grow, placing her firmly on the road to adulthood.
Dolores' life transition after going to college and meeting Kippy was both negative and positive. She becomes Kippy's slave, washing her clothes, bringing her food and retrieving her mail which Dolores keeps for herself. She becomes obsessed with Kippy's boyfriend Dante who Dolores feels she does not deserve. Later, she meets Dot, an overweight lesbian woman who she has a one night stand with before fleeing to Cape Cod where she attempts suicide, only to change her mind. She is then institutionalized until she is considered sane enough to live in a half-way house.
The horrific events that follow, tiny Magda's search for her shawl and discovery by a German soldier who hurtles her to her death against an electrified fence, shape the remainder of Rosa's life--and this book. In the sequel, Rosa, now 59 years old, has moved to Miami (a "hellish place") after literally destroying the junk shop in New York which she had owned. She lives an isolated life in a dilapidated one room apartment. Stella, who remained in New York, supports her financially, and is her primary source of contact with the outside world. A serendipitous meeting at a laundromat with a Mr. Persky, however, changes Rosa's life.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is set in a southern American town called Maycomb in the 1930s, during the depression. The book is based on a girl named Scout and her brother Jem who grow up in not only a time of racism, but an extremely racist town as well. The towns characters include Dill Harris, Calpurnia, Arthur “Boo” Radely, Miss Maudie
Leafy was raped by her school teacher and she became pregnant with Janie. After Janie’s birth Leafy begins to drink and stay out all night. Eventually, she runs away leaving Janie with her mother. When Janie is sixteen nanny sees Janie kissing a boy
com) The characterization of the book occurs when at the beginning of the story, the author presents Maya’s character as weak and scared for her future and at the end her character ends up being very strong. (“Characterization” Sparknotes.com) The conflict of the book occurs when Maya and her brother Bailey are sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas because their parents were getting a divorce. As a result, through most of her childhood and youth, she never feels like she belongs to anyone or anything. Her emotional isolation is intensified by the fact that she is raped by her mother’s boyfriend at the age of eight. (“Conflicts” Thebestnotes.com) The book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has many settings.
Corruption and the Criminal Justice System: The Wrongfully Accused On Friday March 24, 1944, in Columbia, South Carolina, fourteen year old George Junius Stinney Jr. was accused of killing two young girls. Eleven year old Betty June Binnicker, Mary Emma Thames. Fourteen year George and his sister Katherine Stinney were on their way home, when Emma and Betty cycled by asking if they knew where the May Pop flowers were growing. Both George and Katherine told them they did not know and the girls rode off. Right after Katherine and George went home.