reflection paper, by Isabel "The Secret Life of Bees"

I think the theme and the message in “The Secret Life of Bees” is courage and hope. I’m sure it has a lot of other important messages too, but the absolute biggest is definitely courage and hope. It takes a lot to do what Lily and Rosain do, the struggle of women to be in control of their own lives shows hope, and the way they fight for their right shows courage.

Sue Monk Kidd tells a story about Lily and her stepmother Rosalin and we get to follow their struggle against the world. Her story about women without any rights, but with hope to help them through their everyday life, touches the reader and gives a perspective on how lucky the people are, who get their rights fulfilled.

To understand the book you have to look deeper than on the surface, and then it is a beautiful story of how far you can get with a little bit of courage and hope. The novel is really a remarkable story about the divine power of women and the transforming power of hope and courage. When Lily doesn’t see any other way out, she and Rosalin escape in the hope of a better life. Their courage helps them through hard times and leads them to August and her sisters.

I think a lot of people can relate to the book. Because, even though the book is from the last century, you can relate on their struggle and that allows the reader to get empathy for Lily and Rosalin. Because of this the book gets very touching and interesting at the same time. I think the author achieved exactly what she wants, and because of her way of writing, her message is not that hard to understand.

The story is a big cliché, because you can sort of tell what is going to happen every minute. I think it works well in this book; it makes it fun to read and most of all a very fascinating book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is so interesting, touching and unforgettable. Despite all the horrible things Lily and Rosalin have to experience they still try to hold onto their dignity and fight for their rights. We have such an easy life here in Norway compared to them, and I don’t think either of us would survive a week in their shoes. The book gives us a view about how hard life can be, but you can still get so far with a little bit of hope and courage!