Civil Rights/Secret Life of Bees - 986 Words

Bridget Baker Mrs. McQuade Period 2 4/10/12 Racial Discrimination and Segregation In 1619 the very first African Americans arrived in America, coming over for the purpose of forced slavery. It’s been nearly four hundred years since then and African Americans are still not treated completely equal. But throughout the years major steps towards equality have been made and as a whole the United States is close to reaching this goal. The first key action taken was abolishing slavery in 1865, but African Americans didn’t start gaining equal rights until 1955 during the Civil Rights Movement. The African American Civil Rights Movement aimed to eliminate all racial discrimination and segregation in America and demonstrated throughout Sue†¦show more content†¦Next, Lily finds herself in the house of three African American sisters, seeking a place to live her. While contemplating lettering her stay, one of the sisters stress, â€Å"But she’s white†¦ â€Å" (Kidd 87). Though it seems as if it’ s the white girl being discriminated against, but in reality blacks know the trouble that this gives themselves and how much trouble they could get in for this. The integration of blacks and whites was not only rare because it was looked down upon, but also because consequences would be given. Lily grows more than a friendship with a young African American and regardless of their feelings it’s nearly impossible for them to become anything more because of the fear of him getting in trouble for it. He explains this to her as, â€Å"Lily, I like you better than any girl I’ve ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you,† (135). Even those whites willing to integrate could not do it by themselves and during the Civil Rights Movement it brought everyone together willing to desegregate races. It was not immediate, but racial discrimination and segregation have extremely lessoned. From the begin ning of America an ongoing battle with African American discrimination has occurred. In the Declaration of Independence written in 1776 itShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of 60 s Music Tells The Story Of The Secret Life Of Bees1085 Words   |  5 Pages1960’s music tells the story of The Secret Life of Bees in chronological order. Several of the songs incorporated in the playlist are applicable to different events or characters in the story, as many of the events portrayed in it, such as running away, close relationships, and love have connections to multiple characters. This playlist will take you through a series of deep thought, emotion, and different connections to not only The Secret Life of Bees, but to life and culture in the 1960’s, and evenRead MoreThe Secret Life of Bees Movie Review Essay630 Words   |  3 Pages â€Å"The Secret Life of Bees† Movie Review â€Å"The Secret Life of Bees† is a movie that takes us through the incredible journey of a young girl named Lily Owens. 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Each novel has an individual narrative; Underground Airlines con taining one of thrills and suspense set in present day when the civil war hadRead MoreSue Monk Kidd : A Memory Of The Past1633 Words   |  7 Pageswrite her novel The Secret Life of Bees by the dreadful experiences she faced during her childhood, an early passion of literature, and finally her exploration of religious beliefs. Her childhood was most notably affected in the summer of 1964, when she witnessed public cruelty to blacks that, no doubt, haunted her for the rest of her life. Clearly, her first hand experiences that summer played an important role of setting it as a Civil Rights backdrop in The Secret Life of Bees. 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In this novel Lily Owens and the Boatwright sisters present the strong woman figure that is known to embody the feminist movement. All throughout the history it has been known that women are not in the social rankings withRead MoreThe Secret Life Of Bees Themes Essay1585 Words   |  7 PagesThe Civil Right Act occurred in 1960 which allowed African-Americans more rights. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees many characters challenges and uncover the meaning of accepting taboo ideas. Set in 1964, Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees suggests that accepting taboo actions does not necessarily compromises a person’s moral compass and can lead to an awareness and understanding of the world. Kidds foster the idea that racism is to be acknowledged. In the first couple of chapters ofRead MoreTheme Of Oppression In The Hunger Games1328 Words   |  6 PagesKatniss Evergreen: allowing Collins to convey how solidarity and fellowship can be the cure to oppression. Sue Monk Kidd while she was no dystopian author, she does use fiction to portray the historical events of the civil rights movement in her novel The Secret Life of Bees. Following the life of young Lily Owens, Kidd demonstrates the effects oppression can have on shaping ones identity and humanity. Brooks’, Collins’, and Kidd’s novel all manipulate the plights of their characters to demonstrate theRead MoreThe Year Of Wonders By Geraldine Brooks1630 Words   |  7 Pageshas demonstrated this profound relationship since human history first began, not only in their way of life, but in literature. For example, Geraldine Brooks, displays the oppressors, in her novel The Year of Wonders, by implicat ing strong men, and a powerful family; while the oppressed are numerous wives, and everybody inside of the village. Sue Monk Kidd displays oppression in The Secret Life of Bees, by recreating images of racism, between whites and blacks, in the American south during the mid-1900sRead MoreAuthor Sue Monk Kidd’S Famed Novel, The Secret Life Of1885 Words   |  8 Pages Author Sue Monk Kidd’s famed novel, The Secret Life of Bees, chronicles the story of a young girl Lily in the summer of 1964, as she escapes her abusive and dreadful past to find love and acceptance among a group of eccentric African American beekeepers. The novel centers around one of the most racially divided periods to occur since the Civil War, and shows how it affected not only African Americans, but young, impressionable white children like Lily. The author addresses the inhumanity of racism