Show:
Plot
Characters
Themes
Mood and Tone
Background
100
Lily ran away because she was tired of her abusive father, and she needed to get Rosaleen out of jail. She was also hoping to find answers about her mother.
What happened in the book to cause Lily to run away?
100
Lily’s father was very violent to her, and didn’t really take care of her. This caused Lily to become strong and independent because she doesn’t have a father figure to guide her. It also taught her to stand up for herself, because he is violent and yells at her for nothing.
What characteristics does Lily have, and how is this affected by how her father treated her.
100
Racism causes many things in the book including Rosaleen going to jail, Zack going to Jail, and May committing suicide. It’s the main conflict in the book, and causes many of the events and struggles within the characters. Throughout the book, Rosaleen is trying to register to vote, which she struggles with due to her skin color.
How is racism a big theme in the book, and how does it affect the storyline?
100
In the beginning, the tone is violence and regret from the way T. Ray yells at Lily and makes her kneel on grits. There is also regret when Lily talks about accidentally shooting her mother, because if she wouldn’t have picked up the gun she would still have a mother.
What is the tone in the beginning of the novel, and why?
100
The Boatwright sisters grandmother owned the bee farms, which was passed down to them. She also had the Black Mary statue, and celebrated the same customs and religion the Boatwright sisters do.
How does the Boatwright sisters background affect their religion?
200
Lily and Rosaleen went to Tiburon, because it was written on the back of a Black Mary picture, that belonged to Lily’s mother. Lily saw Black Madonna honey in the store and the worker told her where the owners lived, which is very Lily and Rosaleen headed to.
Where did Lily and Rosaleen end up and what caused them to end up here?
200
May is depressed and sensitive, and gets really sad over little things. This is because in the past, her twin sister committed suicide because she was tired of discrimination and had to experience it every day.
How is May’ personality, and why is it like this?
200
Motherhood is shown in the novel through Rosaleen and August, and how they treat Lily. They both take care of Lily, treat her like their daughter, and want the best for her. This shows Lily that she has people who care for and love her, just like her mother would.
How is motherhood shown throughout the novel and how does this affect Lily’s attitude?
200
After Lily has been living at the Boatwright house, the tone changes from tense to happy and relaxed. This is because Lily is away from her abusive father and forming a relationship with August. She is happy with where she is staying and glad to have found August, who has been so accepting.
How does the tone change when Lily has been living at the Boatwright house for a while?
200
May had a twin sister who was also her best friend, but she died at a young age. This affected May because she became very depressed and sensitive from the absence of her best friend. This is also part of the reason why she drowns herself, because she is still depressed from when her sister shot herself.
How did Mays past experiences affect the way she acted?
300
Lily helped August and Zack with the bee keeping, and Rosaleen helped May around the house. They also participated in the Black Mary ceremony, and worked into their way of believing.
What did Lily and Rosaleen do at the Boatwright house to help out with the daily routine? How did they fit into their way of life?
300
Lily and Zach both have a love interest for each other, which can’t be pursued because of their difference in skin color. They both have dreams they believe won’t come true, since Zack is an african american and Lily hasn’t lived a normal childhood.
How is the relationship between Lily and Zach? How are they similar?
300
The Boatwright sisters show a lot of female power because they own a bee business by themselves and don’t need a husband because they are confident, strong, and independent. Female power is shown through the Daughters of May because they are a group of women who have strong beliefs and have come together as one to show love and determination.
How is female power shown in the female characters in the book?
300
When everyone was looking for May in the woods, there was a scary mood because the characters were yelling for her during the night, in the woods, and they couldn’t find her. Everyone also knew how sad she was, so she could have done anything which made them even more worried.
What is the mood when August, June, Rosaleen and Lily were looking for May in the woods?
300
Before Deborah left, her and T. Ray had a good relationship where they loved each other and T. Ray worshipped her. After Deborah found out she was pregnant, she wasn’t feeling the same thing with T. Ray and wasn’t happy anymore. She left him, which caused T. Ray to be very mad and take his anger out on Lily.
What is the background of Deborah and T. Ray? How does this change?
400
May was fed up with the unfair treatment of african americans, including Zack going to jail. She was tired of feeling depressed all the time, and dealing with the discrimination of african americans.
What caused May to commit suicide? What events led up to her making this decision?
400
August is important in Lily’s childhood because she taught her many things and formed a very special mother-like bond with her. She taught Lily many things about herself and her mother, which also matured her.
How is August an important figure in Lily’s childhood?
400
To Lily, Black Mary was a sign of hope because she thought it connected to her mother. The statue, Our Lady of Chains, inspired the Boatwright sisters along with the Daughters of May. This affected the characters by giving them something to cherish and look after and also believe that they are being loved and looked after.
How is the Black Mary represented as strong and hopeful? How does this theme affect the characters?
400
When everyone was rubbing honey on the Black Mary statue, the tone was happy because the characters were doing something that ensures the preservation of the statue, while enjoying their beliefs and religion.
What is the tone and mood during the time when the Daughter of May, Lily, Rosaleen, June and August were rubbing honey all of ‘Our Lady of Chains?’
400
Augusts’ background with Deborahs’ family is what causes June to act the ways she does toward Lily. August worked as a servant for Deborahs’ parents, when she was a child. June doesn’t like how August had to do this, which is why she treats Lily with disrespect.
How does August background affect the way June treats Lily?
500
When Lily sees May getting rid of the roaches using marshmallows and grahm crackers, like her mother, she find out that her mother had stayed with the Boatwright sisters. She feels happy about this, but keeps procrastinating on asking August more questions about her mother.
How does Lily find out that her mother also stayed with the Boatwright sisters? What did she think about this?
500
After hearing her mother’s story from August, Lily became very upset and angry at her mother. She found out that T. Ray was right when he said that Lily’s mother left them, which surprises Lily because she hoped that there was a better explanation.
How does August feel about her mother after hearing her story from August?
500
Bees are a theme of the novel because they are very similar to people and react to certain situations the same way. When the queen bee dies, all of the workers soon die after, from the loss of their leader. This relates to the novel because when Deborah dies, it affects Lily by growing up without a mother and affects T. Ray by the way he treats and acts toward Lily. Everything fell apart because she was an important part of their lives and they both needed her very much.
How are bees a theme of the novel, and how how do they relate to the storyline?
500
At first the tone between Lily and her mother is sad because Lily is experiencing regret from accidentally shooting her mother. As the novel goes on, the tone between Lily and her mother becomes more mysterious and needed because Lily isn’t sure why her mother left her and is beginning to miss her more. Towards the end, the tone becomes anger because Lily is mad that her mother left her and her dad.
How does the tone between Lily and her mother change throughout the story?
500
Background affects the way somebody feels, thinks and acts, from the things they have experienced in the past. Lily has experienced many things in her past, that will cause her to grow up to be very wise.
How does background affect the way someone thinks, feels and acts about something? How is this shown in the book?