The Secret Life of Bees
Chapters 3 and 4 Questions
Chapter 3:
1. What qualities does the narrator evoke by personifying nature as Eleanor
Roosevelt?
2. Compare Brother Gerald’s attitude toward Catholics to his church’s treatment of
black worshippers as described in chapter one. Why is this ironic?
3. What impression does Lily give the reader about the town of Tiburon?
4. Why does Lily expect to read about herself and Rosaleen in the newspaper? Explain
the significance of the statement: “”Sometimes you want to fall on your knees and
than God in heaven for all the poor news reporting that goes on in the world.” (Kidd
60).
Chapter 4:
1. Read the epigraph before starting chapter four. First, define epigraph and then
explain what chapter four might be about in light of the epigraph’s bee information.
2. Look at paragraph 10 on page 69. What literary device is employed?
3. Lily finds a note in the stone wall referring to “Birmingham, Sept. 15, four little
angels dead.”
a. Explain this allusion.
b. Find a news article from that time about this event. Create a found poem out
of the news article. To do this you will:
i. Locate an article and save it to your files.
ii. Find striking words in the article – diction that speaks to you!
iii. Use these striking words and create a poem that describes the events
and the emotions felt.
iv. Your poem must be 15 lines long in any arrangement of stanzas you
wish.
v. You will print both your poem and the article and turn them in next
class.
4. Describe Lily’s mood at the river near the stone wall.