Name: _______________________________ Period: _______
The Secret Life of Bees Study Guide- Honors English I
Name:______________
Please note that all work should be completed neatly. Additional copies of this study guides are
available at: misshess.yolasite.com
Please note that at the Honors level, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc… will be consistently
considered. Your thoroughness and thoughtfulness should always be present!
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1. What is the setting of the novel?__________________________________________________
2. Who is T. Ray?
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3. Why did Lily wake up T. Ray in the middle of the night?__________________________________
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4. What does Lily remember about her mother?_________________________________________
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5. What role does Rosaleen play in Lily’s life?___________________________________________
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6. What does Lily remember about her mother’s death? Why might this be significant?
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7. What does T.Ray make Lily do with the Martha Whites? How do you feel about this treatment?
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8. What happens when Rosaleen and Lily stop for a rest at the “white”
church?_____________________________________________________________________________________
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9. What does Rosaleen do to the three men at the gas station? Why do you think this happens?
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10. Why did the policeman take Rosaleen and Lily through the back door of the jail?
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11. Why did Lily run away from home?
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12. How did Lily sneak Rosaleen away from the police at the hospital?___________________________
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13. Why did Lily decide to go to Tiburon?
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Name: _______________________________ Period: _______
14.
15.
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24.
25.
26.
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After arriving in Tiburon, where did they stay the night?
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What was significant about the way August’s house looked?
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Who lived in the house with August? (names and relationships) ____________________________
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What discovery did Lily make in the backyard (besides the river)?
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What song does May seem to hum all the time? Make a prediction about what you think this
might mean.
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Which sister did was not friendly to Lily and Rosaleen?
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Explain what May’s wailing wall is, and how it helps May cope with difficulties. __________________
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Who is April?
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August says that the statue is called “Our Lady of Chains,” not because she wore chains, but
because she ________ ________.
Each of the women go one at a time and do what to the statue? _____________________________
Lily says that someday, when no one was around, she was going to do what in the parlor? What
do you think this shows about her?
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What does Zach really want to do when he grows up? Why do you think Zach might be
important to this story?
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Explain what makes the honey purple when the weather is hot.
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Name: _______________________________ Period: _______
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
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Neil and June are always getting into arguments about what?
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What gift did Zach give Lily?
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When the calendar girls were young, what special privileges did their mother give to them
during their special month?
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Why did August paint the house pink? What does this reveal about her?
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Lily got the worst slap of her life from T. Ray for asking what? ______________________________
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What question did she ask the person she called?
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May, Rosaleen, August and Lily were having a great time playing in the sprinkler, until June
came and broke up all the fun. What did Lily do to June to make her angry?
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What was May do to get bugs out of the house? What does this tell you about her?
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What information did Lily learn about her mother from May?
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What event happened in town to Zach?
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Why don’t they tell May about Zach?
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When the phone rang, May answered it. Who was on the other line, and what did they say?
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Name: _______________________________ Period: _______
39.
40.
41.
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43.
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46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
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What happened to May? Explain where she went instead of the wall. _________________________
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What jokes do the girls make about May and the drive-by window? __________________________
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What did May’s suicide note say (sum it up)?
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What decision does June make after reading the note? ___________________________________
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What does Lily say is the ONE thing she remembers about May’s dead body?
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How did August know Deborah when she was little?
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Who is Tica Tee?
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Why did Deborah marry T. Ray?
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What sad truth did Lily learn about her mother?
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What did the Daughters bathe Our Lady of Chains in?
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Where did Rosaleen go in her new red dress (she went with August)?
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What animal shape was the pin that used to belong to Lily’s mother (the one that Lily now
wears)?
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Where did Lily’s mom get the pin?
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Name: _______________________________ Period: _______
52.
53.
54.
55.
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How did T. Ray find Lily at the pink house?
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Who really killed Lily’s mom?
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Describe the hat Lunelle made for Lily.
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What happens at the end of the novel?
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CHARACTERS
Name 2 facts about each character (who they are, what they do)
76. Lily: ____________________________________________________________________
77. Rosaleen: ________________________________________________________________
78. August: _________________________________________________________________
79. June: ___________________________________________________________________
80. May: ___________________________________________________________________
81. April:____________________________________________________________________
82. Zach: ____________________________________________________________________
83. Neil: _____________________________________________________________________
84. Mr. Clayton: _______________________________________________________________
85. Miss Lacy : ________________________________________________________________
87. Deborah: __________________________________________________________________
89. Tica Tee: __________________________________________________________________
90. Our Lady of Chains: __________________________________________________________