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Essay / Lily's journey of love, conscience, and recovery in The Secret Life of Bees
In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily Owens is defined by her mistakes; the memory of his mother's death haunts every aspect of his life. Escaping from her old life, trying to overcome guilt and find the truth in her actions, Lily realizes that she is seeking knowledge and experience within herself, rather than forgiveness. In Tiburon, Lily discovers love; how to find where there once was hatred, how to forgive and how to love everyone. Thanks to this, Lily is no longer able to define herself by her mistakes, but by what she learned from them and, ultimately, to learn to love herself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get Original Essay Under T-ray's tyrannical control, Lily never had the chance to learn about love and how you can love someone you once hated. When Lily meets June who at first doesn't like Lily, she doesn't realize the possibility of loving June despite her harsh ways. The racial tension of the time causes June to initially give Lily the cold shoulder because "she's white." June learns to accept Lily over time, but it takes Lily longer to do the same. Spraying June with the garden hose helped Lily realize her love for June despite her early mean ways, and allowed June to "hug her while their clothes made soft, squishy sounds up and down her body." their body” (Kidd 170). By finally hugging June, Lily showed the sisterly intimacy between the two girls and taught Lily how to love the person she despised. Learning to love in this way has helped Lily greatly, but creating new love also brings forgiveness. Once Lily understands that love can be created in a place where hatred once existed, she can learn to forgive. Lily's relationship with T-ray was anything but paternal, "daddy never suited her" (Kidd, 2), but Lily must realize that love takes many forms that are not necessarily as obvious as others . T-ray's inability to show affection for Lily leads him to believe he doesn't love her, thinking "what if he doesn't know the color you like the most?" » (Kidd, 160). For Lily, not knowing or caring about the little things about her tells her that T-ray doesn't really love her. However, while raising bees, August teaches Lily “that there are 32 names for love in the Eskimo language” (Kidd, 140). From this, Lily concludes that if there are 32 names for love, then there are just as many different types of love, T-ray not being the only one she knew before. Now that Lily knows that T-ray truly loves her but shows it in ways she wasn't able to understand, she can call him "Daddy," a word that once didn't sit well with her. . By forgiving others, Lily can forgive herself and develop one love for all things. For Lily to fully understand what she is looking for, she must learn to connect all of her experiences together, creating one love. Lily will never be able to achieve complete inner peace with herself until she understands the concept of unity, a single love for all things and for everyone. While taking care of the bees. Lily desperately tries to send love to them all, shouting, "I love you, I love you." She tried to say it 32 ways. »(Kidd. 149). Lily knows she must achieve one love, but she is overwhelmed and confused, thinking only her words and thoughts will achieve that goal. However, this goal is nothing more than a concept until.