Name: ______Period: ______

The Secret Life of Bees Study Guide- Honors English IName:______

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? ______
  3. Why did Lily wake up T. Ray in the middle of the night?______
  4. What does Lily remember about her mother?______
  5. What role does Rosaleen play in Lily’s life?______
  6. What does Lily remember about her mother’s death? Why might this be significant? ______
  7. What does T.Ray make Lily do with the Martha Whites? How do you feel about this treatment? ______
  8. What happens when Rosaleen and Lily stop for a rest at the “white” church?______
  9. What does Rosaleen do to the three men at the gas station? Why do you think this happens? ______
  10. Why did the policeman take Rosaleen and Lily through the back door of the jail? ______
  11. Why did Lily run away from home? ______
  12. How did Lily sneak Rosaleen away from the police at the hospital?______
  13. Why did Lily decide to go to Tiburon? ______
  14. After arriving in Tiburon, where did they stay the night? ______
  15. What was significant about the way August’s house looked? ______
  16. Who lived in the house with August? (names and relationships) ______
  17. What discovery did Lily make in the backyard (besides the river)? ______
  18. What song does May seem to hum all the time? Make a prediction about what you think this might mean. ______
  19. Which sister did was not friendly to Lily and Rosaleen? ______
  20. Explain what May’s wailing wall is, and how it helps May cope with difficulties. ______
  21. Who is April? ______
  22. August says that the statue is called “Our Lady of Chains,” not because she wore chains, but because she ______.
  23. Each of the women go one at a time and do what to the statue? ______
  24. 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? ______
  25. What does Zach really want to do when he grows up? Why do you think Zach might be important to this story? ______
  26. Explain what makes the honey purple when the weather is hot. ______
  27. Neil and June are always getting into arguments about what? ______
  28. What gift did Zach give Lily? ______
  29. When the calendar girls were young, what special privileges did their mother give to them during their special month? ______
  30. Why did August paint the house pink? What does this reveal about her? ______
  31. Lily got the worst slap of her life from T. Ray for asking what? ______
  32. What question did she ask the person she called? ______
  33. 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? ______
  34. What was May do to get bugs out of the house? What does this tell you about her? ______
  35. What information did Lily learn about her mother from May? ______
  36. What event happened in town to Zach? ______
  37. Why don’t they tell May about Zach? ______
  38. When the phone rang, May answered it. Who was on the other line, and what did they say? ______
  39. What happened to May? Explain where she went instead of the wall. ______
  40. What jokes do the girls make about May and the drive-by window? ______
  41. What did May’s suicide note say (sum it up)? ______
  42. What decision does June make after reading the note? ______
  43. What does Lily say is the ONE thing she remembers about May’s dead body? ______
  44. How did August know Deborah when she was little? ______
  45. Who is Tica Tee? ______
  46. Why did Deborah marry T. Ray? ______
  47. What sad truth did Lily learn about her mother? ______
  48. What did the Daughters bathe Our Lady of Chains in? ______
  49. Where did Rosaleen go in her new red dress (she went with August)? ______
  50. What animal shape was the pin that used to belong to Lily’s mother (the one that Lily now wears)? ______
  51. Where did Lily’s mom get the pin? ______
  52. How did T. Ray find Lily at the pink house? ______
  53. Who really killed Lily’s mom? ______
  54. Describe the hat Lunelle made for Lily. ______
  55. What happens at the end of the novel? ______

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: ______