Post #1

The book I am reading is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. The setting is in South Carolina in 1964, during the Civil Rights Movement. The main character is named Lily Owens. She lives with her abusive father named T-roy. Her mother died when she was very young, because her parents were fighting and Lily's Mom grabbed her gun. The gun fell to the floor and Lily picked it up and accidently shot her mother. So Lily has a black "stand in Mother" named Rosaleen. One day Rosaleen goes into town to vote and Lily comes along. The president just passed the law that said that colored people were able to vote. Rosaleen and Lily get harassed by some white racists while going to town and Rosaleen upsets them by pouring dip or snuff on their feet. Rosaleen and Lily get thrown into jail. Lily gets picked up by T-roy and he starts being more abusive so she runs away. Lily then gets Rosaleen out of jail and they become fugitives. Lily has a blac virgin mary picture from her mom that says Tiburn, South Carolina on the back. So thats where Rosaleen and Lily are headed. In a store Lily sees the same picture on a jar of honey and goes to the house where they make the honey. She is then taken in by the beekeepers, August, May and June.

Paragraph on page 61:
"From far away the store on the edge of town looked about a hundred years old, but when we got up to it, I saw it was actually older. A sign over the door said Frogmore Stew General Sotre and Resturant, since 1854.
General Sherman had probably ridden by here and decided to spare it on the basis of its name, because I'm sure it hadn't been on looks. The whole front of it was a forgotten bulletin board:Studebaker Service, Live Bait, Buddy's fishing tournament, Rayford Brothers' Ice Plant, Deer riffles $45, and a picture fo a girl wearing a Coca-Cola bottle cap on her head. A sign announced a gospel sing at the Mount Zion baptist church if anyone wanted to know."
From this paragraph you can tedd the book is from the viewpoint of a child. From the words like"looked about a hundred years old". The sentences are run-ons so that is another clue that the paragraph is told from a chold's perspective. The author also uses a colon to describe everything on the bulletin board on the front of the store. The colon lets the list flow and the rhythm is steady. You can tell the narrator is fascinated with the store since she lists everything on it and describes it for two paragraphs. The word tell the setting is in the south, because general sherman fought for the north in the civil war.