Mother is one of many words that might come to mind when thinking about someone who is loving, selfless, nurturing, and comforting. However, when a mother breathes her last, the lives’ of people she loves change. In the book “The Secret Life of Bees”, the protagonist, Lily Owens, a fourteen-year-old girl, is presently going through this change. Throughout this book, Lily feels alone and hopeless because she has no mother to be there wither her, as Lily was only four years old when her mother, Deborah, passed away. Lily meets new people along her journey of change who care and love her. Not until the end of the book does she realize these maternal figures and their love for her. Although Deborah is not present in Lily’s life anymore, Deborah’s motherly love and actions continue through August Boatwright.
Throughout the events that Lily and August shared together, the first moment that August showed maternal love to Lily is when August asked a simple question to Lily. “What else do you love, Lily?” (138). Lily is surprised when August asks her this because no one had ever asked her, not even her father, T. Ray. What first came to her mind was her mother’s picture, but with her mother’s …show more content…
August has the same comforting actions towards Lily when Lily starts to tell August how she ended up in Tiburon, South Carolina. While Lily is telling her story, her eyes fill up and pour out water. August notices and takes Lily into her arms, Lily realizing that August wants to comfort and love her. “She didn’t say, Come on now, stop your crying, everything’s going to be okay, which is the automatic thing people say when they want you to shut up. She said, “It hurts, I know it does. Let it out. Just let it out” (238). Through the hug, words, and comfort of August, Lily feels a motherly presence that she has missed throughout her whole life. This one action can change the way a child feels about a
Throughout the events that Lily and August shared together, the first moment that August showed maternal love to Lily is when August asked a simple question to Lily. “What else do you love, Lily?” (138). Lily is surprised when August asks her this because no one had ever asked her, not even her father, T. Ray. What first came to her mind was her mother’s picture, but with her mother’s …show more content…
August has the same comforting actions towards Lily when Lily starts to tell August how she ended up in Tiburon, South Carolina. While Lily is telling her story, her eyes fill up and pour out water. August notices and takes Lily into her arms, Lily realizing that August wants to comfort and love her. “She didn’t say, Come on now, stop your crying, everything’s going to be okay, which is the automatic thing people say when they want you to shut up. She said, “It hurts, I know it does. Let it out. Just let it out” (238). Through the hug, words, and comfort of August, Lily feels a motherly presence that she has missed throughout her whole life. This one action can change the way a child feels about a