Finding Yourself

The Secret Life of Bees, The Color Purple, and The Bell Jar

Sue Monk Kidd• Born in Sylvester, Georgia, in 1948• Majored in nursing• Inspired by Thoureau’s Walden and Kate

Chopin’s The Awakening • Enrolled in a writing class after she was

married• Started out as a non-fiction writer but

changed to fiction when she wrote The Secret Life of Bees in 2002

• Used the power and spirituality of women in many of her novels

The Secret Life of Bees• 14 year old, Lilly Owens, goes on a search to find out about her

mother and in reality herselfThemes• Feminine power is represented by four black women:

– Rosealeen Daise– August Boatwright– June Boatwright – May Boatwright

• Controversy of black and white– Dates someone of a different race

• Maturity– Stands up to her father– Grows mature enough to forgive her mother

Events• Lilly runs away to find out about her mother• Gains courage and independenceSymbols• Use bee keeping as an example to teach Lilly about love,

sisterhood, and independence– ''Let's imagine for the moment that we are tiny enough to

follow a bee into a hive. Usually the first thing we would have to get used to is the darkness... -Exploring the World of Social Insects

•Sunflower and Bees•Ginette Fine Art LLC•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vig6vCfXM3k

Alice Walker

• Born in Eatonton, Georgia in 1944• Youngest of eight children• Parents believed education was very important; went to

school and college • Worked as a teacher, social worker, and lecturer• An accomplished poet and essayist but best known for her

novels• Won the Pulitzer prize for The Color Purple• “Don't wait around for other people to be happy for you.

Any happiness you get you've got to make yourself.” – Alice Walker

The Color Purple

• Celie is abused and undermined by her stepfather and husband• Epistolary novel

– Dear God– Letters to Nettie in Africa

Themes• The effect of rape and abuse

– “Dear God, I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me” – Celie

– "You better not tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy" - Alphonso• Strong Women

– Shug– Sofia

Events• Celie has to find the courage to stand up to her

stepfather and husband• Celie takes what she learns about independence and

passes it on to SqueakSymbols• The letters from Nettie is what keeps her alive and her

hopes up• Celie making pants– Form of independence

By Golden Pear Arthttp://thegoldenpear.wordpress.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsoHqApn_4E

Sylvia Plath • Born in Jamaica Plain,

Massachusetts, in 1932• Was a perfect student and won a

scholarship to Smith College and internship to work in New York

• Wrote 400 poems while at Smith• Wrote an autobiography of her life,

The Bell Jar, in 1963 • Committed suicide at the age of

thirty

The Bell Jar• Esther Greenwood is a unhappy young women “living the life” during

the 1950sThemes• The uncertainty of what her life is and what it should be drives her crazy• Misconception

– Esther seems to have everything• Men push her further away

– Buddy Willard– Doctor Gordon

Events• Wants to become writer• Doesn’t achieve the goal of finding herself• Tries to commit suicide many times• Lives in a mental home…

Symbols• The bell jar– Represents the minuteness of her life– Feels like she’s trapped inside– “sour air”

• Perfection– Envies Doreen for being perfect

•Untitled

Finding Themselves

• The Secret Life of Bees– Lilly runs away to find out about her mother– Uses the strong, feminine power of the Boatwright sisters to

gain independence• The Color Purple

– Abused and undermined by her step father and Mr. ____– Shug is the role model that encourages Celie– Celie in return helps Squeak

• The Bell Jar– Didn’t achieve the goal of finding yourself– The searching drove her insane

• The protagonist of Secret Life and Color Purple both accomplish their goal

• They both use the feminine power around them

• The Bell Jar doesn’t accomplish this goal• The first two characters come from abused

families and Esther comes from a good family

Similarities and Differences

Bibliography • "Sunflowers & Bees Watercolor Painting by Ginette." Art Prints by Ginette Fine Art LLC. 2012. Web. 18 May 2012.

<http://www.imagekind.com/Sunflowers--Bees-Watercolor-Painting-by-Ginette-art?IMID=5ad26d5c-471b-4f8d-9451-226e4c3cb9d4>.Flanagan, Mark. "Sue Monk Kidd." About.com Contemporary Literature. 2012. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/authors/p/kidd.htm>.

• No One, but Me | The Secret Life of Bees. 2010. Slide program. Youtube. 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 5 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vig6vCfXM3k>.

• The Color Purple - Best Scene. Dir. Stephen Spielberg. Youtube. 13 Dec. 2007. Web. 5 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsoHqApn_4E>.

• "Alice Walker Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/alice-walker-9521939>.

• "Alice Walker Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/alice_walker.html>.

• "Memorable Quotes for the Color Purple." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/quotes>.

• "Biography of Sylvia Plath." Sylvia Plath. Web. 5 May 2012. <http://www.poemhunter.com/sylvia-plath/biography/>.

• Arriola, Drew. "Sylvia Plath Reads "The Stones"" YouTube. YouTube, 10 May 2008. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUpZQMeHumw>.

• "Google Images." Google Images. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://images.google.com/>.(picture of sunflower, sleeping woman, and bell jar)