The South in the 1960s is the setting for a large number of plays, movies, novels, and stories. Southern writers who are old enough to have lived through that era have frequently attempted to come to terms with their experiences of racism and the progress and disappointments of the civil rights movement from both sides of the color line. Kidd’s book, The Secret Life of Bees, is set specifically during the aftermath of the signing of the Civil Rights Act in July 1964; a time marked by often brutal, racially motivated violence in the South and is alluded to in the novel.
The Secret Life of Bees demonstrates the irrationality of racism by not only portraying black and white characters with dignity and humanity, but by also showing how Lily, the main character, struggles with and ultimately overcomes her own racism. One theme in the book that is present in a large part of the novel is the struggle for equal rights. There are many difficulties that Rosaleen, the three sisters, Zach and other black characters face because of their color. Blacks are still looked at as the lesser minority and slaves to the white population. This is happening even after the Civil Rights Act. Blacks were facing racism every time they stepped out of their doors.
The Secret Life of Bees has sold more than 4.5 million copies, spent over two years on the New York Times bestseller list and has been published in more than 23 languages. It is taught widely now in college and high school classrooms and is fast becoming a modern classic. It has been produced on stage in New York by The American Place Theater and has been adapted into a movie. The movie is scheduled to be in theaters on October 17, 2008.
Photo by www.suemonkkidd.com
No comments:
Post a Comment