POWERFUL+PARAGRAPHS

 POWERFUL PARAGRAPHS
Choose a paragraph that stood out to you as you read either because of concepts, theme, description or writing style. Explain why you have made this particular choice to discuss. The paragraph should have either great imagery, paint a picture of the mood the author is trying to create, or provide an insight to a character's motives and actions.

November 4, 2008 Chapter 1 One paragraph that I think gives a great picture, and a deeper look into Lily's thinking is on page 22, "That night I lay in bed listening to the flicks and twitters and thrums inside the bee jar, waiting till it was late enough so I could slip out to the orchard and dig up the tin box that held my mother's things. I wanted to lie down in the orchard and let it hold me." I mainly chose this paragraph because of the last sentence. People don't normally say an inanimate object will "hold" them, but when Sue Monk Kidd uses this line it work. She reveals that the character wants to be held, or needs to be held. Kidd, without openly stating it, says that Lily wants some comforting. I think the style in which that line was written was appropriate for the character at the time it was used. -R.C.M.

// Chapter 2-Powerful Paragraphs //
November 4, 2008 “I imagined that T. Ray was rushing home so he could start right away constructing pyramids of grits all through the house-a torture chamber of food staples, where I would go from one pile to the next, kneeling for hours on end with nothing but bathroom breaks. I didn’t care. I couldn’t think of anything but Rosaleen back there in jail.” I chose this paragraph, because it is very descriptive with T. Ray’s actions, and shows how his relationship is with his daughter. T. Ray seems to be a very violent unfriendly father who doesn’t care much about his daughter. He seems to mostly worry about his peach patch and not about his family. T. Ray is not worried about Rosaleen either. She is even more of a parent to Lily than T. Ray, and has filled in as a mother figured sense Lily’s mother was killed. Rosaleen is in jail, and Lily is even more worried about Rosaleen than herself, and is not worried about her punishment from T. Ray, but is worried about if Rosaleen is going to be freed from jail, or if her father is going to bail her out. So far T. Ray has only freed Lily from jail and is not planning on going back for Rosaleen. He doesn’t want to free Rosaleen from jail, because of what she did, he did not agree with it either. She had poured smut on the most racist man in town, and he threatened to kill her. So T. Ray was not risking standing up for Rosaleen. -SM

November 5th, 2008 Chapter 4

The paragraph I thought gave an excellent picture was on page 75, "Now and then sprays of rain flew over and misted our faces. Every time I refused to wipe away the wetness. It made the world seem so alive to me. I couldn't help but envy the way a good storm got everyone's attention." I chose this paragraph because the author informs the reader that Lily wants more attention and that she wants people to notice her. I also chose it because I can clearly picture a Lily standing on the porch looking out at the heavy rain while cool droplets made water freckles on her face. I can imagine her taking in the essence of the rain and the sound of the thunder secretly wishing it was herself receiving the attention. -M.M.W.

Chapter 5 November 9th, 2008

"The first week at August's was a consolation, a pure relief. The world will give you that once in a while, a brief timeout; the boxing bell rings and you go to your corner, where somebody dabs mercy on your beat-up life." I believe this paragraph gives deep insight into how Lily feels about her current situation, and, on a deeper level, into her way of thought. It describes how Lily is grateful and appreciative of her welcoming into a new home after escaping a hard life, but that she recognizes that it may not last permanently. It also shows that Lily does not have an entirely optimistic outlook on life. She understands that good things eventually come to an end, and that hardships will resume, even if this is not the fairest situation. -E.N.

Chapter 6 November 9, 2008

"'Look at her her good, Lily," August said, "'cause you're seeing the end of something." "I am?" "Yes, you are, because as long as people have been on this earth, the moon has been a mystery to us. Think about it. She is strong enough to pull the oceans, and when she dies away, she always comes back again. My mamma used to tell me Our Lady lived on the moon and that I should dance when her face was bright and hibernate when it is dark." __Secret Life of Bees__ chapter 6 p. 113 The reason I chose this paragraph over the others in chapter six is because this paragraph made me think. I had never thought of the moon as a mystery or another world. Actually, I don't really think about the moon. In this paragraph August says that the moon will be diffrent once it is explored, that it will not be a mystery anymore. She seems somewhat sad about that. I enjoy the way the author wrote this paragraph, and I like the concept.

-E.M-

Chapter 7 November 10, 2008

"At my school they made fun of colored people's lips and noses. I myself had laughed at theses jokes, hoping to fit in. Now I wished I could pen a letter to my school to be read at opening assembly that would tell them how wrong we'd all been. You should see Zachary Taylor, I'd say." This was a significant paragraph in chapter 7 because it showed how Lily was finally realizing that black people are just as good as white people. This paragraph shows how she really thinks of her actions, and she knows her remarks about black people's lips and noses were wrong. Knowing if her actions are right or wrong shows a sign of maturity. This also shows how much she loves Zachary Taylor, and she seems surprised that she likes him so much, even though they have a different skin color. I think this paragraph hints that there will be a special relationship between Zachary and Lily.

-S.H.

Chapter 8 November 11, 2008

"Then without warning all the immunity wore off, and I felt the hollow spooned-out space between my navel and breastbone begin to ache. The motherless place. I could see my mother in the closet, the stuck window, the suitcae on the floor. I heard the shouting, then the explosion. I almost doubled over. I lowered my arms, but I didn't open my eyes. How could I live the whole rest of my life knowing these things? What could I ever do that would be good enough to make them go away? How come we couldn't go back and fix the bad things we did?"   This paragraph, especially the last few sentences, really struck me. In this paragraph LIly revals how truly desperate she is for her mother to forgive her, and for her mother's love. I believe that Lily is also feeling very guilty about the fact that she hasn't told August who she really is yet. In this paragrap Lily is beekeeping with August and she is letting the bees flutter around her and land all over her and she is having what is called an out of body expirience. This parahgraph results in August telling LIly with more urgency that they need to talk. This paragraph is on pages 150 - 151, it is the last two lines on pg 150 and the first paragraph on page 152.

O.K.

Chapter 9 November 15th, 2008

"//A true beekeeper//. The words caused a fullness in me, and right at that moment an explosion of blackbirds lifted off the ground in a clearing a short distance away and filled up the whole sky. I said to myself, Will wonders never cease? I would add that to my list of careers. A writer, an English teacher, //and// a beekeeper."

I think that in this paragraph, it is explaining that you should believe in yourself. Also when the blackbirds lifted off the ground, i thought that was a sign. Like as if it was saying "Spread your wings and fly. Believe in yourself no matter what."

-K.R-

Chapter 10, November 14, 2008

“May lay in two feet of water with a huge river stone on top of her chest. It weighted her body, holding it to the bottom. Looking at her, I thought, She will get up now. August will roll away the stone, and May will come up for air, and we will go back to the house and get her dry. I wanted to reach down and touch her, shake her shoulder a little. She couldn’t have died out here in the river, that would be impossible.” (pg. 192) I thought this paragraph really described what Lily was thinking and what she wanted to do. This is when they just found May’s body in the river. It also showed a sentimental connection between Lily and the sisters, and how much she actually cared for them. In the beginning it seemed like she didn’t have strong feelings for the sisters, and then when May dies, it actually shows how much she did. -K.D.

Chapter 11 "You are one-third friend, one-third brother, one-third bee partner, and one-third boyfriend," I tod him. He explained to me that I have too many thirds on the equation, which, of course, I knew, as U am bad in math but not that bad. We stared at each other as I tried to figure out which third would get deleted."

I chose this paragraph because it shows the different feelings Lily has toward Zach. All of these feelings apply to how she feels, but as she said one has to be deleted. Also she is telling Zach how she feels so he will know how she feels about him, which is important in a relationship. Chapter 12, November 15, 2008

-F.C

Chapter 12, November 17, 2008 "You would think I was totally cried out, but tears beaded again along my lids. 'I do all the wrong things. I tell lies, all the time. Not to you. Well, I have-but for good reasons. And I hate people. Not just T-Ray but lots of people. The girls at school, and they haven't done anything to me except ignore me. I hate Willifred Marchent, the poet of Tiburon, and I don't even know her. Sometimes I hate Rosaleen because she embarrasses me. And when I first came here, I hated June.'" I chose this paragraph because it forever changes the relationship between Lily and August. They can finally be completely honest with each other because Lily is telling the truth. After all this time, Lily is telling August all the secrets that she ever kept from her. -J.D.

"**I sat up, feeling like my body weighed two hundred pounds. Like somebody had backed the cement truck up to the honey house, swung the pipe over to my chest, and started pouring. I hated feeling like a concrete block in the middle of the night." I chose this paragraph because of how it describes the heavy feeling that Lily experiences. It paints a picture in your head so that you can sense how Lily is feeling in this part of the story. By the details of this paragraph you can definitely tell how heavy her burden is and because it describes the heaviness on her chest, you know how it weighs on her heart. Lily feels this because she had just found out all of this information about her mother and Lily believes her mother purposefully left her behind with T.Ray E.P.
 * November 18, 2008 Chapter 13

"I lifted my left hand and placed it in hers. She took it and pressed the flat of my palm against my chest, over my beating heart. 'You don't have to put your hand on Mary's heart to get strength and consolation and rescue, and all the other things we need to get through life,' she said. 'You can place it right here on your own heart. **//Your own heart.//** " page 288.
 * November 18, 2008 Chapter 14**

This paragraph meant a lot to me and felt really significant for the ending of this book. August was explaining to Lily how Mary could be inspiration and comfort, but the real strength came from her. Lily never felt strong and has been through tough times dealing with guilt, confusion, and abuse. For Lily to realize that she can rescue herself and mold her own person is huge. This is also powerful for me because August was a very powerful character and always had words of wisdom. -M.A.K.