TSLOB Study GUIDE

CHAPTER 1

How does Lily show signs of queenlessness?

she does not have a mother figure in her life

What is lily longing for? What obstacles prevents Lily from getting what she desires? What are her conflicts?

\-longing for a motherly figure

\-her mom died

-her dad is agressive

Compare Rosaleen's reaction to the bees to Lily's beliefs. How do their reactions characterize them?

Lily says that the bees could have stung her until she died, and it would not have been the worst thing to happen. What do you learn about her from this?

she is strong, been through many hardships, and has had a hard life

Why does Lily "smell every perfume bottle they had?" (6).

she wants to find the scent her mother had

When does Rosaleen stands up to T.Ray about the chick , Lily says , "his boots whispered uncle all the way down the hall" (12). What does she mean? What literary term is used in this quote?

I think she means he admits defeat silently because he knows she is right and this uses personification because boots can't whisper.

What gift is Lily hoping for and why is her birthday a significant day?

a silver charm bracelet and its significant because its independence day

CHAPTER 2

what 2 things does the conversation between Lily and T.Ray reveal?

that her mom ran away from her and the man wanted to kill rosaleen

what does lily believe will sink her forever (40) why might it sink her?

that her mom left her not just him. it sinks her because she saw her mom as her rock and a comfort spot.

what is the purpose of the allusion to thomas edison when talkng about her father

to show how he was original when it came to horrible punishments and shows how unique they were like with the dead rabbit.lily say

what is the meaning of the jar metaphor (41)

her tears flew out of the jar when she dumped then like the bees flew away and moved on like she will soon do and that she is free to leave.

contrast lilys expectations to how the police to how he actually does his job

lily thought they would protect rosaleen from the dealer and they didn’t. they also didn’t arrest him.

what events moved lily to run away? why did she not do it last month

her conversation with t ray about how her mother left her, and rosaleen’s arrest. she thinks he is a liar and was not aware of this true or false information last month.

what did t.ray know about the men at the gas station that lily and rosaleen did not know? what does this imply about his character

he knew they wanted to kill rosaleen and shows that he doesn’t care about her or he would have tried to do something.

in what ways are lily’s interactions with rosaleen similar to a girls with their own mother

she is beginning to turn to her for help like girls do with their moms.

CHAPTER 3

lily describes her church’s attitude about Catholics. what does this tell you about lily?

that she does not follow the rules and is curious

what is significance of rosaleens odd dream

Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.

what does lily’s question and rosaleen’s answer about the civil rights act reveal about them

rosaleen is not naive and knows racism will never end just because of a new law, lily seems more naive and like a child in this moment

why does lily think there is nothing but mystery in the world

sometimes the things we wish to know are right in front of us, like the black modanna honey jar and how it unlocks her future

would you classify the black madonna honey as a sign

yes it points her to the boatwrights

CHAPTER 4

what emotions are connected with water

what emotions are connected with stone

how do these recurring images/motifs make the novel more effective

compare august and rosaleen

both wise and strong and both help out lily

why does lily think the figure is the virgin mary

she has a faded heart

why does may start to sing “oh! susanna“

because an unpleasant topic came up

how does rosaleen’s behavior as the walk across the lawn contrast to her behavior earlier when she talked about civil rights acts in ch 3

she is not as mature as she was since she starts throwing water out of her pie pan

what does lily say is the secret to a good lie

do not overly explain, and throw in one good detail

why does lily mean when she says my skin had never felt so white.

she was surrounded by all black people as she was used to being around white people.

CHAPTER 5

how does the honey song say everything about living in the pink house

because its happy, silly, and about honey. they say honey is better than heaven and in the pink house the live FOR honey

how does lily describe June

like playing the cello, smiling very little, and how she hates that lily is now living with them

what does june say that is a revelation to lily? does lily have the right to be offened

june is hesitant to help lily because she is white. lily is always intitled to her own feelings

example of another point of view that is not lily’s

june being a bit worried about white people

why is lily feeling uncomfortable while they are watching tv

they watching a news report of what mad white people have done to black people.

what is the most important bee hive rule according to august

send the bees love

what happened to april

she shot herself

what is the wailing wall and what does lily put into it

the wailing wall is something may made for herself to help herself bear sufferings. lily put her mothers name in the wall

CHAPTER 6

why won’t june get married

she got stood up last time

why might the DOMs meet instead of going to a church

the wear exotic hats and worship the black madonna

what is the number 1 question and why is it asked

“where do you come from” because they want to know if you are one of us, if your cousins know our cousins, or if any one of our peers know each other

why does lily not touch mary’s heart

she feels like she is not a part of the group because of her skin color.

why is august upset at that thought of a rocket landing on the moon

the moon used to represent strength since it could pull the oceans and come back and back again. now its just a big science project

CHAPTER 7

what month and why does lily pick if she was to be named after a month, what would I pick and why?

she picks october because it is the golden month and she would have cool initials, i would pick june or august because i am happiest in june since im at camp and august because of taylor swift

why is lily attached to an old coke bottle

it is a tribute to how far something can go in life

why does lily call her father and what does she expect to gain

she calls him because she hopes he will be longing and loving her from afar. she hopes she could have changed his ways

what 2 dangers is lily facing on pg 126

she has gotten close to zach and there is now a bee buzzing around them

CHAPTER 8

contrast august and lily’s stories

august has loving memories of a mother figure while lily only has haunting ones.

how does the pink house resemble a beehive

everyone in the house has a job

CHAPTER 9

compare zach and rosaleen’s confrontations with white men

both treated unfairly due to their skin color

what does august mean when she says “the hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters’

it is easier to make decisions that form what really matters but hard to pick which one of these actually matters

CHAPTER 10

why does lily start saying the hail Mary when searching for may

as a prayer and to push down her fear

where do they find may and why does this matter

they find may in the river with a stone on her chest this maters because water and stones have been a big symbol throughout the story.

what does lily compare the may’s body too

our lady washing up on the river near Charleston

why does the policemen ask lily so many questions

they are confused why she is staying with a colored family

what is a vigil and why does august say they will have one

a vigil is when the mourners sit with the newly dead person because they can’t say goodbye. they hold to say goodbye to may themselves

what do august, zach, and lily do to the hives and why

they drape a black crepe material on the because it keeping the bees from leaving and ensures a resurrection

what is the secret thing that causes lily’s gladness

she realizes no one is judging her about her color and just treat her like a person

CHAPTER 11

why can lily not tell august now that may’s funeral is over

she is scared of what she might say

why does zach tell lily they have to think about changing the world

he wants her to dream big and succeed

how has zach changed

he is more angry and hardened

where does august put may’s suicide note and how is it significant

what does june finally agree to and why

to get married to neil because of may’s suicide note

what is may day and how does lily help prepare

a time of remembering, time to think about their power, glory, and the promise that they will be lifted up. lily helps prepare by making streamers for the trees

what part of may day makes lily feel better about the world

what is the fish necklace and why does it upset her

its a necklace of fish the caught strung together and this bothers her because she is afraid to go deep enough in the water to save them

what is the new necklace zach give lily and what does he promise

he gives her his dog tags and promises her they will be together in the future

CHAPTER 12

why did august not tell lily she knew who she was at first

she believed lily was not ready to face the truth

what causes the walls of glass to break in lily’s chest

talking about what t ray said about her mother leaving her

what does lily say happens a time or 2 in your life

you will hear the secret thing at the heart of it all

how does august describe deborah as a little girl

as her own daughter because they were so close

how does august description of t ray clash with lily’s

she said he was loving and caring which is the complete opposite of lily’s knowledge of him

what does lily want to be when she grows up

a writer and an english teacher

what does august say that makes lily hate her mother and what does she say to excuse it

that what t ray was true that deborah left her but then she adds that when she went back and got killed she was there to get lily

why was deborah back in sylvan when she was killed

she was going to bring lily back to tibourn

CHAPTER 13

what does lily want from mary

for her to understand

how does lily express her anger

she throws honey jars against the honey house

what does lily want the statue to do

to help her and be a mother figure

why did rosaleen not tell lily the truth about her mom

she did not want to hurt lily

what does august do with the honey during the ceremony and why does it annoy lily

she bathes the mary statue in it and it annoyed lily because she was mad at august

what does august bring to lily in the hat box

an old poetry book her mother had gotten from august

what does august say about the mirror and what does she mean

if she looks in it she will see her mothers face which means lily looks just like her mother

what does lily find in the brush

deborah’s hair

describe the picture in the frame

the picture is of lily and her mother. she realizes she was loved after all

CHAPTER 14

what simile does lily use to describe her heart

like and ice sculpture

what does lily believe people would rather die than do

forgive

what is the peculiar nature of the world

how the world continues spinning no matter what kind of heart break happens