Prompt:
Read the following poem and make connections to Secret Life of Bees.
4 daughters
Lucille Clifton
i am the sieve*
she strains from
little by little
everyday.
i am the rind**
she is discarding.
i am the riddle
she is trying to answer.
something is moving
in the water.
she is the hook.
i am the line.
*sieve=a strainer used to separate a liquid and a solid
**rind= outer shell or peel of fruit
Response Requirement:
- Dissect this poem and apply it to Lily’s life.
- Dissect this poem and apply it to August, June, and May’s lives.
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ReplyDeleteLily relates to this poem because she is the fishing line and Rosaleen is the hook.
ReplyDeleteWithout Rosaleen Lily would have nothing to do because she doesnt have that hook to helped her catch the fish or follow her dream of finding out the secrets of her mother. Lily needs someone she can trust and be tied to like fishing line is to a fishing hook. But like the sieve they are being separated from each other day by day.
this quote relates to May, June, and Augusts' lives because May is like the riddle that August and June are trying to figure out. how May is depressed but not depressed and she is a bit different from the rest with secrets of why things have happened to her like her killing herself.
Ran Tun
ReplyDeleteMs. Drosdick
Language Arts/ per. 1
3/24/14
The poem 4 Daughters has many connections to the Secret Life of Bees, and many of the books characters. Starting with Lily the one quote/line from the poem “I am the riddle she is trying to answer.” This is the literal part that relates to lily. Lily has no idea about her mother, she has no real idea of who, she was or what really happened to her mother. There is another that relates to Lily, the phrase “I am the rind she is discarding.” The rind or shell she is leaving is T-Ray, leaving him behind to begin her new adventure. Or it could be her leaving her former self, the one that was afraid at all time. She is leaving so sort of shell behind.
The other characters in this book that can relate to the poem are August, June, and May. May and April were close in the book as it implies, and after Aprils death May began to except all pain as her own. In the phrase “I am the sieve she drains from little by little every day.” The sieve is April, and May is dripping down, no longer becoming that same person, she is actually becoming a subject to sadness, every day, little by little, tragedy by tragedy. August, in the book is portrayed as wise, and clever, however she continues to move on up, and forward.“something is moving in the water. she is the hook. i am the line.” From the 4 daughters, this line would go well with Augusts life. The line or Our lady of Chains is lifting August’s spirits up, bringing her towards a high power.
Matthew Baker
ReplyDeleteThe poem “4 daughters,” applies to Lily’s life in the following ways:
-The title “4 daughters” represents the Boatwright sisters. April, May, June and August are like sisters, or family, to Lily, even though she did not get to meet all of them in person. The book shows how close they are to each other when they discover May’s dead body in the river. Lily, watching from a distance, describes how she feels on page 195: “I reached for the limb of a small cedar and held tight, as though everything I had was about to slip from my hands.” Most people feel like they are dead as well when they lose a family member. Lily obviously feels like part of the family.
- “i am the sieve she strains from little by little every day” refers to Lily’s relationship to her Dad. Lily starts to separate from her dad before she actually runs away. Her dad is like the sieve and Lily is like a thick liquid that leaves bit by bit. It started when she said she was going to town with Rosaleen. It continued when she demanded her father get Rosaleen out of jail. Most of Lily left when she ran away. But there is still some part of her left with T.Ray in Sylvan. When Lily called T.Ray, it was because she was missing home. She fantasized, “I saw myself jumping a wave. T.Ray held my hand, pulling me up and over.” A part of Lily remains in that sieve because T.Ray IS her father.
- “i am the riddle she is trying to answer.” This relates to Lily and her trying to find her mother. She feels throughout the book that she is on a quest to find out more and more about her mother and her past. She tries to talk to many people like August. She finally goes to August to see if she can solve the “riddle” of her mother. She is a little disappointed when she discovers the truth. Lily tells August, “It doesn’t sound like me and my mother were anything alike.” Furthermore, that night ends with August telling Lily that, “There is nothing perfect, there is only life.”
The poem applies to the lives of August, June and May in the following ways:
-All of the parts of the poem above relate back to one central topic-- May. “i am the sieve she strains from little by little every day” relates to how May feels that she is being separated from her sisters as they continue to do certain actions that cause her to get upset and feel like she is slipping away. One example is when Neil proposes to June over and over again but June constantly rejects him. On page 103 in the story, May describes June’s relationship with Neil and ends up having another episode when Rosaleen says, “Lord, not again.” May responds, “I’m sorry, I just can’t help it.”
- “Something is moving in the water. She is the hook. i am the line.” This refers to May’s suicide. As May was receiving all this pressure, she continues to feel weaker and weaker. She feels upset when Zach goes to jail and she is even more upset because no one told her. She does the same thing as her sister April did when she was in despair -- she kills herself. This is described on page 188. It says, “May walking into the trees with a little circle of light bobbing in front of her, then swallowed up by the dark.” It is as if the poem, “4 Daughters” was written in response to the book, The Secret Life of Bees.
Taylor Davis
ReplyDeleteMs. Drosdick
Period 4
4/1/14
Journal #5
The poem, “4 daughters,” applies to Lily’s life in many ways. The first way is that Lily’s dad is the sieve and she is trying to strain from him. She is trying to strain because she is inching away from him slowly. Lily even wrote a note to T. Ray, letting him know that she is moving away from him. The note is described on page 42: “Dear T. Ray, don’t bother looking for me. Lily. P.S. People who tell lies like you should rot in hell.” Like a sieve, things takes time running through it. It takes Lily time to leave T. Ray. The next way the poem relates to Lily’s life is that Rosaleen is like Lily’s rind. She protects her from harm. When Rosaleen says, “Look at you, child. Look what he’s done to you” on page 25, it shows that she cares for her. The final way that the poem reflects Lily’s life is that Lily’s mom is the riddle that she is trying to solve as stated in the poem. The whole book is about Lily finding out about her mother. Lily wants to know what drove her mom to leave her with T. Ray. Like any riddle, her mother is hard to figure out. Lily can’t figure out why her mother married T. Ray in the first place. On page 248, she says, “The part I will never figure out is why she married him.” The poem, “4 daughters” relates to many aspects of Lily’s life.
“4 daughters” also applies to the lives of August, June and May. At one time, there was another sister, April. The four were Dr. Boatwright’s daughters. The part in the poem that relates to their lives is the one that describes how a rind can be discarded. Rosaleen was Lily’s rind, and she was May’s rind too. Lily started to “discard” Rosaleen when she started to spend more time with Zach and the Boatwrights. May discarded Rosaleen when she killed herself in the river. But until then everyone would ask Rosaleen about May. On page 182, when Rosaleen is asked where May is, she replies, “In her bed asleep… She was worn out.” Another part of the poem that relates to the sisters is the part that says, “She is the hook… I am the line.” The line represents August, June, Rosaleen, and Lily and the hook represents May because she led them all to the river. When they’re searching for May, they follow each other closely. The river eventually draws them to May who is lying under the surface with a boulder on her chest. She is the hook who drew them to the river. Only May’s hands were floating in the river. “They floated, her palms little ragged cups bobbing on the surface, the water weaving in and out of her fingers.” (page 193). Her hands were the “something moving” in the water. Maybe the author of this poem read The Secret Life of Bees because it relates to so many different characters in the book.
The wind howled as loud as a lion. Fourteen year-old Lily Owens was running, and she was running as fast as she could. Where she was going though? And where she would end up? Those answers would have to wait for she didn’t even know. All she knew is that she had to get out of that house and away from T-Ray. Lily was ambitious and she knew that she wanted answers about her mother that T-Ray was never going to spill to her. That is the story of how Lily’s life took a cunny turn. In the poem it states, “I am the rind, she is discarding.” This is like Lily’s life, because she is like the piece that T- Ray doesn’t want. A rind is the outer shell or peel of a fruit, the part that no one wants. Lily is the part of T-Rays life that he doesn’t want. In the book, the Secret Life of Bees, on page 2 and page 8 it says, “Who I called T-Ray because ‘Daddy’ never fit him… He didn’t believe in slumber parties or sock hops… he refused to drive me to football games, pep rallies, or Beta Club car washes.” This shows that T-Ray doesn’t care about Lily just like most people don’t care about the peel of a fruit.
ReplyDelete“My mother loved spring and summer… we had April, too, but…she died when she was little,” said August on page 73 of the book, the Secret Life of Bees. She was talking to Lily about the names of her and her sisters? There was April, May, June, and August. But, what about July you may ask. That is an unanswered question that you would have to ask Mrs. Boatwright. The Boatwright sister s life apply to this poem by the title. The title of this poem is 4 daughters. August, June, and May are 3 of the Boatwright daughters. Also in the poem it states, “I am the riddle, she is trying to answer.” This also relates to August, June, and May because every day there is still different problems and things that they are trying to figure out about each other. Even today it is almost impossible to know everything about people at all moments. People are always changing thoughts and feeling and it is incredibly difficult to be able to figure it all out.
This poem by Lucille Clifton applies to all of the characters from The Secret Life of Bees. Lily can connect to the line, “I am the riddle, she is trying to answer.” Lily is always lying and Rosaleen dislikes it. On page 73 Rosaleen get a little upset with all the lies. “August shook her head, Rosaleen shook hers, too, but for a different reason.” The riddle that the Boatwright’s sisters are trying to answer is who Lily really is. The character May can connect to the line, “i am the sieve, she strains from, little by little, every day.” May has carried the weight of the world on her shoulders and has been like a sieve until, chapter 10 when she killed herself.
ReplyDeleteThis relates to the August, June, and May because, August is the one who knows what to do. She has years of knowledge and wisdom so she divides that up with what she knows to help find the way to success. The second one relates to June because she disregards Lily's feelings and wants to get rid of her because she fears that she is a danger to them. The third one, the riddle she is trying to answer is like May. May is like a riddle because like a riddle you have to think through every single thing you say.
Journal Entries: Option E
ReplyDeleteAfter dissecting the poem, I can see how it relates to Lily and her situation. The line, “I am the riddle she is trying to answer.” explains the relationship between Lily and August. Lily came to the Boatwright’s house with a lie. She told August a fake story and stuck to it. All this time August knows Lily must be lying, but Lily doesn’t know that. She thinks she holds this big secret over everyone else. She tries to uncover her own riddles with the past and her mother, while august tries to uncover Lily’s riddles about her lying.
This poem can also apply to August, June, and May’s lives. The poem conveys different relationship bonds with one another. “She is the hook, I am the line.” This quote shows how August keeps every one of her sisters in “line” with one another. She keeps them in check and balance May’s sensitivity, and June’s strictness. She hooks them on, and levels them out.
#7eleven3
The poem 4 Daughters by Lucille Clifton Relates to Lily’s life in many ways. “I am the riddle she is trying to answer,” relates to Lily because her mom is like the riddle, an unanswered question. Lily is spending all of her time in search of clues about her mother. In the book the Secret Life Of Bees Lily tells August “ I shook my head. Only the noise the explosion. So loud.” Since Lily was so young when her mother passed away she doesn’t fully remember how it happened. Therefore after all these years T-Ray could be lying to her, by telling her she killed Deborah. Making Lily have an unanswered question or riddle.
ReplyDeleteAugust is like “the sieve she strains from little by little everyday.” A sieve being a strainer used to separate a liquid from a solid. August separates the good and the bad not telling May any of the bad news. June acts like “the riddle.” She is always very mysterious, no one can seem to figure her out. Lastly May is like “the rind she is discarding.” May is the one that they always seem to keep in the dark, in order to help her not go to her unhappy place. All three of them are completely different people. August is more of the backbone, June is more negative, and May is more positive.
This poem can be related to Lily’s life in many ways. One way this poem relates to Lily’s life is how Lily was getting ready to tell August and the sisters each day a little more about her and why she was actually there, and how at one point she was on the edge of saying it. Also in lines five and six it says “I am the rind she is discarding.” which relates to Lily because June kept ignoring her and putting her off to the side, as well as complaining about her.
ReplyDeleteMay, June, and August can also relate to this poem too. May can relate to this poem because she was like the sieve, straining out her tears little each day until it was her time to leave. Also May was just another mystery to be solved, no one knew why she would get upset at tiny things, like guiding roaches out of the house with graham crackers and marshmallows instead of just squishing them. I think May felt this way because her twin April died when they were younger and ever since then she has always thought everyone or everything has a right to live. June can relate to this poem because every day Neil proposes to her and she has never said yes and she had claimed she wouldn’t, but that all changed because June finally agreed to be Neil’s bride. Finally, August can relate to this poem because Lily has been keeping her secret to herself and August is just waiting until Lily spills it, which she ends up talking to May about Deborah. Also later on Lily finds out more about her mother. For example she found out that her mother did leave her but then she came back.
This poem, '4 Daughters' relates to Lily from the Secret Life of Bees because Lily is trying to find the answers to her mother. She is sifting through the stories and trying to crack the code to her death. "She is the hook, I am the line." "I am the riddle she is trying to answer." Lily is trying to solve the riddles to her mother. Her mother is like the hook because she has left the bait, or, a few clues (her white gloves, pictures) and Lily is the line because she is the one that can go out and find the answers.
ReplyDeleteThis poem, '4 Daughters' is like August, June, and May because there is a quote that says, "She starins from little by little everyday." May was being drained of her life each time she had to go out to the wailing wall. There was only so much pain that she could take until she couldn't take it anymore. "I am the rind she is discarding." Rosaleen was felling left out when Lily was spending most of her time with August. She felt like she had been thrown out like trash and wasn't cared for. But she soon came to realize that Lily still needed her.
Week 4: Option E
ReplyDeleteThe poem “4 daughters” by Lucille Clifton combines four girls all with different qualities, to similar characters in the novel “The Secret Life of Bees”. In the perspective of Lily Owens, she has had a pretty interesting journey so far. From living with T-Ray to rescuing Rosaleen from jail, to roaming the streets, and staying at the calendar sisters’ house. The poem applies to Lily’s life a lot because in the title called “4 daughters”, this could relate to the names of the four calendar sisters, June, May, April and August. These women were the four daughters. They lived in the honey house. The four daughters could also represent, now that May has passed away, Rosaleen, June, August and Lily. They are all like sisters now because they are all practically best friends and love each other very much. The seventh line in the poem quotes, “I am the riddle she is trying to answer.” This can relate to Lily because her mother Deborah is like the riddle that Lily is trying to figure out. Lily has discovered most of the secrets and hidden clues about her mother. Finding her mother is like a dog scratching at the dirt until he can recover his bone. Lily has to continue digging and digging and searching for clues and what she wants most. The title of this poem reminds me of a movie called “Two Brothers”. The movie is about two tigers that lived together, but are soon separated. Until they are no longer cubs, they are reunited. The brothers were very close and had similar loving relationships just like the characters in the novel.
August, May, and June Boatwright, also known as the calendar sisters share a very loving relationship and all care about each other very much. Many of the lines that describe the different themes can apply to August May and June. The line, “I am the sieve, she strains from little by little every day.” I think this quote can relate to May because all of her emotions are let out and she strains a lot of difficult things going on in her life. I think the sieve represents her emotions and how everyday she felt something different whether hatred, sadness, unhappiness, happiness etc. Every day May must have felt something different that was causing her to feel down and have so much weight on her shoulders that she committed suicide. The fifth line “I am the rind she is discarding.” I think this applies to June because she always wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she wanted to marry Neil who was always bringing that into conversation and kind of forced her into the decision many times. After May passed away, she left a note reading for the sisters to go on with their lives and be happy, and she also encouraged June to marry Neil. I think the shell is the feelings and emotions June had that she has just discarded and is not moving on into a new life with her new husband. The last two lines can relate to August and her problems. The line reads, “Something is moving in the water, she is the hook I am the line.” This relates to August because I think that the hook is symbolizing that Lily is drowning in her own problems that she is facing and she doesn’t know how to handle them and August is somewhat of a savior or the line in this case to her. August is the one that is reeling her in and helping her little by little to overcome these problems or fears. August is sort of pulling Lily out of the water and rescuing her.
#4musketeers13
This poem and the characters from the Secret Life of Bees are very similar, especially Lily Owens. In paragraph 1, the quotes relates to T-Ray's relationship to Lily. Lily has to put up with T-Ray every day and almost always got punished for no serious reason, and straining Lily keeping her isolated from her mother. Paragraph 2 relates to Lily when T-Ray told her that Deborah left her. Lily was that "outer shell" that her mother has discarded from her life.
ReplyDeleteNot only does this poem about the 4 girls relate to Lily but it also relates to the Boatwright sisters. The quote "she are the hook, and I am the line" relates to the connection between May & April Boatwright. April, being the hook, is slowly reeling in May to the after-life to join her. May, struggling to get past the death of April, is letting herself getting reeled in, slowly. When April finally reels in her line, May joins her in the afterlife, leaving behind June & August. "I am the rind, she is discarding" relates to the relationship between Neil & June. June wasn't ready to have Neil as her husband so they constantly argued about it. Finally June was fed up with Neil so she never wanted to see him again. "I am the riddle, she is trying to answer" relates to August & Lily. The closest clue Lily had about her mother were the Boatwright sisters. Observing the trail of marshmallows & graham crackers, as well as the black Mary photo she found, and the one August makes. As Lily got closer and closer, August was starting to understand her story, even more
When you connect the dots in writing, symbolism can bring parallels between two writings into focus. There are many connections between the poem "4 Daughters" and the book The Secret Life of Bees. Each of the stanzas in the poem connects to Lily. "i am the sieve she strains from little by little every day." Lily is the sieve because each day she reveals to the calendar sisters little pieces of who she is. "I would have to come clean" (176). Lily finally understands that if she wants the truth, she must be truthful. Therefore, the calendar sisters are the "she" because they are slowly discovering who Lily is. "i am the rind she is discarding" is T. Ray because T. Ray is the piece of her life that Lily is “discarding.” Just as the rind is the piece of fruit that turns its sweetness bitter, T. Ray is the thing that adds bitterness to Lily’s life. As she discards T. Ray, her life changes from bitter to sweet. “i am the riddle she is trying to answer.” The riddle is the mystery that surrounds Lily's mother's life and death. Lily must find the answers to solve the riddle of who her mom was and how her mom died. "something is moving in the water," and that something is the truth. Just like a fish cannot be caught without a hook, the truth about her mother has evaded Lily because Lily never had a hook. August is the "she" in "she is the hook." Lily is the "line" because like a fishing line, she extends herself to learn the truth, but she cannot catch the truth without a hook.
ReplyDeleteAugust is not the only calendar sister represented in the poem. May is the sieve in “i am the sieve” because May’s pain and sadness are slowly “straining” through her, destroying her will to live. The "something moving in the water" is May's dead body. "May lay in two feet of water with a huge river stone on top of her chest" (192). The life has drained out of May, but her soul has floated to heaven where she is now with her twin, April. Despite their efforts to save May from her pain and sadness, August as the "hook," who is supported by the "line" (June), cannot catch May from sharing her twin’s same fate. June attempts to “discard" people because she has experienced bitterness in her life. First she tries to discard Lily because she’s white, and then she tries to discard Neil because she’s afraid of getting hurt again. June finally realizes she needs to discard her outer shell, which is her bitter "rind." When she sheds her rind, June learns "'... it's your time to live. Don't mess it up'" (211). June is ready embrace the sweetness of life. The symbolism represented in the poem can be extended to represent Lily and the calendar sisters.
Poems are very meaningful and can relate to most people’s lives. The poem “4 daughters” by Lucille Clifton relates to Lily’s life in many ways. It relates to Lily’s life because the poem is talking about how little by little people get closer even if separated. Lily’s life is related to the meaning of the poem because although she is separated from her mom, Deborah, she is still getting closer and closer to finding her or at least finding out what happened to her. In the text of The Secret Life of Bees, an example that shows how little is getting closer is when Lily says to herself “My mother couldn’t have learned the roach trick from May.” This quote is showing how little by little she is finding out that the Boatwright family has a lot of facts and information about her mother and that she is one step closer to finding out what happened to her mom. This poem can not only relate to Lily’s life but it can relate to all the books of the 39 clues series because little by little, each team found information that had to be used to find something out about their family history.
ReplyDeleteAll the Boatwright sisters work hard every day around the house and the farms to make sure that their family and each other can be safe and secure. The poem “4 daughters” by Lucille Clifton also has meaning to May, June, and August. I think it relates to these sisters because when May losses her life and leaves a note behind to the others, I think that is what inspires August and June to find out more about life and how to truly live it. The first section of the poem can be describing how although May has separated from the rest, as the days go on August and June shall realize that there is a special way to living life. On page 210, in May’s letter it says “It’s my time to die, and it’s your time to live. Don’t mess it up.” This specific quote inspires them little by little each day to live their lives while it’s their time to live. In the poem, you can consider May the line and August and June the hook because May is directed August and June to grasp on to something that will make it so they know it’s their time to live. This situation with all the sisters is not only connected to the quote but to veteran in an army because a veteran wants to allow people freedom in their country little by little each day and although they have to separate from their families and people they love, they do their job which is to separate the evil from their country.
4muskteers15
ReplyDeleteE
The poem The Four daughters has a lot to do with The Secret Life of Bees. In the poem, they talk about how “She is the hook, I am the line.” This means that Lily is the line holding everyone together, and August is the one bringing them together. This applies to Lily because she keeps everyone together, unlike before, everyone was out of shape, but now, they are becoming a much better world, one step at a time. One quote that supports me is found on page 72, it states, “The intake of June’s breath nearly sucked out the air from the room. ‘But, August’” This shows that before, the house was very prejudice against different races. Now, as stated on page 170, it states, “June stepped over them, too, and then, to my shock, she hugged me.” This shows that now she is keeping everyone together, much like the line. This reminds me of when at first I judge a book by a cover, but then, I give it a try, and it turns out to be a really great book! These relate because they both show how you should never judge a book by its cover, just like how June did to Lily, but Lily showed her differently.
This poem also applies to August, June, and May’s life. The title is Four Daughters. For one, there was four sisters in the book, just like as the title says. One quote that supports me is found on page 73, it states, “We had an April, too, but… she died when she was little.” This shows that were four sisters, like the title says. Another quote that supports me is found on page 249, it states, “I’ve thought hard about whether I should tell you.” This relates to when in the poem “She is trying to answer” because August is she, and she is trying to tell Lily. This reminds me of when in a movie, the main star withholds information from someone to protect them, because in both a movie and the story, they have the answer, but they have to give it at the right time.
The poem 4 daughters relates to Lily in the following ways. Lily must come to terms with her father T-Ray,"I am the rind she is discarding." In order to do this, she writes him a letter and says he is "despicable". She must accept that he never cared about her like a father should. An example of this is that he doesn't know her favorite color. Once she realizes this, she is ready to move on and not care about him. Her mom, Deborah, is the riddle that Lily is trying to answer. May tells her," Oh, yes, Deborah Fontanel. She stayed out there in the honey house." Lily will eventually find out the truth about her mother and answer the riddle.
ReplyDeleteThe poem 4 daughters also relates to August, June, and May's lives. August is the sieve that Lily strains from little by little everyday. August is helping Lily to move on with her life by giving her love, a place to a stay, and opening up her eyes to a whole new world so that she becomes a solid person who can move forward with hope and ambition, "I am the sieve she strains from little by little everyday."
August can also be the line which is strong and hooks into Lily by giving her strength and support, "something is moving in the water. she is the hook. i am the line." This quote also can relate to May who has committed suicide and is laying in the water. May is the line who is giving strength, almost spiritually, and giving support to the hooks who are June and August. In the book she says,"I am sorry to leave you like this. It's my time to die and your time to live. Don't mess it up." May is telling June and August to move on with their lives. June eventually will marry Neil. This reminds me of when my grandfather died and told me that he loved me, that I should happy, and that I shouldn't mess up! I was the hook and he was the line to support me.
The poem relates to Lily's life in different ways. In the poem, it says "I am the riddle she is trying to answer." Lily is looking for ways to answer her questions about her mother. "'I'm sure. I need to know-' 'You need to know what, Lily?' 'Everything'" Lily's mother is the riddle in her life. She needs to answer her questions, since T. Ray told her a different story than she thought was true. That's when she came and asked August. She finally got her answers to the riddle that is her mother. Also in the poem it says "she is the hook. I am the line". This relates to Lily's life because her mother is the reason that Lily found out about Tiburon, which makes her mother the hook. Lily is the line since she follows the picture and goes to Tiburon. That's how this poem relates to Lily's life.
ReplyDeleteThe poem relates to the life of the Boatwright sisters. "I am the sieve she strains from little by little everyday." That line relates to August because she is the in between of June and Lily. She is constantly the person who tries to control things between them. "I am the rind she is discarding." relates to June's life. She is trying to get Lily out of her life, or ignore Lily. She doesn't like Lily, so she tries to get rid of her by telling August. So, Lily is the rind that June is trying to discard, or get rid of. "Something is moving in the water." relates to May's life, and how she was found in the water. May died in the river, "May lay in two feet of water with a huge river stone on top of her chest." The water pertains to May's life, because that is how she chose to die. This poem relates to all the Boatwright sisters in some way.
This poem, “4 Daughters”, is very similar to Lily’s relationship to both T-Ray and her perception of her relationship to her mother. For example, the first stanza talks about the narrator being a sieve and being strained by a certain “she”. This person is never named, so it is unknown who they are or what relation they have to the narrator. The narrator can easily be replaced as Lily, and maybe the person being talked about is her father. T-Ray isn’t a she, but he does “strain” Lily, although not from a literal point obviously. T-Ray made Lily do hard work on the peach fields and he made Lily kneel on the Martha Whites every time she screwed up even a little bit. T-Ray uses Lily and punishes her for disobeying. I hope that this wasn’t a normal occurrence back then, and it was just used in the book so that nobody in real life had to suffer through that.
ReplyDeleteThe second stanza in this poem is incredibly short, but it says a lot about the narrator and the person being talked about. Lily probably thought this once or twice about her mother when she learned that she had left her with T-Ray. The poem says that “I [the narrator] am the rind she is discarding.” This is exactly what Lily thinks happened with her mother. Lily thinks that she is but the skin of a fruit, and her mother is throwing her away to go and live with the Boatwright’s. When August told Lily that her mother left her because she needed a break, Lily gets very upset, and it makes sense, too. If you were told that your mother left her abusive husband, you would probably say that that was okay unless you were the abusive husband. But if said mother did not take you away from your abusive father and left you there by yourself, I can understand why Lily is so upset. I’ve seen a lot of instances where the man of the family is the one that leaves/gets kicked out. You don’t really here of too many cases where the woman leaves. Regardless of gender, you should not leave a child with only one parent, and certainly not with an abusive one such as T-Ray.
Lily’s life is a very complicated and twisted childhood. Many things have happened with her mother, father, and Rosaleen. This poem tells about Lily’s life with her mother and father. “I am the rind, she is discarding.” Lily in this case is the rind, the fruit peel, and “she” is Lily’s mother. As T. Ray explains to Lily about her mother and how she left her it sounded more like Deborah was running away from not only T. Ray but Lily as well. As if she didn’t care about Lily, well at least not enough to leave her behind. When the poem talks about a rind being discarded by “she”, it made me think of Lily being discarded by her mother. T. Ray told Lily “The woman could have cared less about you.” Also, in the poem when it states “I am the sieve, she strains from, little by little, and every day” it made me think of Lily’s adventure in discovering about her mother. From the first day she found the box of her mother’s belongings, till staying at the house that her mother stayed in when she was a child. Lily has come a long way, and she is still finding more and more information about her mother little by little. “Oh, yes, Deborah Fontanel. She stayed out there in the honey house.” This poem I think related more to the Boatwright sisters rather than Lily. I could relate to her mother, but couldn’t really find much. I also never really understood poems in general. I know that poems send messages and I didn’t understand this message too well. But if there was something to relate this poem to, it would be the novel The secret Life of Bees of course.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is the perfect poem for The Secret Life of Bees. Well, first of all the title of the poem applies to the Boatwright family. The title is “4 Daughters” as in May, April, June, and August. Second, when Lucille Clifton said “Something is moving, in the water. She is the hook. I am the line.” May is the “something” moving in the water when she committed suicide in the river. The hook is attached to May. May waits for a nibble, an opportunity to let the fish of the river take her away to her April. The line is August and June, trying to reel the hook up to see if the bait, May, is intact, but the fish were too fast this time. I think that it was a good thing for May to leave. She is in a better place now with her twin sister April, and her parents, and Big Mama. The way she would react every day to everyone else’s pain was enough and getting old for her. She needed a place where she can feel her emotions for herself. It was so much for her to handle, and was time for her to let go of everyone else’s feelings and think about her own self. I think that this poem was meant especially for this book, because it perfectly describes The Secret Life of Bees. The poem relates to many things that come to mind from the book. I personally thought the poem was ok. If you didn’t read The Secret Life of Bees it would be hard to relate to the poem. But this poem is not one of my favorites in general.