What if you lost your mother, your father didn't show any affection or love, and you had no one to trust but your housekeeper? How would you feel? In the novel "Secret Life of Bees" a teenage girl named Lily goes through that. Her mother Deborah died, leaving her father T.Ray to take care of her but her housekeeper Rosaleen cares for Lily. There are many themes in the novel "Secret Life of Bees" like Female Power/Black Mary, Mothers and many others. The major themes that will be focused on is Racism/Prejudice and Forgiveness. In chapter five when Lily overhears August and June talk about her, she is offended when June says "But she's white." Because of the time period taken place in the novel, Lily isn't used to her not being wanted because of her skin color. It's mostly Rosaleen and other colored people mistreated by the white people. She didn't think it could ever happen to her. She also understands that racism can work both ways from June.
In chapter seven, Lily meets Zach, a negro teenage boy who works for August. He wants to become a Lawyer and changes how Lily sees the world when she tells him she never heard a black lawyer before. Towards the end of chapter seven, the beginning of chapter eight, Zach gets arrested when he doesn't rat out who threw the glass bottle at the police officer. Being in jail makes Zach different and Lily finds how horrible racism can be. Zach becomes more determined to become a lawyer and fight the racism. Lily gets more racial messages from the policeman and the receptionist who says she should call her family and leave as soon as possible. Lily always watching news about their color getting beaten by her color makes her sad for them. In the end of the novel Lily is proud to be living with the Boatwright sisters. Lily believes one day she and Zach can be together without being judged. She realized that it is a community she loves and that it does not matter that her "family" members are black and she is white.