Bee Season Chapter Summary

Form/Structure, Plot
Bee Season is organized in chronological order, which helps the reader to understand the complex series of events that Eliza Naumann and her family encounter. The form of the novel does not include any chapter breaks, only breaks that transition the point of view or a major elapse of time. This is interesting because instead of separating events like chapter breaks normally do, the book is separated by characters, showing more emphasis towards character development. There are multiple plots in the novel, the main one being Eliza's journey through the spelling bees and eventually through Jewish mysticism and her growth as an individual. However, there area also three lesser plots, which are Aaron's spiritual investigation
All that the reader learns of and from the characters is included in the story; nothing can be learned from their lack of information, mostly because all aspects of the person are investigated. For the most part the characters' personalities are revealed through the speaker's description of their thoughts and current feelings on the present situation. Other aspects of their personalities can be learned through their actions, such as Miriam's insecurity which is expressed through her kleptomania and breaking into houses. Little information can be derived about the main characters by what they wear, but for the supporting this is not necessarily true. An example of this is Chali and his fellow temple-mates. They're sole purpose in the novel is to help Aaron along on his spiritual journey and their clothing (the traditional robes of their religion) shows that they are totally devoted to their religion. Eliza, as the protagonist, is the most in-depth of the characters, and most of what is learned about her through the course of the novel is from what the narrator speaks of her thoughts and her feelings. Eliza is the most complex of all the characters and also the most interesting. Aaron, Miriam, and Saul are all of about the same complexity and are only slightly simpler than Eliza in their characterization. The lesser characters, such as Chali or Ms. Bergermeyer, are much simpler and very little of their personality is explored. In the case of Chali this portion of him is his religious philosophy, and in Ms. Bergermeyer it is merely her opinion of Eliza as either a mediocre student, or an exceptional