Character Evaluation of August Boatwright from The Secret Life of Bees
August Boatwright
Caring - “Displaying kindness and concern for others” (Google). In the novel The Secret Life of Bees this is the perfect adjective to describe August Boatwright. This is shown by how she interacts with the bees, how she is comforting and patient towards May, and most of all, how she helps Lilly. August is kind and carrying to the bees. She never uses the smoke unless it is completely necessary and she does not get angry when they sting her because she understands why they might have. She even throws parties celebrating what a great year they had, “But really I’m sure it was because she loved throwing a little end-of-the-year party for her bees, seeing them descend on the supers like they’d discovered honey heaven” (Kidd 132). But to be a caring person, you have to be caring to more than one thing. August is an extremely comforting and caring sister to May. Even though May can be quite a handful, August is patient enough to deal with her issues and help her with them. Whenever May starts singing “Oh Susana!”, or sees something on TV that makes her cry August is almost always there to help her calm down and send her to the wailing wall. Also August was willing to paint their house that terrible Caribbean Pink just to make May happy, “‘I thought, “Well, this is the tackiest color I’ve ever seen, and we’ll have half the town talking about us, but if it can lift May’s heart like that, I guess she ought to live inside it.”’” (Kidd 147). This shows August is willing to put others first, and understand what matters and what does not, like making someone who is almost always sad happy and the color of a house.
August is most caring towards Lilly. August gives Lily a home, knowing she was lying to her about why she was at her house. She refused to make her feel unwelcome like June did, instead she opened her arms to Lilly. When Lilly told August that she had killed her own mother and broken Rosaleen out of jail August still comforted and loved
Caring - “Displaying kindness and concern for others” (Google). In the novel The Secret Life of Bees this is the perfect adjective to describe August Boatwright. This is shown by how she interacts with the bees, how she is comforting and patient towards May, and most of all, how she helps Lilly. August is kind and carrying to the bees. She never uses the smoke unless it is completely necessary and she does not get angry when they sting her because she understands why they might have. She even throws parties celebrating what a great year they had, “But really I’m sure it was because she loved throwing a little end-of-the-year party for her bees, seeing them descend on the supers like they’d discovered honey heaven” (Kidd 132). But to be a caring person, you have to be caring to more than one thing. August is an extremely comforting and caring sister to May. Even though May can be quite a handful, August is patient enough to deal with her issues and help her with them. Whenever May starts singing “Oh Susana!”, or sees something on TV that makes her cry August is almost always there to help her calm down and send her to the wailing wall. Also August was willing to paint their house that terrible Caribbean Pink just to make May happy, “‘I thought, “Well, this is the tackiest color I’ve ever seen, and we’ll have half the town talking about us, but if it can lift May’s heart like that, I guess she ought to live inside it.”’” (Kidd 147). This shows August is willing to put others first, and understand what matters and what does not, like making someone who is almost always sad happy and the color of a house.
August is most caring towards Lilly. August gives Lily a home, knowing she was lying to her about why she was at her house. She refused to make her feel unwelcome like June did, instead she opened her arms to Lilly. When Lilly told August that she had killed her own mother and broken Rosaleen out of jail August still comforted and loved