Everyone has a secret life that they keep hidden from the rest of the world. Lies are told daily to keep these lives hidden in darkness. In The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, bees have the most secret lives of all. They each have their own specific role to play deep within the hive. It is obvious that the author had wanted some of her characters to represent the roles that these buzzing insects must dutifully perform at every duty. Lily and Zach are the field bees, August is a nurse bee, and the Lady of Chains is the queen bee. Field bees have great navigation skills and tireless hearts. Every day they go out into the fields, collect the nectar and pollen from all the flowers and return them to their hive. Lily and Zach both have great navigation skills and tireless hearts. Not to mention, they come out every day to help collect all the honey from the fields, just like bees collect nectar and pollen. Lily traveled from Sylvan, Georgia, to Tiburon, South Carolina, without much help. This requires a lot of luck and at least a little skill. Zach travels throughout South Carolina in his truck daily throughout the summer to harvest honey. Both have the ability to orient themselves. Lily's tireless heart is always seeking the love of her father, whom she calls T. Ray, no matter how many times he crushes her with his words and actions. In the novel, Lily even says, “Thirty two names for love. Was it unthinkable that he could tell me one, even one reserved for minor things like peanuts in Coca-Cola? Lily would accept any glimmer of hope that might mean T. Ray loved her. Even after T. Ray abused her mentally and physically, Lily's heart still… middle of paper… sent the queen bee in every way. People share their secret lives without even talking about it. All it takes is a look or a feeling to see that others have faced similar situations and problems, some people even live parallel lives. Despite the fact that many people believe that it is impossible for a miserable insect, like a bee, to know the pain and hardships that a human being faces, Sue Monk Kidd proves them wrong with her book The Secret Life of Bees. In his novel he derives many of his characters from the types of bees that exist in a hive. Lily and Zach have characteristics similar to those of field bees, August has the caring personality of a nurse bee, and the Lady of Chains is revered by her subjects just as a queen bee is in her hive. Nowadays, no one ever faces a problem that someone, or something, has already faced. No one really has a secret life of their own.