The Secret Life of Bees

 Author: Sue Monk Kidd

 Question: Rosaleen spat on the three white men's shoes when they insulted her. Do you think what she did was right? How much courage do you think she needed to do what she did? If you were Rosaleen, would you have done the same?  

Rosaleen, being a black woman with a bad temper, acted before she thought, and spat on the three white men's shoes. Unfortunately for her, one of these three men was the meanest in the whole town. After the man ordered Rosaleen to apologize, Rosaleen stood her ground and ignored him. Being the cruel man that he was, he commanded his fellow friends to beat her up. This resulted in Rosaleen being taken to jail and after, to the hospital. Lily, the girl that Rosaleen has been taking care of since she was a little girl, decided to help Rosaleen and sneaked Rosaleen out of the hospital. However, what Rosaleen did lead Lily to the story of her mother and therefore, in a way, what Rosaleend did was right.

I think that what she did was right because she stood her ground and didn't let the three men bully her. However, I do admit that what Rosaleen did was a bit foolish because during that time, black people and people of other races did not respond to these remarks or people. Nonetheless, what she did was courageous because no one would have done that and she stood up for herself and did what she believed in.

I think Rosaleen needed a lot of courage to do what she did because in those days, people who weren't white did not do that sort of things (spitting on other people's shoes). Even though there was no law, it was like the black people and people of other races were forbidded to commit such crimes. According to Rosaleen's reckless personality, it would not seem unusual for her to do such a thing. She was the kind of person who, if you told her not to do something, she would want to do it even more. For example, if you told her not to fight white people, no matter what you say, she would still want to do it. If it was another person instead of Rosaleen who was insulted, I am quite sure that they would not have had the same courage to spit on the men's shoes.

If I was in Rosaleen's position and had just been insulted by three white men, I would not do what Rosaleen did. However, I would have anger boiling inside of me but I would not take out my anger on the men because that would just make matters worse. If I had done what Rosaleen did, not only would I have to go to jail, I would also go to the hospital. If I had gone to the hospital, I wouldn't be the only one who would get in troube because Lily would sneak me out of the hospital and be yelled at by her father. However, because Rosaleen did what she did and because Lily sneaked Rosaleen out of the hospital, that was how Lily learned about her mother and learned to worship the Black Mary.