Besides a home the color of Pepto-Bismal, Lily and Rosaleen have no idea what to expect when they meet August, May, and June Boatwright.
Your Required Response Instructions: (use textual evidence)
- What do you think of the new characters? What are they like?
- Can you compare any of them to characters in other books? Which character is your favorite? Least favorite?
Besides a home the color of Pepto-Bismol, Lily and Rosaleen have no idea what to expect when they meet August, May, and June Boatwright. These new characters seem very welcoming at first, well most of them. You could automatically notice that August was the oldest by the way she told her sisters to do things. She was sweet and loving, but by far her best quality was being unperturbed all the time. June was the middle child, and a little stand-offish. Then there was May who you could see there was something wrong with. She was the youngest. If I tried to compare the calendar sisters to characters in any other books that I have read, I wouldn’t be able to. I have never read a book like this and none of the characters were anything like them. I think my favorite character, so far, is August because she is very unperturbed and calm and loving. She’s also very easy-going, which is a very good quality to have. My least favorite character, right now, is June. I don’t like June very much because he is agitated by Lily and Rosaleen’s being there, almost as if they were intruding. You could also see the orneriness in her, which didn’t look flattering.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed thoughts of the Boatwright sisters. August is very concerned about the welfare of Rosaleen and Lily and is very welcoming to the guests. June is cold-shouldered and rude to Lily and Rosaleen, and May is confused, but sweet and kind to the two. I think they are a very interesting trio, all with different characteristics. They almost balance each other out. May’s overwhelming emotions make up for June’s none, and August’s hospitality makes up for June’s non-existing kindness. I can almost, sort of compare May to Nicole Renard. Nicole is very misunderstood after the issue with Larry LaSalle. Nobody can understand her because nobody really knows her pain. May is left alone mostly, because, again, nobody knows how she is feeling because of an issue in her past.
ReplyDeleteSo far I think that the characters have very distinct and strong personalities that really define who they are. August acts like a mentor towards Lily. She has taken her under her wing and helped show her the ropes of the honey making process which is very sweet of her. Also, she has let Lily in on many family secrets which is a hard thing to do. It was also very nice of her to let two complete strangers into her home. And for this she is my favorite. May is the sensitive sister. After her twin sister April died, all the world's pain and suffering seems to transfer itself into May. Finally there's June. I've noticed that she doesn't like having Lily and Rosealeen staying with her and her sisters. In my eyes, she is the complete and utter opposite of August in that respect. She doesn't seem to be all the sensative or emotional like May either. I have to say that June would be my least favorite of the sisters.
ReplyDeleteI think that the new characters are a little odd. Who names their kids May June and August? Also who has a bright pink house? I think that is a little odd. They seem nice in the long run though. May is a little weird though.
ReplyDeleteI cannot compare them to any other characters in the book yet. My favorite is probably August. she seems nice and funny. My least favorite is definetly May. She really annoys me. She always acts bipolar not to be mean or anything but it is very odd and it would annoy me if I was there.
I think that the new characters are good people. May is a bit off her rocker, June is suspicous of lily because she is white, and August seems to be the most normal out of the sisters. Mrs. Boatwright seems to be very nice. After all she is letting 2 strangers stay in her home.
ReplyDeleteThese characters remind me of people from other stories too. May reminds me of that guy Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the chocolate factory. He is kind of stupid and so is she so they are like 2 peas in a pod. June reminds me of Grumpy from Snow White. I say this because she seems mad since lily and rosaleen arrived, just like grumpster when snow white got there. August reminds me of stuart little because she is cool calm and collected just like the little mouse. And Mrs. Boatwright reminds me of that chick Aunt Jemima. She is so jolly just like jemima. Im talking about the one on the maple syrup container. Thank you.
August is the oldest of the Boatwright sisters. She is like the "parent" or the one in charge of decisions around the house. She understands almost anything and has patience. June is a little more stubborn. She has been going out with a guy for a long while but has deaclined every possible marrige request. She isn't as accepting as August and is more "delicate" to handle. May is normal when she doesn't cry. Her usual self is like a regular normal person. But when she hears a sad story or news, she begins to hum "oh susane" to hold in her tears. She doesn't have the "protection coat" for her feelings around her heart so June and August must handle her with the most care and caution in the world. To her sad feelings, she writes on peice of paper the headline of the bad news and sticks it in her "wall." The wall helps her forget the feelings and calm down. I think August is like the George in Of Mice and Men because she looks after her sisters. May is like the Lennie because she needs special attention and caution. She is also quite strong just like Lennie. I think June relates to Francis. Francis is a bit haunted by his past. So, I think June is similar because she doesn't want to get married anymore. This comes from the past when her spouse, during her last marrige, never showed up.
ReplyDeleteThe three new characters, August, May, and June all have different personalities. August is the most normal out of the calender sisters. She welcomed the two of them into their pink house. "Well, you can stay here till you figure out what to do. We can't have you living on the side of the road," said August.
ReplyDeleteMay is very emotional and cries for every single problem. "May did fine, but bring up an emotional topic like Rosaleen's head full of stitches or tomatoes having rot bottom and May would start humming Oh Susanna. It seemed to be her personal way of of warding off crying," is found on pg 85. This affects the way she sleeps aswell because she gets scared when she is sleeps alone.
June is more of an angered person to Lily and Rosaleen. From the start since Lily came into her world, she didn't want them there. "I wished June with her whip would grin, too, but she only looked annoyed," found on pg 69.
I can't compare them to any character in the books we have read because they are too different. The character I dislike is June because she is always mean sand annoyed around Lily. August is my favorite because she is normal. May is alright, just i would really get annoyed of her from singing "Oh Susanna" over and over again.
In my opinion, I love the new characters. August, June, May, Neil, and Zach. I like how all of the characters have different attitudes. August is wise, June is stressed and sometimes mean, but I know she still has some nice in her, May is a little crazy for reasons in her childhood. Neil sounds like a fun loving guy who's fun to hangout with. My favorite character is Zach. He's sweet, cool, and just awesome. He understands everyone and he has different thoughts towards life than a normal Negro. Zach compares to Lennie in my eyes. Lennie and Zach both have dreams that could come true someday. I don't really have a least favorite character, Neil doesn't really reveal too much about himself so I'd have to choose him.
ReplyDeleteAll the new characters are really interesting and I hope to learn more about them in later chapters.
I enjoy reading about the mysterious characteristics each of the Boatwrights possess. Their names are all very unique, and I can easily distinguish the difference between each character, even if I forgot who is who, based on their characteristics. August seems very unperturbed, since she's probably gotten so used to living with her sisters. She is the oldest of the sisters, and a beekeeper. She is a deep thinker, spiritual, and great at telling stories. May is also a Boatwright, and had a twin sister who died at 15. She is abnormally sensitive and caring, and possesses a childlike nature. When upset, since she is very sensitive, she sings “Oh! Susanna” to try to focus her mind elsewhere. When her twin, April, passed away, it seems as if the weight of the world was placed on her soul. June Boatwright, is a school teacher and places the cello at nursing homes and hospitals where people are dying. She is bitter towards Lily, and refuses to marry after being left years ago.
ReplyDeleteI can compare August with Larry LaSalle, from the book Heroes. Although LaSalle was the antagonist of the book, and August is the protagonist, they both had similar qualities. They both are very influential and persuasive, as well as sometimes speak in hidden meanings. August was a big impact on Lily's life, just like LaSalle impacted Francis's life. Currently, my favorite character in the book is August because she seems so unperturbed by everything, and tells great stories. The author does a great job of vividly painting me a picture of what she looks like. My least favorite character is June because she is very mysterious. Also, she is very bitter towards Lily, and I don't think she should dislike Lily without even getting to know her.
I think that the new characters are interesting and provide a new perspective into the book. We have the calm, collected and caring sister August “August is so intelligent, so cultured”, the slightly crazy sister May “She smiled at us, one of those odd grins that let you know that she was not an altogether normal person”, and the distrusting one June “ I wish June with her whip would grin, too, but she only looked annoyed”.
ReplyDeleteI compare August to Mr. Frank of the Diary of Anne Frank. Both characters defend their own and comfort them in tough times and keep a cool head. They are both the leader of their family and friends. However, I like August the least out of the three sisters, because I don’t normally like the mediator in books. So far, May is my favorite sister. Wackiness changes the mood of the story back and forth a lot, and her innate state of niceness to all makes her a sympathetic person.
One of the new characters in the book is Zach. He seems to be a very nice and respectful guy. Zach and Lily kind of have a thing going on, but the trouble is, is that he is African American, and Liy is white, and there is just no way that they could be together. It is kind of sad though because they really like eachother.
ReplyDeleteZach to me is like Francis in a way because they are both very nice and hard workers. Also they both like a girl, and for both of them it is hard to be together with the girls, in a relationship type of way.
I think the new characters are diverse. "May was simple minded." May is not really intelligent and see tends to cry a lot. To get rid of her crying, she sings "Oh! Susanna". She is easy to get along with and it shows when Rosaleen spend the day with her in the kitchen. August is the other sister, and is very friendly. She took in Lily and Rosaleen knowing that no one else would take them in. She is loving even when bees sting her and is a hard worker. "She keeps 48 hives strewn through the woods... another 280 were parceled out on various farms..." August had to care over 300 hives everyday and it takes dedication to do that. June is a little unfriendly. She doesn't like Lily becuase he is white. She is a teacher and plays for the dead people.
ReplyDeleteJune is like Nicole in Heroes. They both want nothing to do with the main character. June wants Lily to leave the house and go back home while Nicole left the town that Francis lived in. They both rather make the main characters leave them forever. My favorite character is May becuase she is playful and you can get along with her easily. My least favorite character is June. She is not friendly and doesn't seem like a person I would like to be acquainted with.
I like the Boatwright sisters. They are very kind for letting Lily and Rosaleen stay with them. June seems like she doesn't really like Lily very much at first but I think she'll warm up to her. I like August, she seems very kind and loving of her sisters and she seems to like Lily a lot. August is my favorite. My least favorite of the Calendar Sisters is May. She is very sensitive and depressed most of the time. She's upset because she is still emotional about April's suicide. I understand why she's sad but she should get over it just like June and August did. I think that May and Nicole Renard of Heroes are somewhat similar. They both have dealt with a problem and they both try to escape. Nicole escapes by disappearing and May escapes by being sad all the time and eliminating fun from her life.
ReplyDeleteWhen Rosaleen and Lily arrive, June seems rude and uneasy. She does not want them staying there and does not have open arms. August on the other hand, seems very open to the idea and cares for the 3 refuges. I think this really shows each characters thoughts and shows the true sympathy August has and also shows that June is mean. Lily finds that may is not "normal" and is just not together. When May has a breakdown, it shows that she is very emotionally unstable and has insecuritys.
ReplyDeleteAugust seems kind, and the sky is the limit to her knowledge. She is welcoming, and doesn't push, but does make an effort to get you on the right track, when you veer off the road. She respects opinions, and answers questions. August cares about people, and has a heart like the Black Mary. May is sweet, always caring about others. She helps take pain and burden off your chest. She divided your pain into two, because she is sharing your pain. May is naive at times, although you got to love her. May has a sense of taste, and a love for food. She likes to cook, and has to have 'the ideal banana' for breakfast ever morning. I think she does this to keep her mind active and busy, to take it off of the pain. June is harder to get along with, if you aren't on her 'good' side. Lily, for instance, is not in that category. June has a heart, but sometimes she doesn't show it. Although she can be rude, she doesn't mean to. She tries her best to be nice, but the truth always comes out one way or another. Its a fact, that a person's true opinion of you comes out in the first 2 seconds of when they look you in the eyes. I can imagine a flicker of disgust in June's eyes first, when she looks Lily in the eyes, but they they turn softer. May is my favorite character, because she is innocent and kind. She shares your pain, and honestly tries her hardest to do things. She isn't like June, who is picky with people, and she isn't like August, who seems to know everything about you!
ReplyDeleteThe Calender Sisters are mostly kind and welcoming. "Well, you can stay here till you figure out what to do. We can't have you living on the side of the road," said August. The sisters are extremely nice to let Rosaleen and Lily stay with them. August is very caring and outgoing. June seems very angry all the time. Nothing seems to make her happy, not even her family. May seems scared of life itself. Whenever she see or hears about nothing sad, she freaks out. I feel that June is similar to George from Of Mice and Men. Both of them are upset, mean, and angry. They are never delightful or in a good mood. My favorite character is August. August is intelligent and nice. She treats people greatly. August is overall a fantastic person. My least favorite character is June. June is always mad and doesn't lighten up to people. She was not kind from the beginning. I don't like people who treat people terribly.
ReplyDeleteThe new characters seem nice and humble. They are welcoming to Lily and Rosaleen when they first arrive and allow them to stay in there house. August (the oldest) is generous and respectful. June (the middle) seems shaken by the fact Lily and Rosaleen came to them for living space. May (the youngest) juist wants to become great friends with them.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of the sisters is August. August is the most responsible, caring, and friendly of the sisters. She is willing to talk is someone is upset abput something and can keep to herself.
The calendar sisters are all very unique and special in their own way. The oldest sister August is the sister that takes care of the bees and makes honey. She has bee farms all over South Carolina and she makes Black Madonna Honey. August is the main sister in charge; she runs the household and keeps everybody and everything in line. Ever since August was a young girl she loved to read and she still does. August is very kind, caring, and a wonderful person all around. She is the most friendly and outgoing out of all the girls. June is the middle sister and she is a teacher and plays the cello. She is very stubborn and sometimes can come off rude or unkind, but she is a good person at heart. She has no problem expressing her opinions and she will tell you straight up how she feels. She never sugar coats anything. May the youngest sister is very sweet but extremely sensitive. It is almost like she feels others pains when they are sad or something bad has happened. May is very kind and nice but she can’t hear sad news or she becomes overwhelmed and cry’s for hours if not calmed down. “ The first week with August was a consolation and pure relief. The calendar sisters just took us in.” Lilly said. This shows how kind and accepting the sisters were to Lilly are Rosaleen, they could have turned them away but they allowed them to stay until they were ready to leave. They feed them, and supplied them with necessities. This was very kind of the Boatwright sisters.
ReplyDeleteAugust the oldest sister reminds me of Mrs. Flowers for many reasons. She reminds me of her because she is very kind and wise. She gives people good advice and helps them to find their true identity. They both help people to overcome tough and hard obstacles in their life. August and Mrs. Flowers were both well respected in their community and were very kind. June the middle sister reminds me of Anne Frank in many ways. June and Anne are very much alike because they can be very stubborn and sometimes come off mean. For example, Lilly thinks that June really dislikes her because of the way she treats Lilly. Anne also told her mother that she loved her father more and they were constantly fighting. Both Ann and June are stubborn but good and heart and mean well. They sometimes just come off rude or mean but their hearts are in the right place. May the youngest sister remind me a lot of Lennie because they both are a little different. Lennie and May are adults but act as if they were children and they don’t really understand some things. Both May and Lennie are very kind and good people and always-mean well they are just a little different.
The new character have gotten me excited! Finally the story is going to really start. August is patient and always calm. When Lily and Rosaleen showed up at her doorstep all ragged, she barely blinked an eye. June on the other hand was furious. She obviously wanted nothing to do with them, giving them cold looks the entire time she was in their presence. And May was so sweet. She was happy to have company and greeted both Rosaleen and Lily with open arms. Though her mind works a little differently, her sweetness rubbed off on me.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the characters my favorite is May. She's so innocent and sweet, though it's hard to call her naive. Since she feels more pain than anyone. I can't say that I have a least favorite character. It's hard not to like August, since she takes them in without hesitation. But, there is something about June that I like. I feel that perhaps she was just trying to protect her sisters. It's hard to be angry with her if you look at it from that angle.
Comparing them to other characters seems almost impossible. Each one is their own person, with their different quirks and personalities. I suppose I can compare August to Mr. Van Daan, since he was also always calm and collected. June has a temper, just like Anne Frank. And neither of them are afraid to show it. I can;t quite put my finger on who May relates to, since she is unique in a whole different way.
In attempt to learn more about her mother`s life, Lily visits Tiburon, where she meets the Boatwright sisters. May, June, and August ship and collect Black Madonna honey. The image on the label is of black Mary, the same woman found in one of Lily`s pictures from her mother. August is the most outgoing and poius of all the sisters. August is my favorite of all the sisters because she seems the most caring and postive of them all. May is some what timid and emotional. May is similar to Nicole from the book heroes because she seems to be sensitive and hurt. June is the most secretive and quite of all the sisters. She is my least favorite because she doesnt seem too sociable or welcoming toward her new guests.
ReplyDeleteBesides the house being the color of Pepto-Bismal, Lily and Rosaleen have no idea what to expect when they meet August, May, and June Boatwright. When i first encountered the characters, I felt that they would not welcome Lily into their home, but they proved differently. They opened they're arms to her and treated her like long time friends. Like August said, "Well, you can stay here till you figure out what to do. We can't have you living on the side of the road." I can compare May to Lennie in "Of Mice and Man" because they are both very nice and friendly, but have some problems that make them different from other people. My favorite character is August because of her kindness and hospitality. She openly accepted Rosaleen and Lily into their house without any questions. My least favorite character is June because of her sassy attitude towards Lily, but she is respectful to Rosaleen. It angers me that she doesn't treat them both the same way, and accept Lilly as August did.
ReplyDeleteThe three Boatwrite sisters are June, May, and August as well. They are all very important characters in the book so far and more in the future of the book as well. June is what I think the oldest out of all of the three sisters. June is the only one of the three sisters that is questioning the whole Rosaleen and Lilly running away situation. Now August is running the whole bee farms that she has set through out all of South Carolina. August has an old red pick up truck that she drives back and forth from bee farm to bee farm collecting honey, collecting wax, and making sure that all of the bees are comfortable in there hive. And last but not least is May. May is the most sensitive out of all of the three sisters. When May hears of any type of bad news, such as a death of anybody, she would immediately burst into tears. It would take June and August both to try to calm her down. Or she would head out to her whaling wall, where she would sit there and she would shed her tears there where she would not bother any one. I like most of the Boatwrite sisters equally. But my favorite one is most likely, June. Because she is the one that is adding more "flavor" to the book. Because she is the only one questioning the whole Lilly situation. This kind of makes the story more of a mystery because June is most likely going to attempt to find out where Lilly is really coming from and why is she her, at Tiburon. My least favorite character is May because she is very sensitive. I don't really like sensitive people because they spend most of the book crying or in this situation the Whaling Wall.
ReplyDeleteBesides a home the color of Pepto-Bismal, Lily and Rosaleen have no idea what to expect when they meet August, May, and June Boatwright and neither do the readers. At first, I thought all of the “calendar sisters” would be kind and welcome Lily and Rosaleen into their home. But that was not the case. One sister, June, does not welcome the two new comers into their home. She seemed to be a little rude and unwelcoming. I think that it was wrong of June to make Lily and Rosaleen feel as if they were unwanted. August on the other hand, is very welcoming to Lily and Rosaleen. She gives them a place to sleep and gives them a tour around her estate. I think it was very kind of her to welcome them into her home and give them a place to stay. I would definitely say that at this point in the novel, August is my favorite character! The last Boatwright sister is May. May also accepts Lily and Rosaleen for who they are. May is a very sensitive person and isn’t like most people. She has many internal problems and lets it all out at her wailing wall. I think that May carries too much problems on her shoulders and needs to talk to someone. I definitely think that all three of the Boatwright sisters have completely different characters and are all their own person.
ReplyDeleteThe three sisters can definitely compare to characters in other novels. I would compare August to Mr. Frank in the Diary of Anne Frank. This is because both of these characters are sort of in control of the houses they live in. They are both very welcoming of new people in their home, or hiding spot and treat everyone that comes by equally. Like I said before, I would definitely consider August as my favorite character in this novel. The next sister, June, I would compare to Curley in Of Mice and Men. I would do this because both of them are unwelcoming. Curley is unwelcoming to Lennie and George when they come from the town of Weed to work on his ranch. This reminds me of June so much because she is unwelcoming to Lily and Rosaleen when they want to work on the Boatwright estate. If I had to compare anyone to May, it would be Lennie. This is because they are both ‘special.’ They don’t think like everyone else and are very slow in their thought process. If I had to pick my least favorite character in the book of The Secret Life of Bees I would chose June. This is because of how rude she is and unwelcoming to Lily and Rosaleen.
i think that the new charecters are all very nice and are very gracios. They are letting a complete stranger into there house and providing a shelter.August is the leader of the household and June and may are just knid of the helpers or the side crew.August really reminds me of Mr.frank becuase they both run the household and are in charge and call the shots. I really dislike June because right of the bat she gave an attitude to lily and treated her poorly. My favorie charecter out of these is August because she is so nice and caring to lily and rose.
ReplyDeleteI like the new characters. Zach is very interesting and adds a lot of fun to the story. May although she gets sad a lot is a very interesting character, and gets along great with Rosaleen. June is often grumpy and greatly dislikes Lily. Then there is August who is a kind soul that loves to express herself.
ReplyDeleteMy least favorite character is June. She does absolutely nothing to make the story better. My favorite character is Zach. That is because he has great aspirations to become something he loves. Actually he reminds me of the people from the little rock nine. How they really just want to better themselves and don't care what other people think.
I like august alot because she has open arms to both rosaleen and lily even though she knows they are lying aboat there situation. June is a mean woman who only cares aboat her sister and has no care for lily and rosoleen. she stoped the music right when lily was going to touch the heart of black mary.. May i like alot also. Her and rosoleen Hit it of big and may is very nice to lily also she made the l is for lily pancake.
ReplyDeleteAugust is my favorate then may and then june.
What I think of August, May and June Boatwright is that they're all different in many ways. August is the nice one. She doesn't get in anyone's face and the better cook of the three of them. June is the melo sister. Except when she gets into fights with her boyfriend, Neil, because then she becomes angry and mean. she is my least favorite. May is the kind one. She cares for her sisters and her guests, she never wants to fight and she is sweet and gentle to everyone even through her bad childhood. I like her and August the most.
ReplyDeleteWhen Lily Owens and Rosaleen Daise go to the Boatwright sisters’ house, they have no idea what to expect. The only reason that they chose to go there of all places is because Lily thinks that they will know something about her mother. This is only based on a picture of a colored Mary on August’s honey jars. Lucky for Lily and Rosaleen, they are welcomed into the house with open arms. Together, the three sisters, August, June and May are known as the “calendar sisters”. August is the woman who actually welcomes Lily into her home. August works as a beekeeper and honey maker on a 28-acre farm she inherited from her grandfather. By selling honey and bee wax, she supports herself and sisters, as well as Lily and Rosaleen, once they come to stay at her house. August created an alternate religion for herself and her friends based around a statue of a black. She taught Lily about this religion, as well as about beekeeping and love. June is less welcoming towards Lily. She isn’t happy because Lily is white and makes it very clear. June plays cello to dyeing people in her free time. She is also “courting” with a man named Neil, whom she refuses to marry. The third of the calendar sisters is May. When Lily first encounters May she states that May “smiles at us, one of those odd grins that let you know she was not an altogether normal person.” May used to have a twin sister, April, who committed suicide. April and May were extremely close, and since the incident May hasn’t acted the same. When May got upset, she sang “Oh Suzanna!” and went to the “wailing wall”. May and Rosaleen became close, and spent much of their time cooking for the other ladies.
ReplyDeleteThe characters of this book remind me of characters from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The three sisters remind me of the three characters that helped Dorothy get to the wizard. In this case, Dorothy would be Lily and finding and talking to the wizard would be Lily finding out about her mother. In the book, Dorothy encounters a living Scarecrow, a man made entirely of tin and a cowardly lion. In the Wizard of Oz, these three characters all have different traits that they bring to the table. I feel like this would be like the Boatwright sisters. They all have unique characteristics about them that will shape the novel. Also, the scarecrow, tin-man and lion all gain something from spending time with Dorothy. I think that all three sisters will learn life lessons from Lily, even if it was unintentional.
In the book "The Secret Life OF bees" they finally introduced new characters. They introduced three new characters they are August, May, and June. So far I like them they are very different then any other character. August seems like a caring loving type of person who you can trust with anything. While June is somebody that is a little more uptight who probably will take more time to get close to then August. The most different character is May. May is a little more out there than the other sisters. She is very sensitive to bad news and every time that happens she starts to sing Oh Susana.
ReplyDeleteI cannot compare them to any characters from any book yet but i think later on i will be able to make connections. My favorite character of the three so far is August. August is my favorite because she is the most down to earth person of them all and she seems like if your down she will try and pick you up. My least favorite character is June. She is somebody who if you do something good she will completely ignore you and try to kick even if your down.