Without a Queen Bee

"The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence." (pg1) Throughout the book, and extended metaphor is drawn between a queen bee and a mother figure. The quote tells how the absence of a queen bee is sensed by its workers, just as Lilly senses the absence of her mother. The quote also refers to the queen bee as the "unifying force of the community." A queen bee is necessary for a hive to run smoothly. Without a queen bee, chaos occurs. This is also a parallel drawn to Lilly's life. In order to cope with being motherless she begins to fill the void with the love she receives from the Boatwright sisters and Rosaleen, who becomes very similar to a mother to her.

In the beginning of the year we learned about the building and destruction of communities. The quote directly says that the queen bee is "the unifying force of the community." In the book, the reader realizes how easily ones own surroundings and society can be effected by such a change. Today, peopple can still be in the same position and conflicts that Lilly found herself in. And have the same desire to fill a void such as Lilly's.