The book I'm currently reading is The Secret Life of Bees. The social issues present are inequality and discrimination. Having inequality and discrimination as part of the social issues it helps us to further understand the time period this book's placed in and allows the things that happen in it to be plausible. In this part of the book Rosaleen and Lily are walking in town. There were Caucasian men sitting outside as they passed by. ""Where're you going, nigger?""(p. 31) Rosaleen is an African-American who's a nanny for a Caucasian girl named Lily, Rosaleen was in town to register her name to vote. The men then began discriminating Rosaleen by making fun of her skin colour.
"By then Rosaleen lay sprawled on the ground, pinned, twisting her fingers around clumps of grass. Blood ran from a cut beneath her eye. It curved under her chin the way tears do." (p. 33) The men waiting outside ended up beating up Rosaleen they didn't want her to vote because she wasn't white. They were discriminating and were being inequal.
When the cops came this is all they said ""You're under arrest," he told Rosaleen. "Assult, theft, and disturbing the peace."" (p. 33) Since she was black it was automatically assumed she was the one disturbing the peace and also the one who assulted the men.
Without discrimination or inequality this book wouldn't work very well. It is based on how Rosaleen and Lily run away and stay with a family of African-American bee-keeping sisters. Without the inequality or discrimination Rosaleen and Lily would be able to stay with any family, but since Rosaleen isn't white she isn't accepted in a white household.
Great post Gia! Watch the citations, I think you're suppose to add the author and book title in the bracket as well.
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