How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
'When a bee flies, a soul will rise,' he said (10.138).
You may have noticed that the novel frequently associates flight/the act of rising with references to rebirth and resurrection. In repeating this saying, Zach clarifies this connection. This moment connects spirituality with the central symbol of bees, suggesting that maybe there's a link between the two . . .
Quote #5
That night, in my bed, when I closed my eyes, bee hum ran through my body. Ran through the whole earth. It was the oldest sound there was. Souls flying away (10.195).
Lily has this thought the night after May is buried. Again, the bees are associated with spirituality, with Lily comparing the sound of souls flying away to bee hum.
Quote #6
'Today we're celebrating the Assumption of Mary,' August said. 'We're celebrating how she woke from her sleep and rose into heaven. And we're here to remember the story of Our Lady of Chains, to remind ourselves that those chains could never keep her down. Our Lady broke free of them every time' (13.82).
August is explaining the origins of Mary Day, their ritual for celebrating Mary's rise to heaven. In addition to being important to them in the religious sense, Mary's ability to "rise" is symbolic of Our Lady of Chains' ability to escape the chains/confinement forced upon her by the slave master. So, here spirituality is associated with the novel's flight motif and its focus on the issues of prejudice and slavery.