Hour of the Bees

The novel uses bees symbolically in several ways. First, they symbolize Carol’s magical connection with Rosa, her grandmother. Bees tended to follow Rosa in a swarm, and they follow Carol too, connecting Carol to her ancestry. Bees reappear when Carol comes to the ranch: “The bug zooms out the truck window, its jeweled body glittering black and gold in the sunlight. A bee” (9). This alludes to Carol’s role in rejuvenating the arid landscape by planting the seed and bringing the rain by bringing the bees (as Serge continually rants about, though the others initially dismiss his rant as dementia-related “word salad”).

Bees symbolize Carol’s magical connection to her family’s ancestral land; her return to it initiates the magical process of regeneration, convincing her father to move the family to the ranch rather than selling it. It’s a symbolic nod to Carol’s heritage, especially to her connection to Rosa, that she decides the ranch should become a bee farm rather than a sheep ranch.

Carol, whose full name is Carolina, bemoans her “long, dramatic, embarrassing Spanish name” (43). Like the other Mexican American kids at her school, Carol shortens her name to an anglicized version. Serge is disappointed about this, reminding Carol that she’s named after her great-aunt Carolina and asking the girl, “Why do you spit on your roots, chiquita?” (25).