Indeed, the rigid caste system and code of behavior imposed by the social hierarchy, while satirizing pomposity with Swiftian glee, still retains some of the mindless horror that is part of our fascination with instinctive creatures. Lally never flinches in the face of nature's most disturbing and heartless demands. The story is framed by one summer in the life of a hive. Mo. Lally's bees may have spiritual and even artistic yearnings, but they remain in character as bees. They discuss the future of the hive's society not over tea, but while emptying their pollen sacks or grooming each other's antennae.
Social issues derive entirely from the natural history of bees.
Against the traditions of his shiftless, literal-minded caste, Alfred is a poet.