The Secret Life of Bees
Caitlyn Carlile
Differences between book and movie
1.In the book, May finds out that Zach is in jail over the phone , and not by his mom telling her.
2.Lily and Zach kiss at night down by the lake in the book. In the movie they kiss in the daylight at the Boatwrights' house.
3.In the movie they left out the scene where Lily cries and laughs hysterically when driving around with Zach.
4.At the end of the book, when T-Ray is leaving, Lily asks him if it was really her who killed her mom and he says yes, and in the movie she asks him if her mom was really leaving her behind the day she died, and he says no.
5.The ladies of Mary did not show up in elaborate hats. Lily did not receive her hat made especially for her.
6.August did not tell the story about Beatrix, the nun.
7. The scene where Rosaleen and Lily wade in the river under the bridge nude was cut out.
How the Differences affect meaning
1. The sisters were trying to keep her away from the family, and anyone who would talk to her about it. They did not think May would hear the information over the phone, so they didn't suspect the phone.
2. Lily and Zach were trying to keep everything a secret so to change the kissing scene from night to daylight meant putting the forbidden love out in the open.
3. They wanted her to seem less crazy and messed over to Zach, because it is hard to believe that she was an attractive girl.
4. The movie focused more on Lily wanting to know if her mother left her, than if she actually killed her mother.
5. The hats are what made the ladies so intriguing, so when they did not have them they were less magical.
6.Beatrix the nun was supposed to be a story that got Lily to admit that she ran away and wanted to return to home. It was a story to make her talk to August and trust August.
7. This scene was a realization that they were both equal women, and that the only difference was skin color. Lily felt freedom, and love between her and Rosaleen, and that was cut out.
Lily and Zach
Forbidden love, skin color difference
Book Cover
The book cover
T-Ray
Lily's father