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Compare and Contrast: Movie- To Kill a Mockingbird.

Introduction:

The movie To Kill a Mockingbirdis the 1962 adaptation of the eponymous 1960 best-selling, Pulitzer Award winningnovel by Harper Lee. The film was directed by Robert Mulligan, and the screenplay was written by Horton Foote. The novel deals mainly with racial separation in the South, and it is set in a trial against an innocent black man named Tom Robinson. Harper Lee demonstrated the complexity of racial division and how it is capable to break a community. The film version of the movie featured Gregory Peck as a main character, Atticus Finch. In 1995 the film to kill a Mockingbird was listed in the national film registry of the United States. It is considered, both in book and movie form, one of the greatest American tales of all time.

Outline:

To Kill a Mockingbird
MOVIE / To Kill a Mockingbird
BOOK
Setting is the same in both / Setting is the same
Central problem: Trial of Tom Robinson and racial relations in Maycomb / Same
Characters:
No Aunt Alexandra;
More focus on Jem (because he is male) / Aunt Alexandra is so necessary to this novel because she demonstrates that racism can still occur in families that also produce men like Atticus.
Calpurnia is nowhere near powerful as she is in the book. In fact, her character is totally diminished in the movie / Calpurnia is a beacon of respect, dignity and one of the most powerful agents in the book. It is a shame the movie didn’t give her more weight.
The girl who played Scout is annoying / Scout comes across like a mature, well-natured kid. Nothing like that in the movie
Point of view is slightly more toward Jem’s coming of age and the key events in the book happened to Jem: finding the things Boo hid on the tree stump, etc. / Point of view is almost entirely Scouts
Ms. Stephanie is Dill’s aunt (!?) and Misses Maudie and Rachel are blended into one character.
Ms. Dubose is only briefly mentioned in the movie / Ms. Dubose’s story of drug addiction is a very powerful one. No impact of it in the movie
Tom Robinson has a father and kids / Tom’s family is only briefly mentioned, nowhere does it mention a father
Incest is not mentioned / Incest is hinted during the trial
The awesome scene where Mayella gets offended by being called “ma’am” is omitted / Mayella feeling offended by being called “ma’am” by Atticus, which is actually a sign of respect.
No time for the full final argument of Atticus / Atticus powerful closing argument is complete
Classroom incidents are omitted so we never get to learn about Miss Caroline, or the issues with the Ewell child is never witnessed / Miss Caroline is a symbol of prejudice and condescension. She is necessary to the story but is omitted in the movie
Narrative is omniscient except for one scene / Narrative comes from Scout entirely
No scene of Calpurnia taking the kids to church
Tree hole gets filled up in front of Jem and Scout by Mr. Nathan / They do not see him do it in the book
When Jem loses his pants he goes and gets them right away and Mr. Radley comes out with a gun / When Jem loses his pants he waits until night time to get them because he is so embarrassed.

Conclusion:

The book version ofTo Kill a Mockingbird , due to its nature and use of literary devices, is more explicit and extensive in the knowledge of what each character feels and why. The movie does a good attempt at getting to the gist of the story, which is exposing the horrible relationship between blacks and whites in the South. The main character is marvelously well represented by Gregory Peck. In fact, if you think of Atticus without seeing the movie you would get the image of someone extremely similar physically: a white, middle-aged, conservative man with a stern and yet kind stare, a poised demeanor, and a bit older looking than his age due to a busy life in the justice system. I personally did not like the movie. I did not like any other characterization and, to me, the movie fell mega short compared to the novel. It is worth mentioning that, to be Harper Lee’s first novel ever, To Kill a Mockingbird must have been a work from the soul. Everyone can agree that you can materialize each scene from the book in your mind because of how wonderfully Harper Lee illustrated each stamp in the novel; all of this was done without excessive use of language, and without complex vocabulary. The transparency in the use of language made her characters believable and special. The movie added nothing whatsoever to the characterization and narrative used by Lee.

Bibliography

Lee, H. (1960).To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

Mulligan, R. (Director). (1962).To Kill a Mockingbird[Motion picture]. USA: Universal.

Tavernier-Courbin, J.(2014) "Humor and Humanity in To Kill a Mockingbird" inOn Harper Lee: Essays and ReflectionsAlice Petry (ed.), University of Tennessee Press

Zipp, Y. (2014).Scout, Atticus & Boo,The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on June 2, 2017.