Essay Sample about To Kill a Mockingbird: Book vs. Movie

📌Category: Books, Entertainment, Movies, To Kill a Mockingbird
📌Words: 1105
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 13 February 2022

A book and its film adaptation should, in theory, match one another, which "To Kill a Mockingbird" does in several aspects. Films, on the other hand, may achieve results that novels cannot, along with the inverse. Furthermore, a novel has restrictions that a film does not create several possibilities for comparisons and changes through recreation seen between both the novel and the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. Resemblance and major distinctions between the book and movie adaptation of “To Kill a Mocking Bird” confer upon the stance taken on narration of the story, vast versions of multiple different characters throughout the plot, and the overall main focus of the plot.

Motion picture, by its very design, is a form of visual communication, which makes telling a first-person narrative challenging. Scout as the narrator is only there to create the tone for different scenes in the film, rather than talking all throughout the film as she does in the novel. "Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum." (Lee 5). Scout's thoughts towards Maycomb are revealed through the descriptive detail, which gives a realistic image of the town. In addition, the narration establishes the story's settings and establishes the tone of a peaceful and rather uninteresting village, which provided a framework for Tom's trial struggle. Consequently, unlike in the novel, the audience doesn’t receive a strong feeling of Scout's first-person storytelling; alternatively, they observe the story's childish viewpoint. “Neighbors bring food with death, and flowers with sickness, and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife, and our lives.” (Robert Mulligan). As this quote from the film version of “To Kill a Mockingbird” focuses on the smaller thing from a child’s viewpoint, it plays into the thought process that the narrative is placed from a childish viewpoint. Music is used in the film to emphasize the childlike point of view. The soundtrack is simple, with many sections consisting of single notes with no harmonics or elaboration.

Since a movie has so little capacity to convey its storyline, the events of a novel are generally condensed into a smaller amount of characters; whenever a novel is adapted to the cinema, characters and their activities are frequently merged. Stephanie Crawford, for example, is Dill's aunt, and Cecil Jacobs, not Francis Hancock, is the one who forces Scout to breach her vow to Atticus about not fighting; due to the absence of Aunt Alexandra from the film, the subject of Scout "acting like a woman" is never addressed.  “‘Stay with us Jean Louise,’ she said.  This was a part of her campaign to teach me to be a lady.” (Lee 253). Cinema has the advantage of allowing spectators to see the actors as characters furthering no need for the reader to visualize what the character would look like in the situation of reading a book.  Several individuals value the ability to envision a persona for different characters; yet, if somehow the actor portraying the character and they do not match the reader's idea of the individual, audiences may be pulled out of the plot. Miss Maudie's actor, for example, is considerably thinner, youthful, and more traditional than what Scout described in the novel, which takes away some of the character's edge. As told in the novel, Miss Maudie’s appearance: “She was now standing arms akimbo, her shoulders drooping a little, her head cocked to one side, her glasses winking in the sunlight.” (Lee 212). Gregory Peck, from another side, is the ideal depiction of Atticus Finch, according to Harper Lee's own averment, giving the persona considerably more complexity than that of the text by itself can supply.

All important incidents from Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" were included in the cinematic adaptation; the script, on the other hand, occurs over two years rather than three, and several smaller events are taken away altogether. As an example, the children have little to almost no contact with Mrs. Dubose, as well as the film never depicts the inner workings of a classroom is like, so moviegoers miss out on scenes with Miss Caroline, Miss Gates, as well as other supporting characters who contribute to Maycomb's complexity and depth. “Now you tell your father not to teach you anymore. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage—” (Lee 14). This quote if from Miss Caroline, discouraging Scout from learning how to read as it would derail her way of teaching. As for during trial, the suggested incest amongst Bob and Mayella Ewell was not brought up, as with exception of today's films, motion pictures in 1962 just weren't permitted to address such "contentious issues". Tom states “She says what her papa do to her don't count," (Lee 177). which tells the reader in the book adaptation of the story that Mayella was being abused by her father. Therefore, filmmakers have to figure out how to work beyond "forbidden topics". In this example, the film avoids the incest concern by demonstrating Bob Ewell's dubious conduct in varying methods. For example, prior to when Tom's trial begins, Bob begins following Jem and Scout around, and spectators could infer Mayella is afraid of her dad by her facial expressions inside of the courtroom. To Kill a Mockingbird's cinematic rendition is still so compelling is a tribute to a great adaptation of a classic narrative.

In principle, a book and its film adaptation should be consistent, which "To Kill a Mockingbird" is in countless ways. Filmmakers, while lacking the potential to reach outcomes that novels create, can create visual imagery without the need for imagination, while a novel has limitations that a film does not, allowing for numerous comparisons and modifications via reproduction to be made between the text and the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird. The position taken on narration of the tale, huge variations of several different characters throughout the plot, and the general main emphasis of the storyline is all influenced by similarities and key differences between the book and movie adaptation of "To Kill a Mocking Bird." As the narration and characterization used in each variation do not impact the overall storyline, the novel and movie “To Kill a Mockingbird” both hold together in comparison as the plot of the two remain the same in main components. All in all, while the two stories do have some smaller distinctions that can impact the story, the cinematic interpretation still holds up even while enduring the changes based on the novel.

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