To Kill A Mockingbird Book Vs Movie Analysis

The well known novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, portrays many challenging situations through intrepid, yet sparse themes. These themes lure readers into their own world, enabling them to imagine and relate to what’s happening, as if they were there themselves, right next to Scout.

When making the film adaptation, the team’s goals were to successfully give a visual interpretation of the novel, to emphasize its ideas, and to preserve the themes. The team wanted for the audience to see Scout’s world through an independent child's point of view in the film as it’s portrayed in the novel. They were able to achieve in making a classic, heartfelt film adaptation. Vast areas of people were personally affected and inspired by the novel, which was
the impact the filmmakers hoped would play on people’s thoughts and emotions. Racism and prejudice are two main themes present in To Kill A Mockingbird, shown most precisely through the Tom Robinson trial. While in the book, these themes were brought to readers through certain words and describing details while in the film, these themes were being delineated through facial expressions, music, and other special effects alongside the famous lines from the book. The film became exceptionally popular, considering the people’s desire to discuss racial conflicts and hopes of equality.

Atticus, Jem, Dill, Tom, most certainly Scout, and many others play important roles in the novel. Without each character, the entire story would be majorly altered. With such crucial roles to fill, the filmmakers had to choose actors and actresses that would be able to play the character correctly. Gregory Peck for Atticus Finch, later chosen for the Best Actor Award, Mary Badham for Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Phillip Alford for Jeremy “Jem” Finch, John Megna for Charles Baker “Dill” Harris, Brock Peters for Tom Robinson, Robert Dwall for Arthur “Boo” Radley, and Estelle Evans for Calpurnia, were all cast for important positions in the film. When being interviewed or through personal remarks, most of the actors and actresses say that they were inspired by their individual roles. Mary Badham, in particular, said in an interview for the book Scout, Atticus & Boo, that through Scout’s eyes, she was “able to better relate to real life” situations and the girls around her since she “grew up in an all boy house.” Besides the actors and actresses connecting to their roles, they also connected to each other. Badham states that she “had three daddies. There was Atticus, there was my own daddy, and there was Brock Peters (Tom Robinson).” Each and every one of them played key roles in order to make the film suitable. With this, each actor and actress was able to fully embrace the character, aiding in the effect and popularity of the film.

Despite incredible reviews, there was some diversity in opinions about the movie, including differences between the novel and the book. For instance, a large part of the novel is the Finch children’s Aunt Alexandra. She interacts with the family and is mentioned often in Scout’s background descriptions. Aunt Alexandra really begins to shine in not the best of ways when she comes to stay with Atticus and the children for a while. However, Aunt Alexandra is nowhere to be seen or even mentioned of in the film. Controversial sides argue this difference. Some say that Aunt Alexandra played an essential part in the story line while others say the film did just fine without her. Along with the absence of the Aunt, the order of events from the novel to the movie is different, with some scenes completely removed. Regardless of the differences, the film still received mostly positive reviews after a short period of time. Critics said that it “took time for people to notice it”. The film, To Kill A Mockingbird, ended up receiving 3 academy awards out of 8 nominations. The film is remembered by what’s known to be the best scene in history, where Atticus Finch exits the court and the audience rises in respect. Viewers took note of the strong emotions and themes from and toward the movie itself. Through this incredible scene and many other emotion appealing aspects, the film adaptation showed how America used to be and how modern times can relate.

Contrast between the To Kill A Mockingbird novel and film influenced many people's opinions on the overall effect of the storyline.
On the contrary, differences between the film and novel allowed viewers to notice the story and its characters in a unique way that wasn’t strongly shown in the novel. By its nature, movies are a visual medium, which typically causes a first-person story to be challenging. To have Scout’s narration constantly throughout the film as she does in the book would be misleading, therefore Scout as narrator is only presented to set the mood of certain scenes in the film. As a result, viewers don't get a bold sense of Scout's first-person narration as they do in the book. Instead, they naturally notice the childlike perspective portrayed through the story. Scout arguably plays the greatest role in To Kill A Mockingbird, thus the impact on the audience was diverse. Another major part of To Kill A Mockingbird is Boo Radley. Many events revolve around the Radley household and Boo himself. On a personal level, Boo Radley didn’t “frighten” the audience as much in the film compared to the novel. Harper Lee embraces the children’s thoughts and interactions with the Radleys whereas in the film, the Radleys simply didn’t meet their full potential. Some say the heartwarming, nostalgic effects came better from the novel when some say it reached them better through the film. Which will you better connect
to?