To Kill a Mocking Bird: Compare and Contrasted to the movie

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You’re about to read the most amazing paper ever written. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD the novel vs. TKAM the movie. TKAM was written by Harper Lee in 1960, the movie was made in 1963. There are some significant parts missing from movie. These scenes are when Scout and Jem go to the black church with Calpurnia, the school day when the Ewells and the Cunninghams are shown, and how Aunt Alexandra seems to have gotten lost on the way to the movie lot.

Going to church with Cal shows the children how much their family is respected in the black community. In the book Cal fights another woman for the children’s right to go to the Negro church, this shows how much Cal cares for Jem and Scout. Without this in the movie Cal seems to be only a caretaker and somewhat emotionally with drawn from the family. Also the woman with which Cal fights shows that not all the blacks respect the Finches as much as others. There are still many blacks who don’t want to be bothered by whites as much as whites don’t want to be bothered by blacks. Without the kids meeting Reverend Sykes they would not have sat with him during the trial. The kids would have not been treated like they were in the film by the blacks in the balcony. Rev. Sykes watches over them and protects them. The children also have respect for him after seeing him in his church raising money for Helen Robison, the movie takes this away and you do not get the same message from the Reverend.

The school scene showed the children of the important t men Mr. Ewell and Mr. Cunningham, although you do get to see young Cunningham you do not see the young Ewell at all, you miss seeing how inconsiderate the Ewell bunch is. If the young son is as disrespectful of the teacher then he has to be shown this treatment at home as well. Mr. Cunningham may have been shown delivering hickory nuts it does not imply the image of how proud the Cunningham clan is. The next sequence of events involving the Cunningham’s is when at school Walter would not accept the quarter offered by the teacher. Walter knew he would not be able to pay her back; Scout gets in trouble and is disciplined when she explains the Cunninghams. This jades Scout against her teacher and school. The later scene in the movie when Scout complains to Atticus about her teacher is lost without this background information of the novel.

The most important thing left out of the movie was Aunt Alexandra. With out Aunt Alexandra you do not meet the girly side of Scout. Nor do u see the ‘lady’s of Macomb County’ at tea; in the movie Scout is never jaded by the hypocritical women. In the film Scout is never shown as anything other then a tomboy who gets in trouble whereas In the novel she grows up during the story. Aunt Alexandra represents a challenge of authority. Now Scout has a adult other then Atticus and Cal by whom she must obey. When scout wants to go see Cal at her home in the black community Aunt Alexandra says no. Scout rebels and goes to Atticus. Scout learns that Atticus now has to share his authrotly with another adult. When in the movie the aunt never comes, Scout is never shown another adult by whom she must obey. There is no resentment shown by either Scout or Jem; in the movie you only see the nice side of the kids. Aunt Alexandra makes them resentful, until they realize they need her.

The movie falls short of the novel, if you want the whole message you need to read the book. These messages left out are important ife lessons the Harper Lee took the time and energy to write. So the next book yu should read is TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.