TKAM Comparative Analysis Blog 1/19/16

Book: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Pages: 0 - 232 (End)

Prompts:

1.  What do you think is the most important difference between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details.

2. How would you prove or disprove that one version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more affective in delivering its message than the other? Be sure to provide specific pieces of evidence to support your opinion.

The most important difference between the written and filmed version is Boo Radley plot (Part 1 of the book) is taken out. When Atticus sees a blanket on Scout he said to thank Boo Radley he also says, "You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket around you." This quote shows how Boo Radley put a blanket on Scout without Scout realizing because he cared about Scout. This example is a major difference between the filmed version and in the book because it shows how Boo Radley isn't exactly how he was poorly described in the beginning, instead we see he is kind. This is different than in the film because when we see Boo Radley in the film we still assume he is a horrible person but with this quote from the book we can clearly see he is not.

The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, was better at delivering its messages than its film. A message the book delivers better than the film is coming of age. Scout says (in Part 2 of the book), "He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody." This quote shows how Jem was changing as he grew older. This message is not shown very well in the movie because we can't see Jem age because the film makers cut out a big part of the Boo Radley Plot and only show what happened in less than a year.

Another message the book delivers better than the film is courage. In the book after Mrs. Dubose dies Atticus explains to Jem and Scout, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." In this quote Atticus is telling the children what courage really means and that Mrs. Dubose died by age at the end, instead of morphine. This message is not in the film because there is only one interaction with Mrs. Dubose. This message was better delivered in the book because it isn't delivered at all in the film.