To Kill A Mockingbird-book Movie Comparison

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 10th grade December 2001

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Why are movies different from books? Sometimes they are made for different reasons. The book written by Harper Lee and the movie of To Kill a Mockingbird, are very different in many aspects, but still get the same theme across to the viewer or reader.

There are many differences in the book and the movie, most of them dealing with the characters and events. Many of the characters were totally left out of the movie. Aunt Alexandrea, the aunt of Scout and Jem, was omitted from the movie probably because of all the scenes that she was involved in the book. Another of them is Francis, Jem and Scout's cousin whom Scout beats up while visiting Aunt Alexandrea. Miss Stephanie, the town busybody, was also excluded because she really didn't have a big part in the book. Some big events were also left out of the book. In the book, Miss Maudie's house burns to the ground and she has to rebuild.

This never happens in the movie. In addition, in the movie Jem doesn't tear up Mrs. Dubose's flowers in a rage and then have to read to her every day for a month. Some events were changed in the book also. Tom Robinson was shot trying to escape from jail by the prison guards, but in the movie he was shot after fleeing from the police car and was accidentally killed. Another changed event involved Bob Ewell threatening people. In the book, he threatens and harasses Helen Robinson, Atticus, and Judge Taylor, but in the movie, he only spits in Atticus' face.

Even though there seems to be many differences, the movie and the book were basically the same involving the main characters and most of the events. Atticus Finch, for example, acts and performs most of...