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Essay / Critical Analysis of the Film Adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird”
To Kill a Mockingbird, many believe, is the greatest American novel of all time and an original classic. As its popularity grew and it was loved by everyone, the film was in high demand. Directed by Robert Mulligan, the film was released in 1962, two years after the book was published but is set in the 1930s. Living in the 1930s was a depressing time, the economy collapsed and was at an all-time low level, the Great Depression filled every soul, discrimination was killed, segregation was rife and Jim Crow laws were enacted to separate. In this novel, Harper Lee adopts Girl Scout Louise Finch, who is six years old when the novel begins telling the story of her father Atticus, a lawyer who handles the systemic racist case of Tom Robinson, a falsely accused African-American of raping a white woman. , a deal he knows he can't win. In the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, Scout explores her lonely neighbor Boo Radley and learns valuable lessons, including: how to see situations from others' perspectives, the existence of prejudice, and the sinful act of harming others. innocent. The film version of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird was changed to fit a limited time period; and therefore the result of this was that certain fundamental events and characters were altered, omitted, and others added. The main plot is bland, yet important for both the film and the novel, remains recognizable but lacks what makes it a renowned book while keeping its impeccable setting. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Despite the many differences seen between the two versions, the film kept the same setting. When producing a film, it is essential to stay in the same setting while considering the impossibility of copying every detail. It is very rare to see a film story as accurate and complete as the original text but generally the setting is never changed. The story begins in the southern United States of America. Specifically, the heart of discrimination, the state of Alabama. There, in the small fictional county of Maycomb, Alabama, lived segregation and Jim Crow laws still affected by the Civil War. To Kill a Mockingbird took place from 1933 to 1935 and was influenced by the preceding, lifestyle-defining events in the town. Racism reached its peak in the 1930s and unfortunately declined very little until the 21st century. All events take place in the fictional town of Maycomb, a town that seems to evolve slowly and ignore other events elsewhere. As Atticus himself said: “A day lasted twenty-four hours but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. Few people have moved there and very few have left, so the same families have existed for generations and the same reputations endure. Maycomb was a stagnant and boring town, filled with racism and discrimination against other cultures, religions and races. Due to segregation, African Americans lived on the outskirts of white Maycomb and in their own church and cemetery. Making this town non-equivalent made Atticus defending Tom Robinson, a different breed, so serious. Being a primitive white town, it was strange and infuriating to some that Atticus based Tom not on the color of his skin, but on his arguments and believes in his innocence. Others more disturbed were Bob Ewell, who evenresponsible for killing Scout and Jem, accusing their father of being a "lover of words". The county was generally poor, with some wealthier than others and some paying in food. Soon after, in the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movement would influence new ideas aimed at changing racism in the following years. The novel and the film describe this setting perfectly, the novel giving a literal description while the film describes it visually and orally. The film could have had more visual aid to explain poverty and segregation, but that didn't radically change it. What made the novel so beloved were the lessons learned, the meanings understood, and the important morals derived from the crucial events. Without these events, the story was bland and lacked personality. The missed events begin on the first day of school when his teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, attempts to give Walter Cummingham Jr. a quarter for lunch, telling him to pay her back the next day. Scout tries to explain to her that he is unable to repay her and does not consider that Miss Caroline is unknown to the social and cultural order in Maycomb. The novel continues as Scout gets scolded for her advanced reading ability, then tells her father, the one who encouraged her. Mrs. Caroline had the power to do the right thing, by teaching Scout to read more books, but instead she chose to do the wrong thing. Scout then learns to consider other people's points of view, regardless of the situation, but this lesson is not experienced by the viewers who create Maycomb's depth. An event occurred when during the night, Mrs. Maudie's house caught fire without caring about the contents of her house. After her house burns down, she is brave and strong, teaching the children by example not to be materialistic. There is also an act of kindness when Boo puts the blanket over Scout during the fire. Confused, the tree hole is discovered by Jem instead of his sister and the objects found in a different order in the film. This added no particular meaning to the film but was completely confusing. They also see Mr. Nathan filling the hole in the tree where they would find items in the movie. They also didn't show a clip of the kids playing "Radley Family" pretending to be an isolated son who "eats" squirrels, an abusive father, and a crazy family. Atticus, in defense, scolded the children from the game explaining that Boo was innocent and should not be harmed and considered a mockingbird, just like Tom. The mockingbird was to sing for the pleasure of others, harmless and not to be killed. Apart from the small appearance of the morning exchanges with Mrs. Dubose, viewers do not see the scenes including her vulgarity with everyone or when Jem does her a favor. The courtroom scenes are condensed in the film and do not explore the aftermath of the trial or depict the conversations Atticus has with his children to try to help them understand. The opportunity the children have in attending Calpurnia, their black cook's church, is missed. There, they understand the poor side of African-Americans and how little they have compared to them. In this situation, at the church, Reverend Sykes tries to raise the little money they need to help the Robinsons. They learn about African American upbringing, such as the inability to read hymn books. Through this experience, the children learned more about Calpurnia's past and her origins, poverty and lack of education. You can even see that some do not accept white people into their own church because of what they have done to them. "Lula stopped, butShe said, "You don't have to bring white chilluns here - they've got their church, we've got our'n. It's our church, isn't it, Miss Cal? The viewers never suffer no plus Dill's stay caused by his escape from home to join Finches The events of the film were essential but not interesting like the original novel. Many events were different or omitted, ranging from significant to unnecessary influence on the. The story and characters taught lessons, gave experiences, and gave new ideologies. Ultimately, I believe that excluding certain scenes from the film defeats the purpose of the book. which is to educate the reader about critical messages regarding power and prejudice Finally, many important characters who shaped the film have said goodbye. Maycomb, Scout and Society also including confusion between the characters. gave additional meaning to the novel and the lessons. First, we see Atticus described as the main character in Scout. The focus is on him and the ordeal rather than on Scout growing up, her learning and maturity improving over time. Additionally, Jem finds all the items in the tree and goes with Atticus to tell Helen Robinson of her husband's death rather than Scout. This makes Scout's role less important and makes the story less of an aging story and more of a serious drama film. The first character I missed was Aunt Alexandra. She was to provide a motherly influence and prepare Scout for reality and life as an older child. Aunt Alexandra tries to stay with the Finches to feminize Scout about her manners, appearance, and thinking. But there wasn't even a mention of his name or the rest of the Finch family like Uncle Jack. One character with just a morning exchange and no follow-up was the critic Ms. Dubose. When Jem cuts off all of Mrs. Dubose's flowers because of his anger at her family, Jem is forced to read to her every day for a while. The real meaning behind this was that she was addicted to morphine and wanted to quit smoking before she died. for a matter of staff pride. Reading helped her take her mind off the addiction until the alarm went off. Slowly the periods became longer and longer, slowly tapering off the morphine. Atticus tells the children the lessons he hoped they learned from her. “I wanted you to see what true courage is, instead of thinking that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're screwed before you start, but you start anyway, and you succeed no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose gained her ninety-eight pounds. According to her, she died without owing anything to anyone. She was the bravest person I have ever known. Jem realizes on his daily visits to Mrs. Dubose that there is more to her than just being a mean old lady. Another omitted character was outside the courthouse when Atticus was talking to Mr. Dolphus Raymond and realized that he was not drinking alcohol from the brown paper bag, but was drinking cola . They learn that he would prefer to be stereotyped as an alcoholic married to a black woman, then explaining his actions to the public. The last character changed is Mayella Ewell. Destined to be desolate, Mayella is portrayed as heartless due to her actions against Tom Robinson and the abuse committed by her father, Bob Ewell. In the novel, she was believed to be an innocent child, in the film, we see the cruelty of her act towards Tom. When Atticus and Jem announce, 90(20), 70-73.