TKAM Comparative Analysis

Prompts:

- 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.

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

     Between the book and movie of To Kill A Mockingbird, the book was more affective. In the book, Jem had to take care of Mrs. Dubose because he had messed up her flowers. This later taught Jem and Scout a lesson about courage, "'I wanted you to see you 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 are a licked before you begin but you begin anyway you see you through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do'" (149). Atticus thought that Mrs. Dubose was a great example of a courageous person, he wanted his kids to follow into his thinking too. Being courageous isn't someone with a gun, but that is exactly what the kids thought when Atticus shot the gun. Atticus wanted to see courage from a different perspective, so he uses Mrs. Dubose's death as a lesson. Atticus said "...when you know you are a licked before you begin but you begin anyway you see you through no matter what." That meant that Mrs. Dubose was going to overcome her morphine addiction, even if she was going to die. Courage is when you know it is going to hurt but you do it anyway. This was one thing that made the book more affective than the movie, it delivers the message of courage (to the readers) in a great way.

     In the movie it didn't really show the different themes such as courage. It just talked about Tom's case, which showed a little empathy but not as much as the book did. The book had many examples including: when Jem found Dill, when Miss Maudie didn't want to go to the trial, when Tom felt sorry for Mayella, when Atticus didn't get revenge on Bob, when Scout understood Boo, and many more. The movie had about two: when Tom felt sorry for Mayella and when Atticus didn't get revenge on Bob. The book emphasized the themes, such as empathy and courage. The movie didn't show much of both.

     One of the most important difference between the written and filmed version was that in the book they went to Calpurnia's church, and in the the movie they didn't. When the kids and Cal went to the church they met people from both sides. They were treated respectfully by some, and by others (Lula) they where treated badly because it wasn't "their church." When the kids and Cal entered the church this is what Lula said, "'You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n,'" (158). It really showed that discrimination can go both ways. It isn't only segregation going one way. This impacted the story cause of that, you get two pints of views. In the movie you don't.