To Kill A Mockingbird: The Book Compared to the Movie Essay

Compare and Contrast Essay: To Kill a Mockingbird

The book and movie, To Kill a Mockingbird have many things in common, although there are many things that are different. They may have left things out in the movie to save time and to shorten the film. If they had added everything in it would have been a lot longer. Some of the things that they took out of the movie, I believe were important parts to the story line. Some of the events that took place in the movie were not the same in the book. They also pushed events up in the movie causing them to happen faster then in the book. There were many things that happened differently in the movie than the original way they were written in the book. Here are some of the similarities and differences in the movie and the book.

In the book there are many different things that happened that were left out in the movie. The character of Atticus was peaceful and powerful and he was not portrayed quite like that in the movie. In the book Cal was a very important part of the family and she was not like that in the book. Aunt Alexandra caused a lot of issues with scout and we did not see this conflict in the movie. In the book Dill was a very strong character in the book. His presence was important were as in the movie it wasnt as important. Ms. Rachel wasnt in the movie either and she was a great character in the book. The setting of the book takes place in Maycomb County in Alabama in the 1930s. The two important themes of the book play a big role in the story line. The one of walking in anothers shoes shows compassion and human kindness to others. The one about true courage helps to show that you might not always be fitting in or doing what you want but standing up for what you believe in is always better then backing down. This will show true courage. The symbols in the book were great. The mockingbird showed peace and caring which was noticed through Arthur Radely and Tom Robinson. The dog showed that not everything is as it seems and even when you dont want to you may have to do what is right. The book was very detailed and had an amazing story line.

In the movie some of the characters were different then how they were in the book. In the movie the kids Aunt Alexandra never came to stay with them. She was an important part of the story. She caused a lot of the conflict that took place. The childrens cousin and uncle never come in during the movie either. They were significant because her cousin tells her for the first time about Atticus and her uncle is the one who she is very close to. With out her uncle in the story there is not talk between him and Atticus which deals with doing the right thing and true courage. This is a big theme of the book that never gets portrayed in the movie. Leaving out the theme of true courage took away from part of the books story line and the point it was trying to get across. The theme of walking in someone else shoes is still portrayed. They could have done a better job at making it a point. It was also a big theme of the book. The setting of the movie is still the same to the book. It still takes place in Maycomb Alabama, in the 1930s. The symbols of the mockingbird and the dog are still in the book but they dont hold the same significance in the movie as they do in the book. That is how the movie is different from the book.

There are many ways that the movie and the book are alike, but there is also many in which it is different. The book had a better story line. The movie lacked a lot of character and meaning. I personally liked the book better. It had more meaning. The characters were better developed. The movie was missing so much that because I read the book first I felt like I was missing out on a lot of the story. That characters and the way they were really mad the story the way it was. It was a great story and I would recommend it to anyone. I am glad I read it and will proba