Atticus Embodiment

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, a timeless piece of American Literature, depicted childhood in the innocent perception of social phenomena and racism of the 1930’s. As many classics are, the novel was later translated into an Academy Award winning film that encompassed the complexity and innocence of the tale. Atticus Finch, arguably one of the most pivotal characters of American Literature, leaves an impression on the audience when he is personified both by Harper Lee in the novel, and by Gregory Peck in the movie. The renown closing statement of the trial is brought to life in the film, emphasizing more dramatic aspects of the closing statement in the novel rather than the more subtle aspects that add depth and significance to the story. …show more content…
In comparison to the literary embodiment, the film emphasizes the more dramatic aspects of his monologue. The movie scene dulls the stark contrast in racial divisions. The movie had to make a cut in the script somewhere in order to keep the audience’s attention. The dialogue painting this stark contrast, and the “evil assumptions” about the preconceived immorality of all negroes is not recited in the movie. Gregory Peck, playing the role of Atticus Finch, ingeniously recites the monologue written by Harper Lee. His expression and emotion translated in the speech embodied a more dramatic, yet less revolutionary, moment for the time period. The film is portrayed in black and white in order to emphasize both the premature social ideals possessed by the characters, and the motif of juxtaposed use of color. The colors black and white portray the socially conceived importance of that contrast in the color of a person’s skin. In that way, the film brings to light a subtle statement about race, without the overt statements recited by Atticus in the novel. The more “Hollywood” rendition of the story is produced to create captivating suspense and drama, while being more inhibited in making statements on social …show more content…
The story is beautiful in that it provides social satire through a child’s eyes. The bold progressiveness of the novel is highlighted in stark contrast to the innocent point of view from Scout. This contrast is one parallel to that of black and white. In a world that gets caught up in following the crowd, and habitually sticking to the status-quo, boldness and uninhibitedness is what makes a difference. Both Harper Lee and Gregory Peck provide a source of emotion from representations of the story that left an impression on American Literature like no