To Kill A Mockingbird Comparison Essay

To Kill a Mockingbird is a famous coming-of age novel by Harper Lee. In an Alabama town in 1933, a lawyer’s children, Jem and Scout, begin their moral journey of losing their innocence. The children struggle to understand their small town’s racism and prejudice as their father is appointed to defend a black man in court, and rumours circulate about a reclusive neighbour. As the novel became a famous story amongst the world, it, like many others, was given a film adaptation. Although the on-screen version of To Kill a Mockingbird received positive feedback for it’s portrayal of the novel, many argued that it did not capture all of the distinguished messages found in the text. It lacked many impactful elements, such as the character Aunt Alexandra, the full Boo Radley plot, and Scout’s analysis of her own actions, that have been shaping the lives of readers for over 50 years. To conclude, in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, the absence of specific characters, the removal of significant scenes, and the loss of critical focus on the mockingbird symbol, limit the moral lessons that are evident throughout Lee’s original novel. By removing Aunt Alexandra, Dolphus Raymond and Mrs. Dubose from the plot, the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird loses many of the fundamental, moral lessons conveyed through the famous novel. First of all, Jem and Scout’s aunt, Alexandra, portrays an influential role in Scout’s maturation. After learning about Tom Robinson’s death, Alexandra takes a moment to collect herself and subsequently returns to her meeting immediately, continuing conversing with her friends in a relaxed manner. Although Alexandra constantly nagged her about being proper, Scout respects this adept composure, realizing that being a “lady” does not entail being feminine, but instead, creates strength and control. Another character removed from the film was Dolphus Raymond, a white man who is misunderstood for living amongst the black people of Maycomb. Whenever Dolphus is forced to come into town, he always carries around a bottle of what the citizens assume is alcohol, and when Dill becomes upset with the way Tom is treated at his trial, he and Scout leave the courtroom and encounter Mr. …show more content…
Raymond for the first time. When he approaches the children to comfort them, they are extremely hesitant to speak to him, knowing what the people of Maycomb say about his drunken ways. Nevertheless, the children confide in him as he explains that the way the white people in Maycomb treat the black people makes him sick, and offers Dill a drink from his bottle to calm his stomach. The boy realizes that his drink is just innocent soda, not whiskey, to which he then explains that he does not live with the black people in Maycomb as a result of being influenced by alcohol; he lives with them because he cannot stand the way that they are treated by his people. From this encounter, Scout begins to understand how she, like the rest of Maycomb, has judged Dolphus too quickly, and acknowledges that one must not have prejudice against a person before understanding their point of view first. A final lesson left out of Robert Mulligan’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the meaning of courage, displayed by Mrs. Dubose. On top of all the criticism the children receive at school as Atticus defends Tom Robinson, their elderly, repulsive neighbour, Mrs. Dubose also castigates Jem and Scout any time they pass her house. One day, Jem loses control, ruining her camellias and as a result of his actions, Atticus forces the children to read to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon, enduring her strange fits. However, it is not until after she dies that the children realize the lesson they have learned. Atticus reveals that Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict, and planned to become sober before she died. Atticus explains this as a true example of courage, saying, "I wanted you to see what real courage is ... It 's when you know you 're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but ... Mrs. Dubose won," (Lee 149). Mrs. Dubose knew she would eventually die, but refused to go while struggling with a crutch on morphine. Clearly, Robert Mulligan’s