To Kill A Mocking Bird: A Comparison of The Novel and The Film

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To Kill A Mocking Bird
A Comparison of The Novel and The Film

There are many differences between the movie and the book. First the positive points: This film attaches faces to Scout, Jem, Miss Maudie, and Dill, since no description of their faces is given in the book. Also, the film has some genuinely hilarious moments, particularly the scene where Scout is dressed as a ham and walking through the forest. Another good point is that the acting was superb and a treat to watch. Gregory Peck, who played Atticus, was captivating. The film is cast very well. The novel does not give physical descriptions of Scout, Jem, Miss Maudie, and Dill, but the film characters were believable. The actors look like what we would expect them to look like.

Onto the negative points. Many very important scenes are omitted, this can make the film hard to follow at times. Particularly of the scene in the courthouse, because Jem and Scout still take seats with Reverend Sykes, the black man. In the novel we meet Sykes in the scene where Calpurnia takes the children to her church, and the children befriend him. But in the movie, that scene was not present, therefore there is no reason for the children to know Reverend Sykes because the segregation of the 30's would normally eliminate all friendly contact with a person of the opposite race. Because of the removal of so many scenes, character development is minimal. Another negative point is that Boo Radley, a major character we hear so much about in b...
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