“To Kill a Mockingbird”: Book and Movie Differences Essay

To kill a Mockingbird is an interesting novel amongst the most famous books in American literal cycles. It is a typical novel that has attracted the interest of film makers, in terms of adaptation. The novel prompted the creation of a movie, under the same title, and it is evident that certain similarities and differences are present.

Apparently, the differences between the book and the movie remain conspicuous and unique due to several implications. It is evident that some issues in the film are presented in a better way than it is done in the book. The novel may also have some strong points and attributes as opposed to the film.

Narration stands out as a major difference between the movie and the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story based on Scout’s narration of major events, but this aspect is seemingly avoided in the film. The director focuses on the actions of Jem in a bid to forego Scout’s first-person narration in the movie.

In other words, the role played by Jem is broadened in the movie as opposed to the narration provided by his brother. Here, the viewer is able to witness all the events visually. For instance, Scout’s narration of Boo’s mysterious activities is replaced with Jem’s actions on the same. Jem locates all the letters at the tree, accompanies his father to Helen Robinson’s house, after her husband’s death, as well as stays home to watch over his sister. These events were previously narrated by Scout in the novel.

The film also introduces additional characters and this stands out as a big difference. For instance, the novel only dedicates one paragraph to Jem’s mother as the two brothers engage in a conversation about her. However, the film introduces Jem’s mother for the audience to see. Additionally, viewers are able to see more characters like Robinson’s father and children since they are not greatly featured in the book.

The issue of time also greatly features in the differences portrayed in the book and the novel. It is important to note that the film, To Kill a Mockingbird entails most of the aspects depicted in the novel. However, several omissions are evident. In the film, the contact between Mrs. Dubois and the children is omitted.

In simpler terms, viewers of the film are not able to witness the events that transpired inside the classroom. Episodes that characterize other minor characters like Miss Gates are also omitted from the film due to time factors. The film’s setting takes slightly more than two years as opposed to the novel’s story line which took three years.

The director certainly avoided the first-person narration provided by Scout because films basically base on visual properties. It is, therefore, difficult to present narrations in a film. The director also introduced more characters in a bid to fully develop the story line as presented in the novel. Viewers are able to see the characters and they become more conversant with the story line.

Additional characters also introduce more communication cues and the story becomes interesting and relevant. Lastly, the director omitted other parts in the film because films are generally shorter and more precise than books. It is not possible to cover all the events covered in a book when making a film as exemplified in To Kill a Mockingbird. The film is definitely better than the novel due to additional characters, important communication cues, and precision.