To Kill a Mocking Bird: Comparison and Contrast between the Film and the Novel - Case Study Example

To Kill a Mocking Bird: Comparison and Contrast between the Film and the Novel

Classical novels are of great value when it comes to understanding of the contribution of literature in real life. It is due to this reason that they are merely adapted into many other art mediums. The medium of film is considered as a major representation of literature and thus, many directors or filmmakers employ novels when it comes to filmmaking. At the same time, it should be noted that adaptation of books and novels can be a very critical aspect in real terms. Novels or books may differ from their adaptation by large in many cases. In the same regard, “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is one of the classics in English literature. Filmmakers have also adapted the novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” into the film. The aim of this paper is to critically compare and contrast the adaptation of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”.

First and foremost, it should be understood that the adaptation of a novel into film is a critical task. It is never easy to cover all aspects of a book in a complete or fully reflective manner in the film. Therefore, there could be variations in both forms of the same story. It is because writers have a room of describing details in the novels that are likely to be compromised when they are adapted into films. It is thus considered that film adaptations of a novel that are closer to the actual content are usually very long in terms of duration. There are various tools that filmmakers or filmmaking would include such as camera angles, editing, visual juxtaposition etc. All such tools are more likely to bring a major difference in the way story is told in a novel or book.

The novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” was published in 1960. The novel became widely known and it was then that the author was awarded with the Pulitzer Prize. People who liked the novel had put suggestions of adapting the novel into a film. It is an evident fact that several literary devises are used in storytelling. However, some of the devises are compromised in adaptations. In the case of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, one can notice that the literary device of character had been compromised. For instance, the character of Miss Rachel and Miss Stephanie has been combined into in the film adaptation. At the same time, two of the very significant characters namely Aunty Alexandria and Uncle Jack were completely omitted from the film adaptation.

Another difference of the film adaptation and the novel was evident from the aspect of framing. In particular, the motif such as the physical appeal of Dill was framed differently. In the book, the physical appearance of Dill was shown as snow white hair. The hairs were set in a fluffy manner. The character of Dill was presented in the book wearing blue linen shorts that was buttoned to the shirt. However, in the film adaptation, Dill was presented as a man with dark hair. Some of the critics claim that such a change should not be criticized much. It is because motif of duckfluff is a literary motif in the book. In the film, such a motif was not used for which such a change should not be pin-pointed.

In the similar way, major scenes have been omitted from the story in the film adaptation. The sequences in the film adaptation have been created by omitting a major part of the story. At the time of lawsuit case or trial the children were ordained to stay away. In the novel, the children sneaked in. Later on, the children were caught sneaking by Atticus and Calpurnia. On the other hand, the sequence in the film adaptation clearly showed children to be completely involved in the trial. The consideration of omitting the scene was certainly because the film had a limited duration. However, the critics claim that the filmmakers would have presented the feelings of Atticus for saving the children the trial would have done in a different manner.

Another literary device that had been completely followed in the film adaptation is the narration. It is noted that the narrator Scout had been an older woman in the book. In the same manner, narrator in the film adaptation is the old woman and the entire story is being told as a flashback. It is important to preserve the literary devices because it brings the same intensity of storytelling as in the book. The symbolism is yet another important literary device that had been kept as internal in the film adaptation. As a matter of fact, the proudness of Scout and Radley to meet Dill is considered in the similar manner as the book. In both the film and the book, it is noted that Scout and Radley, both feel proud of Dill because he could read.

In most of the film adaptations, it is noted that the end of the story is changed or slightly compromised. However, in the case of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, it is noted that the end had been completely preserved which makes it a worthwhile experience for the readers to watch the film. Despite consideration given to the similar end in both film as well as the book, there is a glare difference that one cannot avoid. The readers of the book “To Kill a Mocking Bird” would feel as if the main character of the story is Scout. However, in the film adaptation, the viewers would notice that is it Atticus who is the leading character. The conflict of the story had been slightly maneuvered as well. For instance, in the beginning of the film adaptation, Mr. Cunningham had been shown to bring Atticus money which is why the conflict is brought in the story in the later part. On the other hand, in the novel, it is noted that the beginning of the story is done with the introduction to Scout meeting Dill.

In addition, the metaphor of reading had been given a lot of stress in the book. There is an in-depth understanding provided to the readers concerning the first day of Dill in the school. The author has allowed the readers to view the classroom from a closer perspective. However, in the film adaptation, viewers have not been shown such details. It is rather noted that Dill had been shown to run after Cunningham. In the following manner, another literary device which had been majorly compromised in the film adaptation is imagery. It is associated with the burning down of the house. In the case of the film adaptation, the burning down of the house, itself as a scene, had been omitted. Despite such differences, it is explained and claimed by the critics that there are many instances where the film adaptation closely relate with the book. It is because critics seem to compare the film adaptation of “To Kill a Mocking Bird” with other classics that have not been successful so far.

Also, the story had been told over the duration of three months. In the film adaptation, such duration had been summarized into one. It has impacted the imagery and plot of the classical story. In the film adaptation, it was necessary because there were many other aspects such as framing that had to be done carefully. For authors, it is easier to wave out different scenes into a chapter, but for filmmakers, it is a critical task. The tones of authors in a book are often covered in the angles of film adaptations. In the case of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, one can notice that the angles have been changed drastically. In the book, the author had tried to show a softer tone that had been presented in the film adaptation in the form of angles. The angles are normally long or extreme long shots. It represents the characters to be softer and the story to be less-edgy. Medium shots have been used when the flashbacks have been made in contact with narrator’s own experience. Thus, one can state that the usage of angles have been done remarkably to ensure that the tone of the author is preserved and presented in the best manner. The avoidance of the filmmakers concerning close up shows that the authors wanted to present the classical story as an effective one in the English literature.

In this regard, one should also understand that subtext is another important aspect to observe while creating a comparison and contrast between the film adaptation and the novel. The subtext had been added in the film adaptation in such a way that it is able to keep the interest of the viewers. It should be noted that the focus of the filmmakers is to ensure that the viewers do not lose their interest. For that matter, increased stress is laid on the creation of subtext that is in relation with the classic. Such an attempt can also been noticed in the film adaptation of many other famous novels. In the case of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, it can be well-stated that the filmmakers have kept the subtext similar. Also, when Mr. Cunningham and Dill are shown to come in contact, one can notice that the subtext is explained well. The story was actually set within the era of civil rights. In order to make sure that the inspiration is also understood by the film viewers, the sets and the design to the shots were closely embedded. Increased stress was laid on the fact that both the novel and the film remain similar in its basics.

Film adaptations of a classical story are created over and over. For the case of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, it is expected that there will be more attempts that would be noted in the future. The filmmakers have used the same story and presented them through the lens of camera or on stage in different ways and it could be well be predicted that this story will be used and presented in many other forms. The fact remains that critics suggest the filmmakers that they could actually think of the ways in which they could give time slot to each and every character. It was noted that in the film adaptation, the character of Atticus was given a lot time. Such a decision had actually made the filmmakers compromise on the dialogue and presence of many other characters. It is also noted that many major characters have been omitted from the film adaptation because of improper time slot given to the characters on the screen.

Through the above comparison and contrast of the novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and its film adaptation, it comes to understanding that adaptations are critical to undertake. It had been mentioned in the introduction as well that it takes a lot of hard work to adapt a classical novel into a film for various reasons. The overall process of adaptation is complicated because a film is a small duration for storytelling while an author in the book is able to discuss every possible detail. There have been many differences that were noted in the process of compare and contrast. Some of the differences would not be considered as major as they did not have a relation with other detail. However, at the same time, there are many literary devices that have been compromised because of the cinematic features such as camera, sequence, framing to name a few. One cannot be cynical of the adaptations right away because it is a daunting process. It is thus, suggested that the filmmakers are able to understand the need and importance of the literary devices that authors use in order to undertake storytelling. Through the above comparison, it comes to understanding that there are many differences that one may be able to observe from the book and its film adaptation, but overall, it can be said that the essence of the story had been preserved in the film adaptation.