To Kill a Mockingbird Movie and Book Differences

There are lots of differences in the book To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie version of it. Some differences are that in the movie Jem and Scout did not go to Calpurnia's church and I thought that was an important part in the book because it showed how black people respected the Finches because Atticus was defending Tom Robinson. In the movie, Aunt Alexandra was not included. This was a big difference because Aunt Alexandra throughout the book is trying to get Scout to act more like a lady. Another difference is that when Atticus tells Scout and Jem to not kill a mockingbird in the book, he gave them air-riffles but in the movie he tells them during dinner and he was talking to Walter Cunningham about hunting. The movie does not include some important scenes in the book but the movie did a good job conveying the same message the book does, "it is a sin to kill a mockingbird" meaning, it is a sin to kill someone who has done nothing.

In the movie it doesn't show the scene where Scout and Jem go to Calpurnia's church. It shows in the book that black people have deep respect for the Finches because of Atticus defending Tom Robinson and in the movie they don't go so it seems like there isn't that much respect for Atticus, Jem, or Scout. "When they saw Jem and me with Calpurnia, the men stepped back and took off their hats; the women crossed their arms at their waists, weekday gestures of respectful attention. They parted and made a small pathway to the church door for us." (Page 157-158) This does not happen in the movie so you don't see black people showing respect for the Finches.

Aunt Alexandra is not in the movie and this is a big difference because in the book she is always trying to change scout to be more like a lady. In the movie since she isn't in it the scene where all the ladies of Maycomb are sitting talking where Aunt Alexandra silently thanks Miss Maudie for standing up for Atticus. "She gave Miss Maudie a look of pure gratitude, and I wondered at the world of women. Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra had never been especially close, and here was Aunty silently thanking her for something. For what, I knew not." (Page 312) That part was important in the book because it showed that Aunt Alexandra does support Atticus.

Another significant difference is that in the book, Scout and Jem find various items in a hole in a tree. In the movie, Jem finds the tree and finds a spelling bee medal by himself. Then later in the movie, Nathan Radley paved the tree right in front of Scout and Jem. In the book Scout and Jem find it like that and they ask Nathan Radley about it and he says the tree is dying. "Tree's dying. You plug 'em with cement when they're sick. You ought to know that, Jem." Jem said nothing more about it until late afternoon. When we passed our tree he gave it a meditative pat on its cement, and remained