Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

The novel and the movie, To Kill A Mockingbird, can be correctly compared to a set of twins. They look exactly the same, yet they could not possibly be more different. Does the “prodigious” film, based on the tragic novel, capture the attention of the audience the same way the novel left us all in awe? This novel is told in a flashback point of view of the protagonist character, Scout. This story is about the unpredictable life that surrounds a noble family (Scout, Jem, and Atticus) living in a small town in Alabama during the 1930’s. Throughout this story, the children and the readers both learn about stereotypes, prejudice, the meaning of understanding, courage, and many more valuable life lessons. Robert Mulligan turned To Kill A Mockingbird

This scene lets Scout and Jem see things through a new perspective (through the blacks point of view). Calpurnia taking them to church makes them realize that there are many stereotypes around the world. To have seen this distinction, the children had to be maturing in the novel. Maturing involves seeing things that are hard to witness, but by doing so one will gain better judgment. Taking them to church, Calpurnia made the children and herself vulnerable to verbal attacks from the blacks. One black lady, Lula, gets particularly mad at Calpurnia and the children for coming to the black church. ‘“You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal’” (Lee 158)? Lula was obviously angered that whites were going to black church. This was not a common thing to do during the 1930’s, so she was not wrong for being angry. With this in mind, why did this scene not happen in the movie? Calpurnia never got to take Scout and Jem to her church. Because this scene didn’t happen in the movie, Scout nor Jem got the chance to see life from a different perspective. The list does not end here; more differences are yet to

Dubose punishing Jem to read to her is even more important. With this scenario that happened, Jem learned that he has to be grateful in life and that he has to control his temper/emotions in order to avoid conflicts. In the novel, Jem and Scout learn a very important lesson through this punishment. It sometimes takes physical and/or mental courage to do what is right. They learn that Mrs. Dubose was fighting an addiction and by doing so she was the bravest person Atticus ever knew. “’You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew’” (Lee 149). Atticus was trying to explain to his kids why Mrs. Dubose was a so brave and why she was a winner. He is explaining the meaning of physical courage to Jem and Scout. Mrs. Dubose is a morphine addict, who had vowed to go clean before she died, and engaged Jem and Scout (without their knowledge) to keep her off the stuff for longer periods of time. This scene is probably the most important scene in the whole novel, but dismally, it was not shown on screen. Mrs. Dubose is only shown for a brief moment in the whole movie, therefore we never saw Mrs. Dubose punishing Jem. Jem never got to learn to be grateful for what he has and to know when to control his situations. Why did Robert Mulligan choose to leave out the most