BLOCK BLOG: THINK TANK

Dear Hortan Foote,
I really enjoyed the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” because it made me thing about the prejudice that black people had to go through in the 1900s. I know it really got me thinking about what is and isn’t fair, and how that affects people’s thoughts and actions. As for my class, I know it really got them thinking, too. People were upset that Tom Robinson was sentenced as guilty even though it was completely evident that he was not.
When watching your movie, I thought you did a great job with how wrong it was that Tom Robinson was convicted, and the relationships between the characters. However, you missed a few detailed parts of the story. For example: when Aunt Alexandra came to live with them, it really changed Scout. She became more like a lady and realized she couldn’t act like a boy forever. Also, Jem and Scout’s relationship was sort of loose in the movie. The book showed their complete bond and relationship past brother-sister. They were friends and playmates, as well. They looked out for one another and though they bickered at times, like any pair of siblings would, they honestly had fun and loved each other. I felt like this point was missed in the film.
The emotional impact of the film was there, but not as powerful as in the book. When reading, I remember feeling completely angry and fully shocked when I discovered the jury had “found Tom Robinson guilty”. In the movie, it wasn’t so emotional and it was even to a point where I didn’t really care. The movie didn’t illustrate the inseperable bonds of the characters that the book so carefully created.
A scene in the movie that was as I pictured it from the book was the scene where Mayella Ewell was being questioned. She seemed very uncomfortable and offended to be up at the stand, and it was clear that she was lying. The movie illustrated it almost exactly how I’d pictured it. Another scene was when the Finch’s had Walter Cunningham Jr. over for dinner. It was word-for-word what the book had said and I pictured the scene to be exactly as it was in the movie.
I think that the novel can be inturpreted to current day events for teens, but the movie not so much without really thinking. I know they’re the same story, but a lot of teens today see a black and white movie or show and immediately shut down and don’t pay attention. Though the film may have a really great message to portray, the students will completely miss the point because it’s an “old movie”. However with the novel, I know that I related the novel to today’s world with ease. I could see prejudices in my school and world with new eyes, the eyes of someone who has almost witnessed racism in the bounds and promises of the court. It made me see some of the things we do every day without thinking and realize how completely unfair they can be to people. To Kill A Mockingbird (the book) really got me motivated to make a change, and interested in the relations between racism then and issues now.
Sincerally,
Laura Betka

Dear Mr. Horton Foote,
As a High School student reading To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time, I felt the story to be extremely powerful and captured the skewed treatment of tormented blacks during the 20th century. The way negroes, and the very few whites which married them, were frowned upon was shameful and disgracing. It made me appreciate people, in general, more and to be thankful for all that I have and what this country has overcome.
The run-off film of the narrative, I thought was exceedingly inconsistent and contradictory. The movie disregarded what I believed to be the most interesting chapters of the book, the Radley house. The video skips most of the Finch kids’ summers playing “the Radley game” and their days wondering what or who was living in that house. The feature also passes over such scenes as the fire at Ms. Maudie’s, Christmas at the landing and living with Aunt Alexandra, events which in my opinion painted a vivid picture of what life was like for a member of Maycomb County. The movie was very uneven, an example would be the “soap” dolls Jem and Scout found in the knot hole. What was supposedly soap was actually wood. The film was very different from the book and should have been much more constant. For someone who failed to read the book would find themselves both confused and misguided.
I believe the movie was intended to give a much more influential impact but lacked in emotional guidance. I didn’t think the film was terrible just poorly minimized.
The movie’s main focus seemed to sustain to the Tom Robinson trial. I think the writer’s, as yourself, felt they needed to stay true to the original text, which I conclude was successfully accomplished. After reading the book the scene of the hearing appeared word for word.
Published in 1960 the book I believe is more appealing to an older generation. If it had not been assigned to me I probably would never had read it. I am very glad, however to have read the novel and experience daily discussions on such topics. The movie, to me was immensely out dated. It was filmed in black and white and all in all poorly captured. I think a remake would do the brilliant masterpiece some good.
As for now, I reason your concept of a rendition of a highly praised novel was bold and impressive.
~Nikki Richter

Now THAT is an answer! 25/25 - excellent, Nikki!

Dear Horton Foote,

I recently studied “To Kill Mockingbird” in my class. The book has left its mark by making me and my fellow students feel differently about how we treat or act towards others. In the book Scout says, ” Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” this quote really effected my class because it gave us instructions on how not to be prejudice. before we read the book we were unaware of when we were being prejudice or just criticizing someone. When we had finished reading the book we watched the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird” and I must state that there were more than a few parts left out. in the movie they fail to include a very important character. Aunt Alexandria was not even mentioned in the movie and she played a crucial role in Scouts life. When she came to live with Atticus for a while she was a pain for Scout and Jem. She was constantly nagging on them for not being good children. Towards the end of the book , however, she became more like the mother figure that Scout and Jem so greatly needed. Another discrepancy found in the movie is that Mrs. Dubose was almost completely cut out from the movie. She did not call Atticus names and her flowers were never destroyed by Jem, Also she was never a morphine addict. The Movie also fail to express Scouts obsession with Boo Radley, so when it came to the end of the film Boo’s Appearance was not as shocking and longed for as described in the novel. The Novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” made the reader go through so many emotions. The film attempted to make the viewer feel all of these but was not able to capture all of them. For instance when Mayella Ewell was giving her testimony, she was supposed to make the jury feel sorry for her. Instead she was very defensive and on the verge of threatening. On the other hand Tom Robinson acted, and looked, exactly how he was described in the book. Especially when he gave his testimony to Atticus. The scene in the book were the town is at the court and Atticus is defending Tom Robinson. There were a lot of details witch were not shown or talked about in the film. For example Judge Taylor never chewed a cigar or looked like he was falling asleep. In fact judge Taylor didn’t look like the Judge Taylor that was described in the story. I do not think that the movie is current for today’s teens. It was a good movie but it had a lot of dry spots where the average teen would lose interest. To make it more current they should remake it with a more detailed plot and a more up to date effects and actors.

Dear Mr. Horton Foote,

“To Kill a Mockingbird” had a very strong impact on me and my class. I think we all learned a lot about what life was really like in the 30’s and how everyone dealt with discrimination. Watching the movie after I had read the book, really helped me visualize what was really going on. A lot of the people in the movie were not quite what I pictured them to be in the book, but it still helped me to have the story set in my brain. There were a lot of things missing in the movie that were a large part of the book. If you were to only watch the movie, you didn’t really get the whole point that Harper Lee was trying to convey. The book, in my opinion, was trying to teach people about the impact discrimination has on our lives. I don’t think the movie showed that as well as the book, but it still got the point across, just without much detail. The trial was almost exactly as the book described it. It was just what I imagined, and the actors did a great job in expressing the message their character was supposed to convey. I think that the movie and the book are very relevant for current day teens. People don’t like to talk about it, but discrimination is a huge factor in teen’s lives. Having different cliques at school is a great example of discrimination. It obviously isn’t as heavy as black versus white, but it is one of the biggest problems today. If you are not in a certain clique, teens are likely to label you with a stereotype. I think that reading this book will help teens today realize that what you do affects more than you.

Sincerely,
Hillary Spruit

Dear Mr.Foote,
While reading To Kill a Mockingbird in class, we discussed the issue of prejudice throughout the book. Since the book was based off of Harper Lee’s first hand account of the time period I think it shows what really happened and I can relate better because the main characters are relatively close to my age. It really made me think about how the times have changed and makes me grateful to be so lucky to live in a time where I don’t have to worry about such prejudice.
After reading the book, we watched the 1962 version of the movie and as I was watching I noticed many inconsistencies that were rather important to the story. I noticed that the movie, in general, focuses less on the Radleys and more on the trial. The book makes a point to keep the Radleys intertwined throughout the story. It is an obsession for Jem and Scout. Having the Radleys present in the book adds a sense of adventure and mystery that the movie was lacking. Also, the movie does not include Jem’s outburst on Mrs.Dubose’s flowers which I believe shows a great deal about his character and that he cannot always be the mature big brother. In fact, the movie shows hardly anything about Mrs. Dubose, who represents the time very well. She is a conservative old woman who is not afraid to voice her opinion about how she thinks everyone in town should act. Without these key pieces and many of the smaller yet equally important details, the story loses a certain element and gains a more serious feel.
The book captures a feeling of change and learning. Although the movie did leave out a few of the important learning experiences the book describes, I think it portrayed these feelings very well. Seeing all the characters come to life allowed me to understand the emotions clearly and the main points of the book were included. The idea of prejudice and racism is very prominent in both the book and the movie. Also I believe Atticus’s character is very important to the feeling of change throughout the book. He teaches the children many important lessons while still letting them live their own lives and experiencing things for themselves. He is a large part of the movie as well.
Despite the events left out, the movie has a good balance of events that are almost word for word as they appear in the book. The most important, I think, is the courtroom scene. The testimonies were very close to read right off the page of the book which is important because if the trial was changed the whole outcome could have been different which would have conveyed a completely different message. The movie also did a nice job of making sure to align the end when Mr. Ewell attacks Jem and Scout with the book. Without having that scene being as detailed and in depth as it was the ending would have been boring and the loose ends would not have been tied together.
I think teenagers can relate to the book today even though it was written about 50 years ago. It contains lessons that are timeless and can apply to anyone. Also, the fact that Jem and Scout are close to being teenagers I think teenage readers can relate the events in the book to how they acted when they were younger. They had many of the same feelings and frustrations when they were Jem’s and Scout’s ages. Even though the movie follows the same story and events as the book I think teenagers cannot relate as easily to it. The fact that the movie is in black and white and made so long ago is a major turnoff to many of today’s young people. We are used to the highest quality films and the most recent technology, so when an old film is shown we have an automatic negative perspective. Personally I like the book better because it leaves room for me to imagine how I think everything looks and to picture things for myself. I think if I had watched the movie before I read the book I may have had a more positive opinion just because then it would not have been contradicting everything I had imagined. However, your time and effort is appreciated in the making of the movie because it does give another perspective besides what I took from the book.

Sincerely,
Alicia Miller

Dear Horton Foote,

I thought that this was an amazing book, It is now one of my favorties. It was an incredibly inlightening story that did a wonderful job of painting a picture of a probably very common scenario during that time. To Kill A Mockingbird has also made me realize that some people are just different, and that we shouldn’t fear something that we are unsure about just because it is something that we can not relate to.
After reading the book i found that the movie was not nearly as good and had several differences from the novel. For instance in the movie everything happened very quickly, the children seemed too young to me, and the movie was missing a lot from the beginning of the book.
The film itself was supposed to portray feelings of questioning, longings to fit in, and a sense of betrayal for the children as they get to know people through their development into adulthood. I did not think that the movie did a very good job of portaying these feelings which were portrayed in the book.
Although the movie was not as good as the book it did have a few scenes that were the same as they were in the novel. An example is when Boo Radley saves the children from Mr. Ewell. Cecil Jacobs was not present in the film but everything else about it is the same, even when the scene moves to the finch house and the story is being explained. This part is accurate in the movie because it is one of the most important and vivid parts of the book. It is crucial that this part be thouroughly explained and understood because it is Boo’s main part and it helps explain Boo’s character.
In some ways the book can be connected to todays events. Like you could easily connect the accusations made against Tom Robinson to one of todays many bullying cases. However i wouldn’t go as far as to say that the book is current for todays teens, simply because i don’t think that many of the teens today would be able to make very many other connections with things they could relate to.

Sincerly Madelyn Spielmaker

Sorry about my first post, didn’t mean to send it.

Dear Horton Foote,

The book that you have based your movie on, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, has had a huge impact on my life. I have had a huge change of mind. I now see how Blacks were treated back then. I see that no matter what they were treated unequally. My class has read the book also, and I have seen a huge shift of mind after they read the book. Your movie was very good, but there were many slip ups and it didn’t always follow the book. For example in the book Dill lives with Aunt Rachel, but in the movie he says he lives with Aunt Stephine. Also you decided to add a grand jury, something that was never mentioned in the book. One more, big mistake, is that Jem finds two wooden dolls. According to the book, Scout was supposed to find them, and they were supposed to be soap. This is also inconsistent, because in the end of the movie Jem says that the dolls were soap.
The good side of your movie is that it captured the emotional part of the book incredibly well. Although the movie did have a few errors, it showed the main parts of the book, the necessary parts. For example at the end of the movie when scout first sees Aurther Radley, I could fell how shocked Scout was. One scene I really liked because it followed the book exactly. This was when Scout and Jem meet Dill for the first time. The movie followed it word for word (for the most part), and it was just as I imagined.
I myself highly recommend this book for people of all ages. It truly captures the racist side of the south, and shows you how hard it was to be a black living in a white town. I dot not recommend watching the movie only. For the movie does not capture all of the events in the book.
Sincerely,
Drew Vandegrift

Dear Horton Foote,

As a student, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was my most favorite book that I have had to read in school. It taught me many new things about life in the post-depression era. It was a time full of prejudice and discrimination. The novel depicts a well developed window into life in Maycomb County, Alabama. I learned that you cannot judge a book by its cover and things are not always as they seem to be. Reading this novel impacted our class on a level that had made us want to apply the morals of the story to our school. I feel that our anti-bullying campaign would not have meant as much to us if we had not read “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
I thought that the movie only focused on the legal elements of the book. You left out a few of the emotions of the Atticus’s children and Maycomb’s citizens. In the book, Dill lives with his Aunt Rachel, but in the movie he lives with Aunt Stephanie. Also, you never showed in the movie how Scout got in trouble with Miss Caroline at school. That was a very important part of the book. The movie also entirely skipped the Finch Christmas party at Aunt Alexandra’s house. Scout never got in a fight with her cousin Frances or her Uncle Jack Finch. Another major part of the book missing was the fact that Aunt Alexandra never came to live with the Finch family. Along with Aunt Alexandra missing, so are Dolfus Raymond and Mr. Underwood. Jem and Scout Finch also never built a snowman replicating Mr. Avery in the movie. On top of that, Miss Maudie’s house never burnt down, which means Boo never put a blanket over Scout. Jem also never wrecked Mrs. Dubose’s yard and did not have to read to her in the movie. So if you had not read the book you would never know any of this information. The movie seemed a little dry and should not have focused entirely on Tom Robinson’s case.
I think the movie was supposed to have a factual impact on its audience. It did a good job at portraying the inequality in the courtroom and the unfairness of it. It was not very emotional until the end when the audience learns of Tom’s death and Boo Radley. The book was emotional throughout. It went into detail on the troubles Jem and Scout faced on a daily basis and how their opinions were different than their peers. The novel journeys through how the kids were treated at school, by their family, by their neighbors, and by fellow Maycomb County citizens.
I do not think that the movie is up to date for today’s teens. I appreciated the movie and enjoyed watching it, but I know some of my friends thought it was boring. It is long, in black and white, and at times a little slow. It might pay off to remake the movie. “To Kill a Mockingbird” teaches the reader or audience a wonderful lesson. I think every teen should read the book, if not, watch the movie. Knowing that more teens are likely to watch the movie, a more accurate and up to date version should be made.

Sincerely,
Sarah Koehn

Dear Horton Foote,

By reading your book I have a better understanding about bullying and being prejudice. Before I read this book I did not really think about what I was actually saying. I thought about it, but not past what I was saying or the affects about what I was about to say. After reading this book I think about what I am saying and the impact it will have towards a person. As a class we have better understanding about life’s lesson of being young kids and not knowing or thinking about what we just said or how it could affect someone. Now that we have read this book the class has begun to realize how powerful words are when they’re placed in the correct order.
The movie which you created was very inconsistent with the book. First off in the movie Dill is living with Aunt Stephanie but in the book he is living with Aunt Rachel. The movie leaves out an important part of the book such as Miss Maudie’s house catching on fire. In the book there was no grand jury hearing but in the movie there was. Also in the movie when Jem gets his pants caught in the fence and has to leave them behind, later when he goes back they ‘re are all normal and folded on the fence for him. On the other hand in the book when Jem went back to retrieve his pants they were ragged and torn. In the movie there is a scene when Atticus, Scout, and Jem went to the Robinson’s house and Bob Ewell spooked them, that never happened in the book. Also not in the book the children go down to the court house to see where Boo Radley was locked up. In the movie the kids found the spelling bee medal in the tree first but in the book that’s not what they found first nor did they find it at night. Also in the movie the kids found wooden dolls in the tree instead of soap dolls as in the book even though at the end of the movie they are mentioned at as being made out of soap. Also about the tree, Jem found many things in the tree hole which weren’t mentioned in the book then showed them to Scout. The kids find Atticus right away in the movie but in the book it seems like it took them awhile. Also in town when the group of men came for Tom Robinson down at the jail, Mr. Underwood wasn’t covering Atticus. In the movie if you didn’t read the book or missed a few parts of the hearing you would think that the movie is all wrong saying Tom’s arm is twelve inches shorter as in the book. Calpurnia never took the kids to her church either. In the movie the kids never went home during the hearing but in the book they do and then they come back. Jem never destroyed Mrs. Dubois’s flowers like he did in the book. As you can see the movie is very inconsistent with the book. If you only watched the movie and did not read the book you would disagree with anyone who told you about the book and also would be misled.
The movie didn’t capture all of the emotional essence in order to be like the book. The movie seemed to have so much emphasis on every scene. By reading the book then watching the movie some of the scenes I pictured while reading the book were different from the movie. The film seemed to rush through each scene and not grasp emotional meaning in which the book gave. Acting isn’t like it used to be, it’s better now. The scenes were the actors did get it right were in the court room scenes. Those scenes were very powerful. They became powerful by the body language and word choice which showed true meaning.
The novel and movie are very current for today’s teens. This because teens are going through issues similar to the book every day. The teen’s can read the book or watch movie and connect to their life like in our class then figure out a better way to go about their business only affecting people in a positive way.

Dear Mr. Horton Foote,
First of all; congratulations on your awards on your Academy Award and Writers Guild of America Screen Award from your movie on to Kill a Mockingbird. I think our class thoroughly enjoyed seeing the movie after reading the book.
One thing that was disappointing was the fact that the movie didn’t show everything that the book did. If you were to just watch the movie and not read the book you would be missing out on some of the better parts of the book. You would never see the fire, meet Uncle Jack, or see the snowman that resembles Mr. Avery, or the way that the teacher treated scout on the first day of school. You would miss out on some pretty sweet parts of the book. Plus it doesn’t help the lazy students at all; I mean, just give us a little hand and insert the stuff that could be on a test. Many teens today don’t like to read so the movie is the next logical way. Just saying
All in all, the movie was pretty dece. The actors did a solid job performing as the real characters. Atticus, I think, was portrayed the best. His emotions, his actions, his looks, were all how I perceived him. The same with Boo Radley, I liked how you portrayed him as a straight up creeper, but still didn’t take away his true humane nature. The scenes were also well done. The walk home, the Radley Place, the courthouse; All were very well pictured and displayed just as the book had described. The actors put on emotions and acted just as the book had described that helped the mind imagine that you were there.
I thought that the movie had a great emotional impact. The movie gave you an actual visualization of what things may have been like it Maycomb during the 1930’s. It’s hard for people nowadays to think what life would have been without things like computers and movies. With the movie you can feel like you are actually experiencing it.
I think that the fact that you did the movie is awesome. I think that the book, and the movie can still talk to people nowadays. People need to watch what they do and how they judge people they meet. A misunderstood comment could kill a modern day “mockingbird” and with tools like the movie and the book you can make people aware of it.
Thank you so much for all your work,
Cory Hendrickson

Dear Mr. Foote,
Our class has recently read the book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I thought it was a pretty good book. It definitely made an impact on me and my class. I think we will all be more aware of other people and try to “walk in their shoes” before we judge them. It also impacted us by showing how bad the prejudice was back then and it encourages us not to be like that.
I was a little disappointed in the movie. After reading the book and having certain expectations, there was quite a bit missing. For example, Aunt Alexandra wasn’t even in the movie and she played a big part in the book. Also, Mrs. Dubose was not in the movie nearly as much as in the book. People who did not read the book and just watched the movie missed a lot of the maturation of Scout and Jem. That was one of the big themes in the book and the movie didn’t touch on that much.
In the book, there were two main sections with different moods and emotions. The first was lighthearted and childlike. This was when Scout and Jem are so caught up in Boo. Then when the trial starts, the mood and emotions change to dark and evil. I don’t think the movie showed much of the first part. It seemed like you got to the trial very quickly without showing much else. The emotions in the movie captured the emotions of the second half of the book, but not the first half.
There were a lot of good similarities as well. A big one is the interest in Boo and how Boo gives Scout and Jem gifts in the knothole. This shows what the kids are like and shows that they are kids. Another one is the views of the white people and black people. In both the movie and book, the white people hate black people and white people who like black people.
I think the novel and movie are current for today’s teens. There are good lessons throughout the story. Whether it’s what Atticus teaches Jem and Scout or life lessons that the characters learn, they can teach a lot to today’s teens.

Dear Mr Horton Foote

Hello. My name is Breanna Kay Cornell, and I happen to be a student who read “To Kill A Mockingbird” this past month and then watched your 1962 version of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” I found many differences and similarities between your movies and Harper Lee’s book when our class watched it together.

The book impacted our class as a whole because it really opened our eyes to how the people who lived in the 1930s. The struggles, their actions, trends, and the “unspoken laws” that so many women of Maycomb spoke about (segregation and mannerisms, along to even Scout just waring pants…). The book impacted me personally, because I (like many other people, I am sure) forget what it is like to be a little girl, not nessesarily fitting in with what society wants form children. Scout was a lot like me (I believe) when I was young … if not less anxious than I am. Struggling to understand the world, Scout doesn’t fit in, much like I. Although, as I’ve grown, I’ve forgotten many of my “childhood’s” struggle’s. The book “To Kill A Mockingbird” reminded me of the small struggles of being a young child, and it has made me wiser in a way…

Watching the movie, I found many inconsistencies … there were the inconsistencies that were simple, such as some scenes did not follow the time line of the book… one example of this would be Miss Maudie talking to Scout about Atticus being old, although that did not happen until after Scout met Dill and went to school, and in the movie it happened in the beginning. There were also more subtle differences that one may not perceive at first. Some examples of these would be that the “soap dolls” that Boo Radley made were made of wood in the movie; also Dill was staying with “aunt Stephanie” in the movie, when in the book he was staying with aunt Rachel. In the movie there were also parts of the book left out … such as Scout’s performance in the pageant … and showing Scout interacting with her teacher at school … and Scout finding the gum in the tree and chewing it … scenes mainly where Scout seemed to “interact more.” One who has not read the book may find the movie not sufficient enough in information or may not even acquire the feel of Scout. For in the movie, Scout fails to interact with adults in the way that she had in the book. In the book, one could see how Scout interacted and learned from adults, and how Scout tried to apply what she learned, but lost control sometimes and ended up in a fight… in the movie, though, one would see that Scout was just a “tom-boy” wanting to get into a fight, and not really the motive behind it… a good example of this would be the scene that the movie left out: the Christmas scene. In this chapter of the book, Scout got in a fight with her cousin, for he had called her father a “nigger lover.” Scout’s uncle, reacting upon Scout’s cousin’s accusations that Scout had locked him in the kitchen, beat Scout. At this point, Scout was able to show all that she knew as a child and what she had learned form Atticus : Scout taught her uncle just what a kid wants : to be treated as an equal to an adult. The movie completely missed this, and hence the watcher did not experience the emotions of a young girl trying to grow up in a “unbalanced” but loving family.

The film should have had an emotional impact that made the watcher feel as though they were “in Scout’s shoes, and had walked around in her skin for a while.” The movie did not capture the emotional struggles of being a child because the movie did not really show the internal workings of Jem or Scout, or Dill for that matter. In the movie the children were portrayed just as any other child would be portrayed in a movie : fun, care free and not “in tune” with the world around them. Mr Foote, you may have enhanced this by Jem telling the reverend that “Scout doesn’t understand what is going on in the trial,” and then by Scout going home and show her begin to question the way her and her family live, and so forth. Maybe the children’s attitudes should have been more serious, and then the watcher would have taken the way the children were feeling more seriously … that is the problem with most “grown people;” they fail to comprehend people’s emotions unless they are expressed in the extreme … and in many children’s cases, the child appears care free and happy, and, well, cute, hence (to the adult) the child must be happy and have no other internal workings. So maybe by becoming more “serious” with the children’s emotions, a watcher will feel that children are “deeper” in general.

The final scene, when Boo Arthur Radley appears, having saved Jem and Scout, the movie is played as one would picture it in their head when reading the book. When Boo appears childish and scared, the actor takes on Boo’s role as his “life,” and Scout’s character understands. Boo is finally someone who seems to take her childish emotions with understanding, and Scout understands Boo in return. Scout, standing on Boo Radley’s porch, finally walked in Boo’s “shoes.” … And I believe that Scout finally learned why her interest in Boo was so strong … because they were the same on the inside. They felt the same; scared and lost in a strange world where they were both still trying to figure out the rules. The actors and the setting, and the pure emotion of it all, enhanced by the narration right from the book made the movie feel as though one were watching the book come alive.

The movie, appropriate for 1962 viewers, is still appropriate for the viewers of 2008 and more to come. This movie, along with it’s counter part book, shows and describes history of the deep south within the 1930s, and it’s 1930 mannerisms that accompany it allow it to be held as “current” because history is unchanging. Hence, as the count of years grows, and time changes, history cannot, and “To Kill A Mockingbird” cannot change because it portrays history in it’s most vivid form … a story from first person. “To Kill A Mockingbird”… a novel and a movie are time less.

Mr Horton Foote, I very much enjoyed the watching of your movie, and hope that all is well. Thank you for your time, and please take into consideration what I have said. Thank You .

Sincerely,

Breanna Kay Cornell

Dear Horton Foote,
In my English class we read To Kill A Mocking Bird,
the Book was one of the best books i have ever read. It has made a big impact on me because my mother always told me the same lessons that Atticus is teaching Scout and Jem in the book, so while I was reading the book it helped me to really understand what my mom was saying. I also thing the rest of the class was impacted as well. Some of the students may not realize if they were effected by the book or not but there are some who do, and because of the book you can tell a difference in the class.
After our class read the book we watched the movie, it was a great movie but it was missing some parts. a couple inconsistencies I saw in the movie were, Aunt Alexandra was not there, and she played a very important role in the book. Another one is that in the movie you did not do a very good job in making Arther “Boo” Radley a well developed character. If you were a student who decided that they will just watch the movie it would really hurt you because you left out some very important parts that a teacher loves to put on test.
The movie had a nice emotional appeal to it but although it was not as great as the book’s. Because the Book kept you on the edge of your seat and you felt as if you were one of the kids friends, and there was also alot more going on the book that brought you closer to the characters. Now in the movie it had an emotional appeal but it was almost like you knew what was going to happen so you didn’t feel as close to the characters like you did in the book.
In the movie you had some scenes that were exactly as the book described them like in the court room when Atticus is talking to Mr. Ewell. I think it cool that you kept most of the court room scene the same because that was the climax of the book and that is what it should be for the movie, and it was.
I think that if the movie and the book were to be compared to todays times they would only find some things that were a little outdated, but otherwise the messages that are being sent out are still being told today and have all the same meanings.
Sincerly,
Molly Britz

Dear Horton,
This book has had an amzing impact on me. I think this is the first book I ever read for school that I actually enjoyed and would read again for pleasure! I think our class liked it and learned a lot from its themes of racism and prejudice.

If I had only seen the movie, I would have missed many of the details of the summers before the trial. The movies skips over many of the parts concerning Boo and the children’s mischieveous schemes. It leaves out some other important parts including: Miss Maudie’s house burning down, Aunt Alexandra coming to stay with the Finches, and Miss Dubose’s flowers and morphine addiction.

The emotional essence of the movie, I think, was anti-racism and injustice. However the book depicts not only that, but also more “things are not as they seem” and “walk in someone else’s shoes before judging them.” The movie sort of skimmed over the finer aspects of the book.

The trial scenes were nearly identical to the book’s description. This helped a lot and made it easier to follow. The actors did a good job of portraying the emotions described inthe book and these parts were very well-directed (not to say that the other parts weren’t!)

I think this novel is highly applicable to today’s society and the current generation of teenagers. Discrimination is as wide-spread now as it ever was and time won’t change that because it’s a timeless attitude. We might discriminate different people because of different things but HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF and I do not believe prejudice OR discrimination will die out anytime soon!

Dear Mr. Horton Foote,

I believe that you did a spectacular job in writing the movie of To Kill A Mockingbird. Believe me, I know that it was not an easy task because you have to grind out the some details from the book, or else the movie would have to be ten hours long. This book brought out some thoughts and emotions in me and my classmates that I never believed I had. I actually felt ashamed the whole time I was reading this book that I am associated with some of those fellow Americans. There are some exceptions, like Atticus, who are good-hearted people who fought for what they believed in even if it could cost them their life.
There were some details in the book that you forgot to put in the movie. Some examples of this are the whole family going to Aunt Alexandra’s for Christmas, there are no scenes of Scout in school, Jem and Scout never went to Cal’s church, Jem destroying Mrs. Duboses flowers and reading to her, Mr. Raymond, and the last scene of Atticus reading to Scout and Scout comes up with her own story of The Gray Ghost. Some “Hollywood” scenes in the movie were not necessary and were not in the book. Some example of these are Dill living with Aunt Stephanie, Mr. Radley is alive and takes care of boo, the judge asks Atticus to defend Tom Robinson, the Dolls being made out of wood, Tom Robinson dying right after the trial, And they go to the Robinson household to tell Mrs. Robinson and that’s when Bob Ewell spits in Atticus’s face. If someone only watched the movie they would miss some very valuable information and lessons. For example, when Scout gets punished for punching Francis after he calls a “n-word lover.” This was a very emotional part in the book because Scout’s own flesh and blood is against Atticus to. The movie also did not two very important parts, Scout and Jem going to Cal’s church and Jem ruining Mrs. Duboses flowers and reading to her. When Scout and Jem go to Cal’s church they are welcomed by almost everyone and are treated as kings, which signifies how the blacks believed they were inferior to the whites. The movie missed the key scene of Jem hitting Mrs. Duboses flowers with scout baton and then Jem has to read to her. She then dies because she wants to break her morphine addiction before she died.
Some scenes in the movie were exactly as I pictured it out to be when I read the book. The trial of Tom Robinson was and example of this. When Atticus tricked Bob Ewell into revealing that he was left-handed in the movie was exactly how it was in the book. In addition, when it became Tom’s turn to give his testimony I pictured a scared, emotional black man, which is exactly how the movie captured it. The most pivotal part of the trial, when all the black folk up in the balcony rise for Atticus as he walks out, was portrayed exactly how the book said it.
When I read this book, I began to think about the time period and how evil some people were. Then I realized that it is still going on, just in a different way. An example of this is bullying in schools. Kids are being bullied more now than ever because of all the technological advancements, and its taking its toll. Kids are being mocked and bullied because of things that they cannot control, like mentally challenged kids. The kids who are being bullied today represent the African Americans who were bullied back then. This movie is perfect for teens today because it shows a common problem in our world that has been going on forever. The problem is egotistical people believing they are superior to others and treat the others like crap. Everyone, no matter race, ethnic origin, sex, etc. is equal. If most of our generation can figure this out then there would be a lot less problems (ex. Wars). This movie and book capture this theme, motive, and problem as best as a book or movie can. I thoroughly enjoyed this book/movie because it got me thinking about things that I have thrown away in the past. This one book/movie has actually changed the way I look at life and thank you for that.

Sincerely,
Mitch Distin

Dear Horton Foote,
You wrote the screenplay for the movie version of, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. My tenth grade English class has just finished reading the book, and the movie as well. The plot overview was about the same of both, but they did have some noticeable differences. One of them being that Dill visits Aunt Rachel in the novel, but visits Aunt Stephanie in the movie.

The book was great and showed the class a part of racism in the 1930s. It really symbolized some things and reflected them. This taught the class about racism and bullying, two very destroying things. All these things that happened back then are still happening right now.

The movie was not very accurate at all. The book did a better job of explaining things and explaining them right. Many parts form the book were left out or changed. This movie was way too vague and I would not recommend just watching it and not reading the book. We had a test on this and it would have been impossible if I wouldn’t have read the book. The movie was definitely not enough.

The movie itself had a pretty big emotional impact. I think the overview of the movie and book one got kind of the same message. The novel explained things more thorough, so it probably gave people a bigger impact than the movie. Movies are visual so they can be touching too, but the context can make a difference too.

Some of the scenes in the novel that were also in the movie were nicely acted out. They were very serious and real. The actors from the film were great and can act very well, especially the one who acted for Atticus. He was very serious and acted very realistic.

The novel and the movie are very current for today’s teens. In today’s society racism and bulling are still very well under way. What the book does is it takes these things and interprets it into a 1930’s society. The society we live in today makes this all happen. People just make the wrong choices and end up bulling or calling someone a name. Overall this book can relate to today’s society very well.

Sincerely,
Dominik Gebert

Dear Horton Foote.
After reading the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” i have begun to change the way i look at others.I am no longer quick to judge, instead i try to get to know people and be kind before i talk poorly about them. I think that my entire class of 50 plus students have been changed too. Last week in another class i heard someone comparing the book to a situation he/she was faced with. and he/she took the lessons learned in the book and did what i felt was the right thing to do.
When i watched the movie i did not feel the same disapiontment and frustration as when i was reading. i feel that the movie did not do as good of a job of showing the injustice of the trial and life in maycomb as the book. The movie was more to the piont of the trial where as the book showed you a lot more of the racist and prejudest things going on all over maycomb. If i just watched the movie i would have missed out on all of the things that happen to boo and mrs duboise ect. the book did a much better job overall then the movie.
A scene from the movie that closely resembles the book is the attack on jem and scout. in both the book and the movie there is a lot of forsadowing to that point. with the noises in the woods and it being Halloween really sets the scene. The movie did do a great job with this because you never saw boo radley during the fight just as scout described it in the book.
I think that both the movie and the book should be read by all teens at least once. it shows that it is not right to be quick to judge and i think that is something my generation has a big problem with. we are all in our little groups and non of us want to break away from them because of the way others dress and look.

Dear Horton Foote,

I think that this book had a very large impact on our class as a whole rather than me in person. This book impacted us as a class because it brought us closer together. It was our first book with the blog and that helped us in many ways. The blog helped us with out studying methods and also our understanding of the reading content along the way. This book also impacted us because we learned how to read the content and put it in our own words with the blog and the article on the trial.

The movie and the book were very different in many ways. The book had a lot more scenes to it and the book also told the story in a better way. The movie skipped many parts of the book including Miss Maudie’s house burning down. If you only watched the movie and didn’t read the book that would impact you because they were so different.

The movie had a different view on being emotional rather than the book. The movie made it more emotional from my point of view because you actually saw in front of you, people being hurt by what was going on. You saw people breaking down as the trial continued. Even though the book told the same story, the movie did a better job in making it more emotional.

The only time that the movie and the book were related was during the trial of Tom Robinson and during the beginning parts of the movie. The scenes are not what I pictured them to be but the words were used in the same way and manner.

I do not think that this novel is current for our teens including me. This novel talks about the same thing all the other books we read talk about. How racism made a large impact on life back in the early 1900s.

Kyle Vander Ark

Dear Horton Foote,

i have recently watched your cinamatic intrepritation of “to kill a mocking bird” and i really injoyed it. The book had a profound impact on my and really made me thing about alot of stuff. It really got me thinking about prejudism, racisim, and discrimination. It has also put my history class into actin to try and stop as much bullying in my school. So far that is going well.
Although i did injoy the movie it was not very consistant with the book, but what movie is? you skipped alot of the biggening part of the movie and it seemed to me like there was not enough rising action and that made it less climactic. I think i know what you were trying to do though. you were making it more action pack and “movie” friendly, which was what i was expecting.
Compared to the book this film did not have much emotional impact on me. This film turned out to be more of an action film then some thing with a solid message.
you obviously kept the major scenes relativly the same and i like that. For example, the court scene was very good and true to the dialoge. it really added to the movie. Also, who ever played Mayella did a wonderful job of acting that part, they kept it very true to the book.
Finaly, the movie was good, but out dated and lacks the ability to make a solid impact on the tenns of today. the black and white really turns of a teen and the issue of racism is not a really hot topic any more. As for the message side of this story it would be more effective today if it was bassed of a more modern topic.

sincerly, scott

p.s. schrote, im writing this at 12.30 in the morning cause i dont want to wake up and do it and i procrastinate way to much. just a fun fact.

Dear Horton Foote,

I have recently watched your film “To Kill a Mockingbird” and I would like to describe the effects it had on me as a student and my class as a whole.

After watching this movie, my eyes were more open to see how segregation can hurt a man’s life. I translated the racism inMaycomb to how people stereotype and bully innocent people in my school. This really surprised me how much people are “killing mockingbirds” in our schools. The effect that it had on our class as a whole is that the students are more aware of what they are doing can hurt someone else. Maybe somebody in class was picking on somebody, not a lot but some. After watching this movie they might be more aware of what they were doing. This has improved the tone and bullying views of the class as a whole.

There were some inconsistacies with the movie and the book. Some of them are that Aunt Alexandra is never mentioned, Jem and Scout never get their bubble gum, you never see Scouts teacher, you don’t see Miss Maudie’s house on fire or even hear about it, and that Jem and Scout never go read to Mrs. Dubose. If I just watched the movie and didn’t read the book, this would effect me greatly. I would’ve missed a lot of important scenes in the story that help make the overall impression and tone of the book different. There is less foreshadowing because of it and without some of these scenes, I would’ve had a false idea of the story.

The emotional impact that the film was supposed to have is that it will make the viewers feel bad about segregation and discrimination. It is supposed to make people feel sad that some people just look at they color of someone’s skin and judge them. Another emotional impact is the feeling of learning and growing up with a happy sense to it, but as the movie went on, it should’ve been increasingly gloomy and dark because of the discrimination towards Tom. THe movie did capture some of the emotional impacts but not all. It also captured parts of some. The movie showed that Jem, Acout and Dill were upset that they were so mean to TOm just beacuse he is black so they di capture a little of the sadness towards discrimination. The movie did not apture the feeling of a less happy feel as the movie went on.

Some scenes were just as the book described like when Scout was rolled in a tire and went into Boo’s yard. Jem was scared and Scout didn’t know what to do. This shows that they believed every story that was told about Boo and that they were in fact, scared of him. This makes the audience more curious about who Boo Radley is and if the stories about him are true.

The novel and your movie are in deed current for today’s teens. There is so much stereotypig, bullying, and racism towards other teens. The novel and movie help the students be more aware of the things they are doing. Student’s today grow up with bullying and stereotyping, that’s why there are groups and clicks in our schools. To Kill a Mockingbird relates to this by having segregation compare to stereotyping and bullying today. They go for the same results, to hurt innocent people. Let the “mockingbirds” in our schools be, because they aren’t hurting anyone. To Kill a Mockingbird will help this cahnge and make students more aware of the situation at hand, so yes, I do think that the novel and movie are current for today’s teens.

I thank you for your time to read this letter.

Thankful Watcher,
Joey Mills

Dear Mr. Foote,

To Kill a Mockingbird is a terrific book and I believe it has had a positive impact on me as well as our class as a whole. It has a positive moral message and is an entertaining story also.

I also thought that the movie was good although not a good as the book. There were many inconsistencies including that many scenes in the book that were not featured in the movie. Other inconsistencies were small such as Dill staying with his Aunt Stephanie, were as in the book he stayed with his Aunt Rachael, and the dolls that Boo made for Jem and Scout were made out of soap in the book but appeared to be made out of wood in the movie. However, if you were to just watch the movie and not read the book, you would not capture the same essence and meaning that is in the book.

The movie did however enable the viewer to grasp the emotional impact of the story. While reading a story it is easy to let your imagination run wild while trying to picture the emotion showed by the characters, but in the movie it is easy to see the emotion revealed by the characters.

There were also some scenes in the movie that were exactly how they were described in the book such as the court scenes. These scenes not only had similar dialog but also painted a perfect picture for how it would been like to sit in the courtroom.

So all in all To Kill a Mockingbird is a good movie and an even better book, which both can still appeal to current day teenagers. Obviously the language used in those days is far different than is spoken by todays teenagers, but the story still has a positive message that will continue to touch the hearts of students for generations to come.

Dear Mr. Horton Foot,

My name is Allie LeVasseur and my english class recently viewed your film and read the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. The book made me realize several things, and one of the most useful lessons it taught me was to not judge someone before you meet them firsthand. The entire town of Maycomb County viewed Mr. Dolphus Raymond as a drunk, and therefore thought he couldn’t be held accountable for the lifestyle he chose to live. However when Scout, Jem, and Dill met him outside the courthouse they found that he wasn’t a drunk, he just played the role so that the town would let him live his life the way he wanted. The children never would’ve known that he was a respectable man who didn’t want to cause the town trouble, and this was the way he chose to disguise his lifestyle. From the book I also learned that gossiping can lead to dangerous situations. The entire town told stories about Boo Radley and over the years the stories became more and more outrageous. Dill and the Finch children believed all of these stories and thought that they’d try their luck and attempt to see Boo themselves. However they almost get themselves killed in the process. I learned that gossiping can persuade people to make rash decisions that usually aren’t beneficial. The book has also helped my english class realize the severity of bullying. Scout has a tendency to fight in the book and pick on the other children at school. Our class has decided that we don’t want anything like that to occur at our school and so we’ve begun creating several campaigns for anti-bullying. Even seeing how Atticus was treated at the jail by his neighbors showed us that bullying doesn’t stop when a person reaches a certain age, we need to stop it before it escalates.

After viewing both versions of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ I was slightly disappointed in the film. I felt that it left out a lot of major components of the novel, including most of the information about Boo Radley and the game the children played during their summer vacations. He was the focal point of their childhood, and all of the scenes related to him didn’t feel as emotional in the movie. If I’d not read the book but only seen the movie I would’ve thought that the book was mostly about a trial between a black man and a white woman. I wouldn’t have known that it was about the childhood adventures of the Finch children or that Boo Radley was somewhat of a father figure in the shadows to the children, but Scout in particular. The lessons that i learned from reading the book wouldn’t have had the same impact if I’d only seen the movie. Everything in the movie seemed to be compressed and the viewer didn’t get to know the characters as well. Not to mention that most of them seemed to have switched in the movie. For example Dill stayed with Miss Rachel in the book, not Miss Stephanie like in the movie. The children didn’t have much of a relationship with Miss Stephanie in the book, it was more so with Miss Maudie. I feel sorry for the students who didn’t take the oportunity to read the novel because it was fantastic and they really missed out on good literature.

In the movie the end scene where Scout walked Boo Radley home, I think the writers were trying to provoke bittersweet emotions from the viewers. They wanted them to see how it was both the beginning and then end. Scout finally was able to meet Boo, but she also would never see him again. It wasn’t as emotional for me watching the movie as it was when I read the scene. In the movie there wasn’t a whole lot of background information on their relationship, and the observer wasn’t as connected with the characters. The book showed me how exactly Boo felt over the years. The Finch children had been like his own and Scout realized this when she stood on his porch and stepped into his shoes for a moment. The viewer should’ve been left with glistening tears in the eyes or atleast a smile on their face and I don’t think that the movie captured that emotion.

The trial scene was portrayed beautifully in my opinion. The actress who played the role of Mayella Ewell did a great job of capturing her emotions and personality. When Mayella was on the stand the audience was right there with her. She showed how Mayella thought Atticus was mocking her when he was really just being polite, and when she began crying the audience felt pity for her and the situation she was in. The writers wanted tod draw the viewers in, and they captured the essence of the novel in that scene. It was the tear-jerker moment of the film. The actor who played Tom also did a good job in portraying Tom’s range of emotions throughout the trial. Overall I thought that the trial scene was the most accurate in the whole film and the writers and actors captured all of the details beautifully.

I think that the movie and book are a little outdated however morals and life lessons never cease to apply to a situation because of the time period. Most of today’s teens need movie’s and books full of action and fighting scenes or huge romantic relationships, two things the book and movie don’t contain. However there still are teens out there who appreciate a good book and can watch a movie without an explosion going off every minute. The lessons that the book and novel taught me will never get old. They’ll always remain constant if you’re leading a good life and having books and movies that can teach teens these things is a great way to draw them in especially if there’s a special effect or two. But on the rare occasion that you find a teen who doesn’t need the action packed addition, they’ll find that the book was wonderful as was your film. They’ll appreciate it for its accurate dipiction of the time period. But until then we’ll have to wait until today’s current teens mature enough to enjoy a movie without bombs.

Sincerely,

Allie LeVasseur

Dear Mr. Horton Foote,
I have just seen your movie and read the book that your movie was based on. When I read the book I suddenly realized how horrible pre judging really is, I mean it cost people their lives in the book. I felt as though I wanted to become some one who never pre judged anyone, and I still do. I think, or at least hope, the book has affected my class in the same way. Just think about how much better are world would be if everyone stopped pre judging people, or stopped judging them for things they cannot change, like the way the look, who their parents are or the color of their skin.
When I was watching the movie I saw that some very important parts of the book were cut out. For example the movie never showed the fire or Boo coming and putting a blanket around scout. In the book Atticus and Scout never talked about how Jem was going to get Atticus’ watch and how Scout was going to get some of her mother’s old things. Also there was no grand jury hearing in the book. Also the kids never saw a shadow at the Radley house. Also in the book Boo fixed Jem’s pants and stuck them in the tree, in the movie Jem just went back for them. Also the gum was found by Scout not Jem in the book. Also the dolls Boo made them were soap dolls not wooden dolls. In the movie Calpurnia never brought them to church like in the book. Jem never smashed Mrs. Dubose’s flowers and was never forced to read to her, and she never died. Miss. Maudie never played cards with Scout. If I had not read the book and just watched the movie, I would have not gotten the same emotional impact or wanting of change.
The emotional impact of the book was very high and the impact of the movie wasn’t as high. When I read the book I really wanted change, when I watched the movie I felt like oh yeah he got shot that’s sad. It didn’t make me want to do something about it.
However some scenes were exact to the book. For example in the court house the questionings of Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell were exact to the book. It was almost like they had the book open and were reading their dialog in that part.
I think that the novel isn’t exactly current but I believe that students are smart enough to make the connection between the racism and the judging of the unknown to bulling and pre judging to their lives today. I think the book sends out a strong enough message that it makes people want to change or make people realize that a change needs to be made.

Dear Horton Foote,
I really enjoyed reading and watching To Kill a Mockingbird. It really helped me see the different issues that both black and white people had to go through concerning black rights. The entire book is based around racism, prejudice, and equal rights and I thought this was a great way to learn about it. I never really thought about the trouble that so many different people had to go through during the blacks rights other than for the blacks, and To Kill a Mockingbird showed me what happened and how people that even just helped blacks were treated. This book had an impact on our class that helps us be aware of just what happened back then.
During the movie I noticed that there were quite a few things that were different than in the book. For instance, there were many things that were out of order. In the book, Scout’s first day of school is at the beginning of the story but in the movie it happens well into the story. Also, in the book when Jem loses his pants he doesn’t go back to get them until after he saw all of the neighbors and Atticus, but in the movie he went back for them before all of that. I also thought that the movie didn’t portray how interested in Boo Radley the kids were. He didn’t seem to be a very big part of their lives in the movie but in the book it seems like everything they do somehow involves trying to see Boo. There were a few big events from the books that weren’t in the movie as well. In the book, Miss Maudy’s house catches on fire and while they’re outside Boo puts the blanket around Scout without her noticing. This was somewhat of a big deal in the book but wasn’t in the movie at all. Another big thing that wasn’t in the movie was Mr. DuBose’s death and Jem’s incident with her. Even though it didn’t have much to do with the trial, it was still a big part of the book.
There were a lot of different emotions that ran with this book. The trial was very serious and got really intense in some parts. I thought that the movie did an okay job on capturing the emotion of the trial but probably could’ve done better. In the book, things got serious in the town with Atticus. There were a few people who got mad about him helping Tom Robinson and were very rude and mean to the entire Finch family. This made Jem and Scout furious and they couldn’t stand to see people act that way towards Atticus. The movie didn’t really captured the emotions that everyone had during this. It didn’t really give the same impacts of Jem and Scout standing up for their father as the book did.
There were some scenes that did a great job of being just like the book. For example, the scene of Atticus shooting the dog was just like the book. The actors did a good job of showing the tension and worry that everyone had during this part. Another scene that was very close to the book was when Calpurnia scolded Scout for being rude to Walter. The actors and writers did a good job of giving the same effect that the book did about Calpurnia loving Scout and only doing it to help her.
This is still a great book for teens to read. Even though we don’t have these same problems any more, reading this is a good way to learn just what happened back then. The book gives a great sense of how everyone felt and really describes the situations in detail. It helps show the kind of problems that families who believed in black rights had to go through with the rest of their town. Learning about all of this in class tells us what happened, but I think that reading the book and watching the movie really showed us what happened better. It gives the real emotions and feelings.

Dear, Horton foote
The book to kill a mocking bird i think has definately changed the way that i look at the way certain people live. The way people are treated and not just becuase of race or gender, but because of much more then that even. It opened up the way i think of things back then.
When watching the movie it was kind of a cool way to see the actualy image of what you picture, but i also think it may ruin some thinbgs. the way i pictured boo radley was not like that at all. so it can also be very dissappointing.there were also a lot of things that the book made a big deal of, for example when scout beat up walter cunningham the first day of school. the movie skipped right over that.
The movie had good and bad ways of expressing emotion of the book. i do though think that it made the point of the trial and black people definately being discriminated against, and the movie showed that really well.
when i pictured the schene with scout and the ham i pictured it that exact same way. the way that they described how scout was peaking through the ham and saw her brother get knocked out definately put an image in my head and it was cool to see that in the movie.
There are definately different reasons that this book resembles todays world for a teeen, i think that not so much race, but just the way that people are different can get them caught into trouble with people who dont acccept them, and there will be that person who will take the courage and be friends with them, and at first their friends will look at them and say what are you thinking, but i think even the older i get the more i relaize that people are different and just because everyone is not just like me doesnt mean our personalities wont mix well and i think this book showed this concept in a really good way.

I wasn’t there on Thursday so I didn’t even know that We had a question on here to answer that was part of the test, but Nicole told Me about a half hour after it was due this morning, so hopefully You still accept this! Thanks!

1) Talk about the impact the book has had on you as a student and on your class as a whole:
It really shows that people shouldn’t prejudge people by how they look or what they like. They should really take the time and get to know the person before judging them on what they THINK they are like because they could be completely wrong.

2) Talk about watching the movie, and the inconsistencies you saw between the book and the movie. If you were a person who only watched the movie and failed to read the book for class (ahem), how would that impact you as a student?

They skipped a lot of important parts in the movie, so if you were someone that relied on the movie for your information about the book, you would not do very well on the test and that would hurt your grade. In the movie they didn’t show any of the “Radley Game”. Also Aunt Alexandra was never in the movie, and They never show Scout going to school in the movie. The trial before the real trial was not in the book, also some of the events in the movie were out of order than they were in the book.

3) Describe the emotional impact the film was supposed to have, and how it did or did not capture the emotional essence of the book.

I think that both the movie and the book both captured the emotional impact of the book which teaches you not to be prejudice and shows the effects of what happens when you are.

4) Describe how some of the scenes actually were as the book described, and how the actors and writing did that for the movie’s audience.

They captured the scenes probably by reading the descriptions of what they book said, which helped to really relate those scenes to those in the book.

5) Talk about whether or not the novel and the movie are current for today’s teens, and give your reasoning.

Yes and no. Because I don’t think people are as prejudice as they were in that time period about Blacks and whatnot. But yes it does relate because people DO still prejudge others and treat others poorly without knowing them.

Dear, Mr. Horton Foote this book has impact me so much as a student and i as a classmate of my class, because my class and i have learned so much to what it means to kill a mockingbird and that we had a example of what racism is really like back then, also we have had a example of the greatest trail in maycomb. In class we say the movie and compared it to the book, it was really different from the book, like in the movie Dill said he was living with aunt stephanie, but he was suppose to be living with Ms. Rachel, they skip school,they didnt play the boo radley game, When the kids snuck over to the radleys yard Jem got his pants sucked and they didnt show them folded up, he went back to go get them by himself, Atiicus didnt catch Jem w/ out his pants and so- fourth…….there was alot of stuff missing but the movie was still great. the emotional impact this movie was suppose to have was a good, senseitive feeling when u watch it but it was also suppose to make you feel like there was alot of racism in this movie, the feeling of that was sad because they mostly went to the trail part in the movie, this was not captured in the book the book seemed happy most of time and just they way things were said in the book. A part in the movie was actually like the book was when there was a mad dog and Atticus shot it in one shot, Atticus kids were amazed at what he can do, cause they thought there dad was a geek, also when Atticus was defending Tom Robinson in the trail cause he actually believed that Tom didnt do it and he was standing up for what is right, last but not least was when Scout would tease Walter and fight him and then have him over for dinner and she wouldm laugh at him cause he put syrup on his meat he was poor. I think the novel should be current for teens today, cause it has everything in it drama, romantics and just shows and tell you stuff about racism, i think people need to know how life is and actually read about it.

1. the impact that the book had on me as a student was a lot more than i initaly thought. the book showed that even if people don’t like your desicsions sometimes it can result in a better outcome than if u haddent done it.
2. the movie i thought was not that good it took away alot of what i had pictured in my head, it was plain out just not as good as reading it. i was agrivated by all the inconsistancys between the movie and the book i was mad that i didn’t get to see mrs maudie’s house burn down and i didn;t like how they skiped over like all the things at school and most of the stuff with the radleys.
3. it was saposed to give you a emotional impact about how how racism and all that stuff is bad and how it is not good to pre-judge people. i felt that the book which was a ton better! had a better effect on me than that movie ever will, there is no way not even now to make a movie that captures all the effects that the book has there is no possible way.
4. i didn’t see many things in the movie how i had imagind them but some things were close like the court house was close to what i thought it would be and some of the houses except radleys. i can tell they tried to make it look very much like the book but it just wasn’t all there i thought it was missing some good things. from what i saw of the movie i didn’t see when they found all the things in the knot of the tree and i didn’t like how they changed some of the names around.
5. i think the the book is current to todays scene of teen agers because it shows them that bulling and lieing can really do things to you as a person. mr ewell he got all worked up over nothing and ended up dieing and how even as kids you can make a bigger impact on the world or your community than you really think, like how when scout started talking to mr cunningham about how walter was doing. she prevented a lot from happening.
P.S. sry for not writing on time, i totaly forgot about it.

Dear Horton Foot,
this book has had a major impact on me as a student because it has showwed me what life would have been like for blacks and really put me in there shoes it has also showed me that there are still alot of decent people in the world eve when there is alot of turmoil. The movie had a major differntce in the idea it portrayed in my opinon like how it was very hollywood and cut out alot of the moral ideas but left the things for the story line like with how the ageing of the children wasent showen and how they dident describe the arguments like in the book. If i was a kid taht dident read the book i would not of gotton the idea and the aspect the writer was trying to portray and i would have just gotten the story not the fealing and moral idea from it the pont. the film was just supposed to make you feal for tom and kind of get the idea while the book wanted you to see how the kids felt and the grown ups and contrest that to show them growing up and all the problems that they had not like the movie when you were just kind of watching a problem unfold. the court scens were almost word for word the same becase they wanted them to be the same type of thing and that scene is so powerful in the book taht if they changed it it would wreck the movie. they are not raelly all that currnet our aspect of things and ideals are differnet we wouldent really take much head to a case like this because it happens all of the time and we see it on the news practicly every week but we still have the same ideas and feallings scout and jem have we are just more used to these things it seems but when some type of new news comes up it is a big deall like the girls being arested for the beating of the other girl.

sorry i forgot to post on time a major problem for me i supose. i hope you will at least give me some of the points for it sorry.

Dear Mr. Foote,
In my english class, we just finished reading the book To Kill a Mockingbird. I found it very fascinating.
When we watched the movie in class, i noticed some inconsistencies. For example, in the book, Dill lives with his aunt Rachel, not Miss Stephanie. Also in the movie, Jem and Scout did not go to Calpurnia’s church like in the book. Jem also did not read to Mrs. Dubose after destroying her flowers in the movie. If i were to only watch the movie, i would have missed a lot of the book. I feel that the movie does not portray enough of the curiosity the children have with Boo, and i feel that it is missing a lot of the emotions of the characters. The movie also did not show the Finch Family going to Finches Landing for Christmas, where scout forms interesting relationships with her relatives. The movie does not show the relationship between Scout and her teacher Miss Caroline, which i felt was important to the story.
On the contrary, i felt that the trial was very on track. I think the actors did a very good job with this scene by portraying the right emotions.
I think that the book is still appropriate to teach in schools because it helps us learn about the prejudice that was part of our country’s history. I really liked the book and i feel like students many years down the road will enjoy it too.

Dear Horton Foote,

I have recently seen your movie of To Kill a Mockingbird and read the book. Both of which I thought were wonderful! This movie and book has made a huge impact on my class as a whole. It helps us realize how much more we could do to change things. We are young kids and really couldn’t understand the unjust and prejudice issues of the past. To Kill a Mockingbird has just opened my classes eyes. WE see the differences in the world today and notice how much it has changed. It makes us really appreciate the time period we live in. The movie and book ,however, have many differences that were unclear to me. In the book they describe and put amazing pictures in my mind. The movie lacked some of those things, such as the whole Boo Radley story. Only until about the end of the movie did I realize these things. Boo was barely ever mentioned at all. I love how in the book he was the main part of it and in the movie he wasn’t. They also didn’t have a chance to tell about the fire at Miss. Maudies house which explained even more about
Boo and what kind of man he was. The movie had such a great impact on me. However I do feel lie it wasn’t as great as I thought. The movie could have showed more unjust and prejudice things then it did. Their could have even been a chance of me crying if it had more of that impact. It would have brought that time period to life a lot more. Some scenes were just as a had pictured. This helped the audience a lot in what they were watching and the time period it was set in. The Finch’s house was almost exactly how I pictured it in the book. The court room was again almost exactly how I had pictured it. It was just amazing to see it come to like on the screen. It help the book come to life in a way that was unreal. I don’t think neither the novel or the book are right for todays teens. They both are outdated and could be updated to provide something new. The movie could be changed to color with more current actors. The book I think could almost stay exactly the same because it is a great part of history. The movie could also be more accurate with the book. Thank you for opening my eyes along with many others.

sincerely,
Kelsey Marthens

Dear Horton Foote,
“To Kill A Mockingbird” is one of the best books I have read for school. It taught me that people should not judge people on their appearances or what other people think about them and should give everyone a fair chance, a chance they deserve. The class also learns that, but I think it gives them a better perspective on how other people feel and how they should treat them.
“To Kill A Mockingbird” movie was different from the movie. It did have the same story line, but it did not include some important things that the book did. In the movie Dill said that he lived with his Aunt Sally, when really he lived with Aunt Stephanie. In addition to that, when Jem lost his pants in the book he told the adults that they were playing a strip card game and that is why he had no pants and in the movie he already got his pants back and the adults always thought he had pants on. Another incident was in the movie they found carved wooden dolls in the knothole of the Radley’s tree, in actuality they found carved soap dolls in the tree. There were so many inconsistencies between the book and the movie that if I only saw the movie, the story would not be as powerful to me. It might also not send the same message as the book did. Even though I did read the book I still felt that the movie did not do the book justice. The film “To Kill A Mockingbird” was supposed to have a powerful message. It was supposed to show how innocence can be easily killed or destroyed. The movie unfortunately did not have a as meaningful of a message as the book had described.
Even though the movie had some differences from the movie it did have some scenes that were the as the book had described. Most of the scenes during the trial were the same as the book. The scenes about Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell’s testimony were portrayed in the movie exactly as the book explained. Another was the scene when the jury gave its verdict and when Atticus Finch walked out of the courthouse. The actor and the writers did very good job at making these scenes that the audience will understand that they are vey important.
I think that the book and the movie are very different and that the book is better. I believe that the book is current enough for teen readers. It is easy to understand, has a meaningful message, and is not boring. In my opinion the movie is not for current day movie goers. It is long, boring, and does not have a strong message.

From,
Nicole Finch

Dear Horton Foote,

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie you made of one of the most famous books of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird. The book made a huge impact on me, and I loved the underlying meanings through out the book. The title of the book had the most meaning for me in how much it said. Killing something innocent is a huge lesson we all should learn. I believe this book taught that to me. In class discussions, which took place on a blog, I witnessed that it had an impact on my class too. A lot of students got other things from the book that I did not see, and that made the book that much better. This book, I believe, is one of those books that all of us get different things from. You portraying the book in a movie helped out a lot too with the setting and surroundings of Maycomb.
The book and the movie had a lot of differences, but also a lot of similarities. The beginning of the movie skipped a lot of the setting and activities that happened prior to the Tom Robinson Trial. The fire, Jem cutting down Mrs. Dubose’s camellias, Scout’s first year of school, and others, passed by because you decided to focus more on the trial, which I agree, was the most important part. If students hadn’t read the book prior to watching the movie, they would have a different outlook, because I imagined the characters a lot different than they were in the film. Reading before watching is always the way to do it so you can imagine for yourself before all you see is the characters that were cast in the movie.
The emotional parts of the movie really captured the essence of the book. The teary speech by Tom Robinson, and the screechy squeal of Mayella Ewell were portrayed wonderfully. The love Atticus had for his children, and the loyal characteristics he showed to all people were also beautifully portrayed. The movie really had a sense of emotionality that you wrote to point. I loved the book and how many intertwining ideas were in it, and you helped me understand that more by writing this film.
The scene that intrigued me the most, and was most like the book was the captivating speeches of Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell. They were so perfectly filmed and acted that I felt like the book came alive. The way they both acted out that scene was almost exactly how I imagined it to be when I was reading the book. The emotion, anger, deceit, everything was amazing and on point with the Harper Lee written novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
I believe the movie and book should both be studied still in teen years in high school. The lessons the book taught, and the way the movie helped us imagine the book were great experiences. I learned a very valuable lesson from this book, and I think others in my class and in my age group did or would too. The movie is a fun part of the studying of the book, even though the movie was a little bit long, it was a great ending of this unit in English. Usually when black and white movies are on television I turn the channel automatically because I do not think it will be a good movie. But this movie proved to me that maybe even if it is a little old, with not as many cool graphics as the 21st century, it still has important lessons through out the film.
So thank you so much, Mr. Foote, you did an amazing job on writing this film.

Sincerely,

Leah Cohen

Dear Horton Foote,
This movie had a great impact on me as well as my class. It taught us some very good lessons. One of them was: “Don’t judge a person until you walk a mile in their shoes.” This movie did a great job of showing that. The movie did have quite a few inconsistencies with the book. I filled up 2 whole pages of parts left out and changed. If I were a person who didn’t read the book, and only watched the movie, I would be rather confused if I were talking to a person who read the book. For instance, Dill’s aunt in the movie was “Aunt Stephanie”, but in the book, it was really “Aunt Rachel”. That would cause quite the misunderstanding. The film didn’t quite impact me the same way the book did. The book left a greater impression on me due to it’s greater attention to details. There were some scenes that were very accurate though. I would have to say, the courthouse scene matched the book almost exact. The actors did a good job of capturing the emotions of the scene. I wouldn’t recommend this movie for today’s teens because personally, I believe it’s out of date, and could be more accurate. I do believe the book should be read by today’s teens. It’s a great book and very understandable from a teenage standpoint. That sums up the impact the movie had on me. I hope you like that impact. I sure do.
-Adam

Dear Mr. Foote,

i believe that your book taught me and my classmates not to judge the people around you as an object of speculation but to get to know them as a person and to understand their position in life at that time and place. why did you let them leave out so many pieces of raw detail and fact about the finch family life in the movie. your book held rich detail about scouts achedemic life and jems growth into a man but the movie held none of that detail it was just the basics of your book and personally i think that it did your book no justice. i had to laugh because some of my classmates heard that we watched the movie before the test and they decided not to read the book and boy were they sorry after they took the test because most of it was on the detail left out in the movie. there is one scene that particularly stuck out to me as being exactly as i pictured it and that was when atticus was in the preparation of getting ready to shoot the dog and then after he shot it jem’s look of sheer shock and admiration was just as i had pictured it in the book the boy who played jem fit the role perfectly at that time and so did atticus’s character.i believe that the concepts in the novel and the movie of not judging people and that you should look at situations from other people’s perspectives are exemplery details that every person should consider. on the contrary though i don’t think that the setting or the way of life that that family had would at all connect with today because people don’t just let their kids run around alone and beating up people would consequent a serious punishment in today’s times.

sincerely.
an avid fan and reader
Logan Banks

i apologize for my tardiness and understand if points need to be deducted.

Dear Mr Foote

My name is Nick and I am a tenth grader at a north american high school. I just recently read your book called to kill a mocking bird. This book was one of the most briliant books i have ever read. It has had a severe impact on how I view the world. Not only the world but how the people in it act. Sch as governments and the people of those governments. Also the treatment of others. To me the sadest part in the whole book was the trial it showed the very very obvious heated racsims in the american south.
When I watched the movie I was intrested to see the hollywood take on your story and it was quite interesting. They seemed to be a bit all over the map when it came to the order of events. Also they completely skipped over the fire scene which in my opinion was one of the most important in the movie. Also the aunt that Dil was staying with was also inccorect.
The movie also didnt do the movie justice in terms of the emotion involved. I was biting my nails page by page when I was reading the book but when I was watching the movie i was so confused by the out of order evebnts that i dindt even happended.
The actual scenes described in the book were described in the movie word for word so in a sense they did it some justice but in other senses they were just filling in the blanks to make the movie make sense.
The novel is current for todays teens because it talks about being free spirited and right now all teens are fighting for freedom in there homes in paticular with there parents. So in a sense I think all kids can relate to this book in some way. I even found my self at times reading this book and going hey. This reminds me of my life. Especialy when they talked aout boo being locked up. I thought of when I was grounded for getting in trouble.
Well Thank you once again Mr Foote for writing an american classic and truly wonderfl book. It truly has left a mark on not only american lituriture but american culture.

Sincerely, Nick

Dear Mr. Foote,

I am a student of Forest Hills Central and have made the decision to write you about To Kill a Mockingbird. The book To Kill a Mockingbird was incredible. It raised my awareness of the unfairness and racism that existed both on the streets of the deep south and in its courtrooms. It has also impacted my classmates and I as a whole because it is a perfect example of how wreckless cruelty can destroy an innocent person and their outlook on life.
The movie was also wonderful, as my classmates and I just finished watching the movie To Kill a Mockingbird; However, their were a few inconsistencies with the book. Their was a big spot missed when instead of starting the movie out with the children meeting Dill, it started out with Jem and Scout meeting Mr. Cunningham. In the book the children do not meet him until after their first day at school, and they also meet Dill much sooner. Another inconsistency is when Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s very significant character is completely ignored in the movie. He was important in the book because he was the polar opposite of most of the people in Maycomb, as he preferred black people to whites. A third difference would be that Dill does not live with his Aunt Rachel in the movie, as a matter of fact Aunt Rachel’s character is completely excluded much like Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s is. If our class had only watched the movie and not read the book, we would not know about these facts. We would completely miss the church scene (which was also excluded from the movie), the scene where Jem cuts Miss Dubose’s flowers and we would also miss Miss Maudie’s house burning down. These were all major events in the book, and yet they were all excluded from the movie. It would change our outlook on the characters; especially missing the church scene, because it is a great display of the prejudice that whites had towards african Americans.
On the other hand, a picture is worth one thousand words. Mr. Ewell’s character was depicted as a more fearful character in the movie than in the book, especially when he was drunk and was staring into the window of the car that Jem was staying in while Atticus was speaking to Miss Robinson (Tom Robinson’s wife). Another more emotional impact that the movie made was the look on Mr. Robinson’s face when he was found guilty by the jury. It expressed a great deal of pain and hoplessness, and made me feel more sad than the book had. The pictures in general seemed to inspire more emotion than the book did.
The best example of an accurate scene from the book would be when Walter Cunningham Jr. was eating over at the Finch house and Scout reacted rudely to his odd eating behavior when he poured syrup all over his food. It happened the same in the book as in the movie, including Calpurnia’s stern correction of Scout.
The movie and the book are not comletely literally applicable to today’s teens, but the less literal and more abstract message that the book gives is very much applicaple to today’s teens. The cruel treatment and bullying that Arthur “Boo” Radley and Tom Robinson faced could be appliccable to how many people that are innocent and kind are still abused and treated poorly both inside and outside of school. Also, Mayella Ewell (another one of the books important mockingbirds) is a symbol of abuse because she is obviously beaten and perhaps sexually abused by her father Mr. Ewell. She symbolizes the many teens that face domestic abuse at home, and all of those whose innocence is stolen from them by cruel and unkind treatment.
Thank you very much Mr. Foote for your contribution to American literature, it is truly appreciated; and also thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,
Justin Emery

I dont know if i will recieve any points for turning this in late but seeing as many others have turned theres in late I decided i might as well do the essay.

Dear, Mr. Foote

I believe that the book to Kill a Mockingbird has had a huge impact on me and my fellow classmates. It has showed us a different side of life in which everything isn’t perfect. Discrimination and Racism are prevalent causing many disruptions within the community. I think it also helps us with the project we are currently working on about Bullying. It shows us that others need our help and that a group of dedicated and willing people can make a difference. The book and the movie were really quite similar although the movie left out alot on the childhood of Jem and Scout and the games they play about Boo Radley. Dill also lived with a different lady than he did in the book. The movie was very moving though, because it depicted the courtroom just as I imagined it to be. It also correctly followed the trial and what occurred at the hearings. I believe the film had a large emotional impact because it correctly captured the emotions and sorrow of Tom Robinson as he was prosecuted, it also showed the mean and racist side of Bob Ewell. It also showed how wise Atticus was and how innocent Jem and Scout were. I believe that the book and the movie arent too current for todays teens only because it deals with the topic of racism. Now im not saying that no racism occurs today but not to the same extent that it did back then. If this book dealt more with a recent topic i think it would be even in more context with everyday life. All in all I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a fairly easy read. I also believe that the movie was a good representation of what the book summed up.

Sincerely, Greg Barker

I would be grateful if i could receive any credit at all but thank you.