Film Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird
The choice for this film analysis was
ultimately between two movies that made a strong impact on me over the past
year, or so: The Lady in the Van
starring Maggie Smith and To Kill a Mockingbird starring the iconic Gregory
Peck. Both motion pictures are
excellent, one following a real-life story of London’s Miss Shepherd and the
other based on the classic work by Harper Lee, but a decision had to be made. The ultimate choice of topic for this paper, then,
is To Kill a Mockingbird. In part, this is based on the fact that I
wrote a research paper last term entitled “Atticus Finch’s Identity Crisis,”
which compared and contrasted Harper Lee’s two books—only one in a sense, but
that’s a digression to be clarified within this academic paper. In choosing this movie, I have selected a
work full of rich ethical complexities that are successfully navigated by the
protagonist, Atticus Finch. (While the
narrator is arguably Scout Finch, Atticus Finch is best described as the
protagonist of the novel and film.) In personal communications with
Gregory Peck’s daughter, Cecilia Peck, she recently described to me why this
role was so deeply important to her father.
I
think what he said himself sums it up so well, "I put everything I
had into it — all my feelings, and everything I'd learned in 46 years of
living, about family life and fathers and children. And my feelings about
racial justice and inequality and opportunity.” He did put all of himself
into it. And he championed the making of the film at a time when most of the
studios were not ready to address the subject of racism in films. Although it
may not seem groundbreaking today, at the time, the book and the film were
enormously impactful. I believe they helped to shift attitudes in our country
and point towards the Civil Rights legislation. My dad’s willingness to stand
up for what he believed in showed in his performance as Atticus. Harper Lee and
my father became inseparable for the rest of their lives. Their friendship came
out of the relationship between the book and the film, which also became
inseparable. As much as the book drove readers toward the film, the film drove
viewers toward the novel. They are forever intertwined, and I think it’s one of
the best adaptations ever from a novel into a film. (Peck, Personal Communication)
The movie is set in the fictional
community of Maycomb, Alabama in the early 1930s. This Southern community is one in which the
race divide is like a chasm that runs deep and wide through a small American
town. When Atticus Finch becomes the
public defender for Tom Robinson, a young black man unjustly accused of raping
a white woman, Atticus’ involvement places his reputation and even the physical
safety of his family in jeopardy.
For the purposes of this analysis, this
essay will be focusing upon the iconic courtroom scene from the motion
picture. The only notable difference
between the film and the book’s narrative pertains to the representation of Tom
Robinson’s withered left hand; it is not depicted as particularly deformed in
the movie. Since there are no significant differences between the book
and the movie with regards to this particular passage, then, I am going to set
the scene with an excerpt from Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In
this scene, Atticus is referring to the alleged rape victim, Mayella Ewell.
I say guilt,
gentleman, because it was guilt that motivated her. She has committed no crime, she has merely
broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that
whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She is the victim of cruel poverty and
ignorance, but I cannot pity her: she is white.
She knew full well the enormity of her offense, but because her desires
were greater than the code she was breaking, she persisted in breaking it. Sher persisted, as her subsequent reaction is
something every one of us have known at one time or another. She did something every child has done—she
tried to put the evidence of her offense away from her. But in this case she was no child hiding
contraband: she struck out at her victim—of necessity she must put him away
from her presence, from this world. She
must destroy the evidence of her offense.
(Lee, 231)
The
passage dramatizes Atticus’ willingness to rise to the passionate defense of
Tom Robinson, but it further highlights his selflessness with regards to the
very public nature of this defense. He
could have proceeded half-heartedly, for instance, which would have likely have
safeguarded his reputation within the community. Instead, he gave the defense his utmost, and
in so doing he jeopardized his reputation with the townspeople of Maycomb,
Alabama.
The first lens through which this scene
will be examined will be the lens of integrity.
As Stephen Carter defines the application of this word, it requires one
to “discern what is right, act on that discernment, and then publicly explain
why you acted as you did.” (Tompkins,
84) No other ethical quality or
dimension seems to describe so well what is at the heart of Atticus strident
defense of Tom Robinson. It is not
defense rooted in anything remotely self-serving, but it represents a man
taking risk upon himself (and family) for the good of an innocent man. By intervening and accepting this client, his
work as an attorney becomes akin to the person who sees something happening
that is morally wrong and either interposes himself between victim or
perpetrator or takes another manner of direct action to attempt to secure the
greater good; it’s “taking
a stand against the bystander mentality.” It is so easy to let events pass
one by without extending even a gesture of aid, but Atticus placed his entire
livelihood within Maycomb in uncertainty when he undertook the defense of Mr.
Robinson. Applying the lens of integrity
to the courtroom scene from To Kill a
Mockingbird shines a bright light upon the unique character of Atticus
Finch, a man who bravely articulates the truth regarding racism in the South,
and its continuing role within crime and punishment, as well as the pursuit of
truth.
The second lens to turn to is the one called
justice, specifically procedural justice.
“Procedural justice provides an alternative to the personal search for
corrective justice by creating a more impartial process for discerning what is
fair or deserving. A process for
procedural justice could be as simple as drawing a name from a hat or as
complex as legal trial by jury of one’s peers.”
(Tompkins, 75-76) It is Atticus
Finch’s steadfast belief in the criminal justice system and the rule of law
that is at the heart of his challenge to the community’s status quo. He does not hold that only Caucasians are
worthy of a fair and just trial; he believes it is something to which all are entitled. It could be argued that procedural justice in
the story’s end loses ground, however, in the heart of Atticus. Integrity and procedural justice are in
conflict when Tom Robinson is found guilty, despite the strong evidence to the
contrary. As if something was learned
from this later in the work, Atticus Finch also relents in not publicizing the serious
actions of the reclusive Boo Radley through the spotlight of a new trial. While not directly in the scope of the scene
being analyzed, it is important to raise this dimension of the moral and
ethical development of Atticus Finch, as this ensconcing of the truth would
have been against every moral fiber of his being before the attack upon his
daughter Scout Finch. The attack on his
own family has revealed that integrity is the higher good than necessarily
always following the rules of man’s law.
As Cecilia Peck wisely observed earlier, “Although
it may not seem groundbreaking today, at the time, the book and the film were
enormously impactful. I believe they helped to shift attitudes in our country
and point towards the Civil Rights legislation. My dad’s willingness to stand
up for what he believed in showed in his performance as Atticus.” (Peck, Personal Communication) Both the book and motion picture are infused
with a deep integrity and an appreciation of the rights of all. Indeed, Aticus represents a character that is
still emulated (by some) in the legal profession. The work is poignant reminder of the good
that people may do when the good of self is placed behind the good of others.
Cited Sources
Lee, Harper. To Kill a
Mockingbird, HarperCollins, New York, 1960.
Peck, Cecilia, Personal Communication
Tompkins, Paula S. Practicing Communication Ethics :
Development, Discernment, and Decision-Making. Boston, MA : Allyn &
Bacon, 2011. Print.
Works
Consulted
"A
Conversation with Gregory Peck," directed by Barbara Kopple. produced by
Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck, and Linda Saffire. performance by Gregory Peck. Universal Studios, , 2011.
Directed by
Mulligan, Robert. To Kill a Mockingbird, produced by Horton Foote, performance
by Gregory Peck, Mary Badham and Phillip Alford. Universal-International,
1962.
(MLA style not retained in this essay due to spacing for blog readers.)
