A Clean, Well Lighted......Movie

In my opinion the movie adaptation was pretty good although it lacked a few main components to make it spot on. The director had some good ideas on ways to put some extra symbolism but there was too many thing off.

In the written story it is based in the 1900's time period. Thus making it impossible to have an flat screen TV there. Also they kept the soldier and girl scene which was mainly in there to set the time period. Any could tell that bar setting was not World War I times. The director also left out the key component that even though the cafe is well lighted, the old man was in the shadows. That being said I did like the scene when he pays for the drinks and it focuses on the glass of brandy that is almost gone.

Along with the setting the characters seemed kind of off. Something about how the actors we're talking just didn't seem how I would have pictured the story. I know they're Irish but they're accent isn't why. To me it sounded like when they spoke the words sounded really awkward like they had just read the script..

The movie was actually pretty close to the story even though there were some things I though were weird. I said a lot of things that I though were bad about the movie but there are a few really good things the director put in. The scene in the bar really showed the meaning of why the old man likes the cafe. It shows sad people dressed in black sitting in the bar. Another thing I liked was the way the old man walked off into the darkness to really show that the cafe was his light in the dark.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

"How do you know it was nothing?"
People tend to overlook many things and many times they think when your rich you have no problems or worries. In this instance they miss the fact that besides his niece he has nobody in his life.
"You do not understand. This is a clean and pleasant cafe. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves."
The older waiter realizes that the man although sad with his life, wishes to be clean and at peace. He sits in the shadows of the leaves but the bright lights make him feel better. This seems like a symbol for his life even though it is dark he prefers not to be dirty.
"the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference."
This shows the man prefers peace and is most likely frustrated he can't hear what is going on around him. Once the night comes its just him by himself with his thoughts.

Loss of Innocence

What do you see when look at a song bird? A being of innocence. A bird that hears no evil, speaks no evil and sees no evil. All it does is sing for everyone to hear. When it’s killed, the innocence is lost just like in To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout, Jem, and Tom Robinson start in this way but as the trial begins the mockingbird is slaughtered by the real world.

The beginning of the book reveals the life of the people in Maycomb county. It shows the kids having fun and messing around. Just living a childhood of innocence. As the book goes on Scout and Jem catch glances of the real world around them. This is the start to the slow death of the innocent mockingbird.  At one point Atticus buys the kids BB guns and tells them, “Shoot all the blue jays you want if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90). This shows that the kids are the mockingbirds surrounded by blue jays by which their sins kill the small songbirds.

Unlike the part one of the book, part two begins the execution of the mockingbird. The single trial of Tom Robinson begins the kids journey into the real world. An innocent black man accused of rape of a white woman kicks the town into a frenzy of racism, picking sides, and craziness. Tom Robinson is also a mockingbird  caught up in the cruel world. White people had the power and once Mayella spoke the first words against Tom he was done for. Atticus defends this black man with his full might but the town either supports him or doesn’t. He helps Tom make the first steps to become a free man again. Then the men of the town take tom out of jail to kill him causing “[the] murder of a an innocent songbird”(192). The men aren't even prosecuted for their crime. All these events give the kids a mountaintop view of reality. Not to mention the crazy Bob Ewell who tries to kill the kids and threatens anyone connected to the trial.

This story shows the loss of innocence though many characters. This is a mirror to our real life because we all start off innocent and free in childhood but we grow old in hope to hold onto this innocence that is slowly slipping away.