Jem's Journal Entry

August 3rd, 1936

Maycomb County is great; however, I do have issues…

Maycomb County is small, we don’t have many visitors, mainly because were not by the Mississippi River, but also because we don’t have as many goods.

But apart from the popularity, the thing that’s really bugging me is all the segregation happening. I feel that we treat the coloured people so badly, and I just can’t stand seeing innocent coloured people go to jail, when they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.

I was watching a trial the other day with my sister Scout and my buddy Dill. My dad was a lawyer, and was trying to release a coloured man—Tom Robinson—who was charged with the rape of a white girl—Mayella Ewell.

I was so mad that the jury said Tom was guilty, because it was Mayella that was all over him, and he was just trying to get away. And that Bob Ewell? Ughh, I would love to have seen him be the one taken away, but no! it was Tom, and I must say that it’s the worst thing ever! Someone really should do something about this, I mean, don’t the white feel bad? Scout even said it was unfair, and so did Dill.

I had a talk with Atticus yesterday, saying I was outraged by all these stupid laws in Alabama, and Atticus agreed. I can’t imagine how he’s feeling, he must be really upset knowing he lost the case to Mayella Ewell, it must of broke him.

So you see, all this stupid segregation is killing me, and I hope one day when I grow up, I’ll make things right.

I chose to do my cover like this because I wanted to use to old style of black and white, but put some contrasting color in to make it more effective. The tree is to represent the oak tree near the Radley's place, and the place where Bob Ewell died, and the bird is an actual Mockingbird, which shows a heart of the story, which is that it's a sin to kill a Mockingbird.

Why so Different?

The book and the movie of Lord of the Flies, are very similar, interesting stories; however, they contain many differences, like how the boys arrived on the island, the way they were introduced, and the plot of Simon and the Lord of the Flies.

The first of the differences—the way the boys arrived on the island—was very different indeed. In the book (which was written by William Golding), the boys arrived in the plane which unfortunately crashed into the jungle on the island, and only the boys survived, not the pilot. In the movie(directed by Harry Hook), the boys arrive in a completely different way. The plane crashes into the water, and the boys all hurl themselves into a big life raft, and sail to shore—including the pilot. The change of the arrival makes it very different and a little less exciting. In the book, they crashed into the trees and vines, but as in the movie, you don’t even see the crash, you just see the boys swimming in the sea, and it sort of ruins the story.

With the second difference—the way the boys were introduced—was also very different as well. In the book, they are all separated from the crash, and have no idea who’s who. Also, Ralph and Piggy have a conversation by themselves and about what Piggy used to be called. They also introduce the characters separately, like how the choir boys came in in black cloaks, and badges too. Now in the movie, they all are already together, and they already know who’s who. They automatically called Piggy Piggy, and they are all wearing the exact same uniform. With these changes in the movie, it doesn’t make it as catching to the viewers to see them all enter separately, and the conversation Ralph and Piggy had, we wouldn’t of known the bullies called Piggy Piggy, we would of thought that was his actual born name.

A 3^rd and final difference is the plotline of Simon with the Lord of the Flies. In the book, Simon has a secret hideout, and the lord of the flies talks to him in his mind, giving him warnings that he’ll hurt him and the other boys. In the movie, Simon doesn’t really have any hideout, he just wonders around the jungle. Also, the lord of the flies doesn’t even talk, he might still talk in his mind, but we can’t hear him. The changes in the movie don’t make it as interesting, because first, the pig doesn’t talk! And second, we don’t know what Simon is thinking or if he’s actually talking to the lord of the flies.

To sum up, William Golding’s book is very different from Harry Hook’s version of the movie in many different ways, including the way the boys arrived on the island, the way they were introduced, and the plotline of Simon and the lord of the flies.