Authors may use their writing to communicate sensitive societal issues, such as racism, rape, and discrimination. Nelle Harper Lee, known by many as Harper lee, was widely acknowledged because of the story To Kill a Mockingbird, released by Lippincott on 11th July 1960. The author was born on 28th April 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama (Zouaghi & Dib, 2019). She had three siblings, Alice, Louise, and Edwin, who participated in her upbringing.
The father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a lawyer and a newspaper editor, where he practiced at the Alabama State Legislature (Burling & Barton, 2016). As a lawyer, he contributed to defending the black man accused of killing a white store clerk. She went to Monroe high school, and her teacher inspired her dreams of becoming a brilliant author. At 18, the author joined Huntingdon College in Montgomery and later studied law from 1945 to 1949 at the University of Alabama (Jay, 2018). She later transferred to Oxford University as an exchange student for a year, but six months before completing her studies, she went to New York to become a writer.
The author perfectly reflects her life in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird as her father played an essential role in creating the story. In 1960, during the book’s release, the author did not expect the book to receive a warm reception (Burling & Barton, 2016). Atticus Finch, the character portrayed as an excellent father in the book, depicts the picture of Harper Lee’s birth father (Lechner, n.d.). The actual father of the writer had played a significant part in helping defend the black people. In the novel, during Tom Robinson’s trial, people showed much hatred towards the blacks as he was linked to raping Mayella, a young white lady. Finch also showed great courage in defending Tom against the accusations that were levied on him (Bond, 2018). Tom knew he had fewer chances of winning the court cases, but he dared to fight for the truth.
Scout, Atticus’s daughter, was not familiar with some topics in society, and thus Atticus ensured she taught her about rape and how it was evil. She did not understand what the term “niggers” meant until she came one day at home and asked her parent what the term nigger meant (Al-Mamoory & Witwit, 2021). She asked her father if she supported “niggers”, and he replied he does and should avoid using the word. The father does not want her daughter to use the lousy term and discriminate against anyone. Scout and her brother Jem faced discrimination and other historical injustices directed against the blacks.
The author created the fictional character Finch to show the complicated feeling that her father had (Lechner, n.d.). Atticus Finch is a racially enlightened character, just like the writer’s father. It is indisputable that the writer had modeled her father’s life in her writing to portray the challenge they experienced due to racial discrimination. Atticus had become a vessel through which Lee showed displayed the difficulties faced by the people in the south.
Harper Lee used Finch as the fictional character to show how people may judge others based on appearance. The author’s father was a lawyer, while the protagonist Atticus Finch was also a lawyer. Finch and Amasa were fighting for the rights of the blacks. It supports the claim that Harper Lee used the creation to reflect her life and family. Lee Harper must have ever experienced cases where black men were falsely accused of raping the white. The events that shape the story must have been related to the writer’s early life incidents.
References
Al-Mamoory, S., & Witwit, M. A. (2021). Critical discourse analysis of oppression in ” ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’” Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research, 9(02), 11–24. Web.
Burling, A., & Barton, R. (2016). Harper Lee : Pulitzer Prize-winning Author. Essential Library, An Imprint Of Abdo Publishing.
Bond, C. (2018). To Kill A Lawyer-Hero: Atticus Finch in the Law School Classroom, 45 Rutgers L. Rec. 191. UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship. Web.
Jay, G. S. (2018). White Writers, Race Matters: Fictions of Racial Liberalism from Stowe to Stockett. Oxford University Press. Copyright.
Letchner, Z. J. (n.d.). To Kill a Mockingbird in Historical Perspective and Current Context: A Review Essay.
Zouaghi, Z., & Dib, F. Z. (2019). Racism in Harper lee’s to kill a mockingbird innate quality or learned prejudice. Univ-Oeb. Web.