Harper Lee’s Early Years
Born Nelle Harper Lee, spring 1926
Grew up in Monroeville, Alabama
Youngest of four children
Parents
Father: Amasa Coleman Lee
Mother: Frances Finch Lee
Father: practiced law in Monroeville
Father: editor of The Monroe Journal
Childhood
Personality
Childhood friend
Harper Lee’s Family
Position in the community
Responsibility for the community
Alice Lee
1950-1957
Worked for Eastern Airlines in NYC
Pursued writing career full time in NYC
Wrote and submitted To Kill a Mockingbird
1957-1959
To Kill A Mockingbird manuscript rejected
Research assistant for Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood
The Writer Emerges!
Published To Kill A Mockingbird
Received Pulitzer Prize
for novel
Novel Goes to the Movies
1930s Statistics
Social Order
Wealthy and educated
Working-class whites
Nonworking-class whites
African Americans
Jim Crow Laws
Racial caste system
Perpetuated racism
On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, Alabama
Nine young African American men arrested
Two white women accused men of raping them on the train
The Scottsboro Trial v. Tom Robinson’s Trial
Scottsboro:
1930s event
Northern Alabama
The poor white status of accusers was important
Robinson:
1930s event
Southern Alabama
The poor white status of Mayella was important
The Scottsboro Trial v. Tom Robinson’s Trial
Scottsboro:
James E. Horton, judge, over-turned the guilty jury verdict
All-white jury
The jury ignored evidence— that the women suffered no injuries, for example
Robinson:
Atticus, lawyer, defends the African-American man
All poor, white jury
The jury ignores evidence— that Tom_________________
Influence on Harper Lee
The Law and Jim Crow
Civil Rights Movement
Events in Alabama
Writing To Kill A Mockingbird
Themes
Viewpoint
Characters
Major Conflicts
Themes
Moral nature of man
Innocence to experience
How children learn morality
Social inequality
Vulnerability of innocent
Characters
Major Characters
Minor Characters
Conflicts
Person versus society
Person versus person
Person versus self
Colloquial Language
"Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets
foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’
on their ways like you was so high and mighty!"
—Calpurnia
"I scurried to my room and went to bed. Uncle Jack was a
prince of a fellow not to let me down. But I never figured out how Atticus
knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized
he wanted me to hear every word he said."
—Scout
"It ain’t honest but it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly,
Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never
understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live."
—Mr. Raymond
In Conclusion: Harper Lee’s Legacy