Harper Lee Research Paper

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most important works in

American literature. Its appeal, readability, and smooth-flowing narrative contribute to its success. The plots contrast the universal themes – “humor versus tragedy; innocence versus guilt; good versus evil; ignorance versus truth”

(“Timeless”). This style unique to Harper Lee comes from the experiences that have defined her life.

Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father, a descendent of Confederate Civil War General Robert E. Lee, was

Amasa Coleman Lee, a lawyer, and her mother was Frances Finch Lee. She had two older sisters, Alice Finch Lee and Louise Lee Connor, and one older brother, Edwin Coleman Lee. Harper Lee

She is an intensely private woman, and, as a result, anecdotes and accounts recounted by friends tell her story.

Several former schoolmates have described her as a feisty child, known for her love to fight. George Thomas Jones called her the “Queen of the

Tomboys,” describing an incident where she “whipped [a bully] before he knew

- 1 - what hit him” (Fischer). Jones also recalled Lee’s protectiveness of Truman

Capote, always coming to his rescue when he got himself into various troubles.

Harper Lee’s higher education was encouraged by her father, a lawyer who practiced in Monroeville. Others in her family, including her sister Alice, became lawyers, and Lee’s father wanted her to become a lawyer in the law firm at which he worked. She studied law at Huntington College in Montgomery

(1944-45) and the University of Alabama (1945-1949). She transferred to Oxford

University as an international student during her last year. However, she had actually wanted to become an author, and, six months before finishing her studies, she began her writing career. She penned several short stories and submitted them to a literary agent. At his suggestion, she expanded one of

Robinson’s trial may have been based on the notorious Scottsboro Trials. There are obvious parallels between James E. Horton, the judge of the one of the Scottsboro Trials, and Atticus Finch, Scout’s father and Robinson’s lawyer. Both the real and fictional trials convicted black men who were accused of rape by white women by a prejudiced all-white jury. In the case of the Scottsboro Trials, outrage at the blatant discrimination overturned some of the original convictions six years later.

When the Library of Congress conducted a survey in 1991, in which readers were asked to cite books that have made impacts on their lives, the

Bible was the only book ranked higher than To Kill a Mockingbird. It is evident that To Kill a Mockingbird is a true classic, as it is still and always will be relevant.

Everything that has happened in Harper Lee’s life – from the Scottsboro Trials to

- 3 - her friendship with Truman Capote – has affected To Kill a Mockingbird. These aspects of her life have manifested themselves either as her unique flair or as events in the book. Few other books rival Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird as a cornerstone in American