Harper Lee: The Life Behind 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

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Many books written today are influenced by an author's life. An author's childhood, career, places they’ve went, and people in their lives can be a big influence on how a book turns out. One of these many authors, was Harper Lee. Harper Lee’s first book, To Kill a Mockingbird, won many awards. Her book, were works of Southern Gothic, coming-of-age, and Bildungsroman but, they have a story behind it. The story, is Harper Lee’s life. Harper Lee’s childhood, success, and aspiring career gave her inspiration to write the novel To Kill A Mockingbird.
Nelle Harper Lee, known as Harper Lee, was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, and was the youngest of four children. Growing up in a small town as a tomboy, she tended to be like her female narrator Scout Finch: a …show more content…

(Lee Chapter 23)” This quote was said during the case trial in To Kill A Mockingbird. In the novel, Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem Finch’s father, would serve as a defense lawyer for Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Tom Robinson, being the color black in a racist Alabama, Tom already had his fate sealed. People saw him guilty for “raping” Mayella Ewell. Scout Finch, during the Tom Robinson trial in To Kill a Mockingbird, was six years old but, Harper Lee’s idea for this case trial, was influenced by the 1931 Scottsboro Trials.
The Scottsboro Trials were based on the alleged rape of two white girls raped by nine black teenagers on a southern train. The first trial for the nine boys took place twelve days after their arrest, and they were tried in groups two and three. In the end, all the boys were found guilty of rape, and sentenced to death. One of the boys were 13, and received a mistrial considering he was the

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