Analysing Harper Lee and his Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird

According to the Alabama Academy of Honor Archives, Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama to Amasa Coleman and Frances Finch Lee. In the south, it is customary to be called by your middle name. Therefore, throughout the rest of this paper, Nelle Harper Lee will be referred to as Harper Lee.

Harper Lee went to college to become a lawyer. Shortly thereafter, she moved to New York where she worked as a reservations clerk for Eastern Airlines. Harper Lee was an avid writer who liked to write short stories. An agent reviewed her literary works and recommended that she compile her stories into a novel. Following his advice and having the support of her friends, Harper Lee quit her job and focused solely on writing. Within a year’s time, the first draft of “To Kill a Mockingbird” was complete. The manuscript was well received by her publishing company. So much so, for the next three years her publishing company gave her financial support (Alabama Department of Archives and History , 2007).

The book was a huge success garnering many literary awards; most notably, The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Harper Lee has received four honorary doctorates and was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the National Council of Arts. She is also one of thirty-one “Most Outstanding Women Graduates of The University of Alabama (Alabama Department of Archives and History , 2007).

According to an article published by the Associated Press, Harper Lee wrote a rare item for “O” Magazine. “O” is Oprah Winfrey’s magazine. The item is a letter Harper Lee wrote on how she learned to read as a child during the Great Depression. Her siblings and parents took turns reading to her on a regular basis. She makes mention of...

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... there will be quite a bit of writing in my future. I appreciate the refresher course on how to navigate via the internet to find articles within databases. Research is more hands on now than in my previous college life. This new technology is fast and fascinating.

Works Cited

Alabama Department of Archives and History . (2007, March 14). Alabama Acadamy of Honor . Retrieved from Alabama Department of Archives and History : http://www.archives.alabama.gov/famous/academy/h_lee.html

Associated Press . (2006, June 26). Harper Lee Writes Rare Item for O Magazine. The Washington Post .

Crowther, B. (1963, February 15). Screen: 'To Kill a Mockingbird':One Adult Omission in a Fine Film 2 Superb Discoveries Add to Delight. The New York Times .

Ellsworth, L. (2010, September 2010). What Harper Lee Taught Me About Writing and the Writing Life. The Writer , pp. 8-9.