“I never expected any sort of success with 'Mockingbird'... I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement”, Harper Lee told a radio interviewer in 1964 about her novel, which has since sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. It’s no wonder why many have been affected by the recent death of the “last centuries most beloved author”.
Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926, the youngest of four children of lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham (Finch). Growing up, Lee was surrounded by the stresses of segregation, which can be seen in her most famous work To Kill a Mockingbird, a reflective text on the racial troubles of Southern America. In addition to racial conflict, Lee discusses innocence regarding …show more content…
The novel forever reminds us of this question, through the oblivious help of Jem and Scout, children of lawyer Atticus. Their sheltered upbringing, were they assume people are permanently good because they have seen no evil, is transformed from innocence to maturity as they confront evil. Throughout the story, Atticus works to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman. He challenges the town’s notorious racism, aiming to change the social inequality. Scout and Jem are destroyed after they witness the jury convict the obviously innocent Tom, purely because he is black. Scout is able to maintain her trust in human nature, however Jem is shaken to the core. Jem’s faith in justice and humanity is deeply damaged by the jury’s …show more content…
Atticus’s lessons can be proven in the final chapters, when Scout at last, views the world from Boo Radley’s perspective, appreciating him as a human being. This further extends our understanding of the transition from innocence to
Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926, the youngest of four children of lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham (Finch). Growing up, Lee was surrounded by the stresses of segregation, which can be seen in her most famous work To Kill a Mockingbird, a reflective text on the racial troubles of Southern America. In addition to racial conflict, Lee discusses innocence regarding …show more content…
The novel forever reminds us of this question, through the oblivious help of Jem and Scout, children of lawyer Atticus. Their sheltered upbringing, were they assume people are permanently good because they have seen no evil, is transformed from innocence to maturity as they confront evil. Throughout the story, Atticus works to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman. He challenges the town’s notorious racism, aiming to change the social inequality. Scout and Jem are destroyed after they witness the jury convict the obviously innocent Tom, purely because he is black. Scout is able to maintain her trust in human nature, however Jem is shaken to the core. Jem’s faith in justice and humanity is deeply damaged by the jury’s …show more content…
Atticus’s lessons can be proven in the final chapters, when Scout at last, views the world from Boo Radley’s perspective, appreciating him as a human being. This further extends our understanding of the transition from innocence to