Harper Lee Influence On To Kill A Mockingbird
"Racism, however, involves the most invidious moral judgment of someone because she [or he] is a member, or is perceived to be a member, of a certain ethnic group" (Corlett). Harper Lee is a prominently known author particularly for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published in the mid-early 1960's. Harper lee was born April 28, 1926, and grew up in Monroeville, Alabama where she was the youngest of four children in her family. Lee attended Monroe county High School where she gained a majority of her interest in writing. The Novel To Kill a Mockingbird was narrated by character Scout Finch who had very similar characteristics like Harper Lee in her childhood. That being said, a major reflection throughout the novel is
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Lee was greatly influenced as a child by the townspeople and the community she lived in. As a child, “during the hardships of the Depression, the young Nelle attended school and played with her friends and siblings under the watchful eyes of family and neighbors in the small community” (Anderson) Lee independent tomboy adapted to the Southern African American cultures that emphasized good manners, family background, and a relaxed, and leisurely place of living. Lee's writing style is a composite of the rowdy dialogue of the boisterous children being aggressive and playful, with simple eloquence of Atticus's arguments presented to the jury. The depiction of family life and race relations in the American south were represented by the variations in the language employed throughout the text. There were many derogatory terms utilized by white class individuals, to represent the racial attitude towards the blacks. They were often referred to as “darky”, “Negro”, and “colored persons”, encapsulated in the text. Lee utilizes the characters themselves, to relay the message, this can be seen when Bob Ewell says, “Im so sorry they picked you to defend the nigger that raped my Mayella” Therefore, specific dialect and distinctive speech reveals his character as an ignorant, valor and hate filled racial prejudice man. Lee usage of dialect does not distort reality but focusses on the moral issues when the memorable characters use words to degrade other social classes. It becomes apparent in her novel that she feels a sentimental affection for the aspects of Southern
Lee was greatly influenced as a child by the townspeople and the community she lived in. As a child, “during the hardships of the Depression, the young Nelle attended school and played with her friends and siblings under the watchful eyes of family and neighbors in the small community” (Anderson) Lee independent tomboy adapted to the Southern African American cultures that emphasized good manners, family background, and a relaxed, and leisurely place of living. Lee's writing style is a composite of the rowdy dialogue of the boisterous children being aggressive and playful, with simple eloquence of Atticus's arguments presented to the jury. The depiction of family life and race relations in the American south were represented by the variations in the language employed throughout the text. There were many derogatory terms utilized by white class individuals, to represent the racial attitude towards the blacks. They were often referred to as “darky”, “Negro”, and “colored persons”, encapsulated in the text. Lee utilizes the characters themselves, to relay the message, this can be seen when Bob Ewell says, “Im so sorry they picked you to defend the nigger that raped my Mayella” Therefore, specific dialect and distinctive speech reveals his character as an ignorant, valor and hate filled racial prejudice man. Lee usage of dialect does not distort reality but focusses on the moral issues when the memorable characters use words to degrade other social classes. It becomes apparent in her novel that she feels a sentimental affection for the aspects of Southern