How Did Harper Lee Influence Her Writing

Harper Lee Harper Lee is an American author. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama on April 28, 1926. Harper Lee grew up during a hard time in America. Her difficult home life, living through the Great Depression and Civil Rights movement, influenced many of her writings. The racist era that she lived in encouraged her to speak out against the majority and write how it affected her and many others in the world. Lee’s writing lived on through society, even in today’s time. Her writing was considered to be inspirational in many manners. This helped Lee and her writing prosper to this day. Lee died on February 19, 2016 leaving behind her influence on the world. Harper Lee suffered from many difficulties in life. Her difficult home life helped
Due to her living through the Great Depression and Civil Rights movement, it had a profound impact on her life which in return reflects her writing. Harper Lee’s first book, To Kill a Mocking Bird, was written in 1960. Winning the Pulitzer Prize the following year after publication, Lee became quite popular with the people of the South after publishing this book. During this time, the Civil Rights movement was in occurrence thus influencing her book. It was uncommon for a Southern woman to voice her opinion, like Lee did. She stood against the majority and expressed her thoughts through her writing. Many characters in the book referred back to Lee’s life. Her main characters seemed to be influenced by the people closest to her, even herself. Characters in To Kill a Mocking Bird such as; Atticus Finch, Scout, and Dill all have very common characteristics of Lee’s companions that were around her every day. In Lee’s book, Atticus Finch was a lawyer. Harper Lee’s father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a lawyer for the Alabama state legislature as well. Mr. Lee also owned his own local newspaper. The character, Atticus Finch owned his own law firm. Both men were prosperous business owners, another way of how Harper Lee