To Kill A Mockingbird Background

At the time Harper Lee was writing To Kill A Mockingbird, there were many historical events taking place. At the heart of it all was the Civil Rights movement. “There was little opportunity for African Americans to advance themselves in the South. Schools were segregated between whites and blacks, who were not allowed to attend white high schools. Blacks were therefore effectively denied an education, since, in the early 1930s, there was not a single high school for black students in the South” ("To Kill a Mockingbird." 305). The Brown v. Board of Education case in which the Supreme Court ruled the segregation of schools unconstitutional was one of the most important events for the past generations and the next. There were people like Martin
Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X who were leading the movement, and inspired millions to fight for what was right.
Lee had many influences, but there was one incident in particular that influenced her writing of To Kill A Mockingbird the most. “When Lee began composing To Kill a Mockingbird, racial tensions were running high in the South as a whole, especially in Alabama” ("Harper Lee." 221). The accused rape of two white women by nine African-American men in the 1930s was known as the Scottsboro incident. Lee used this as the main inspiration for the story of To Kill A Mockingbird.
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 26, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama.
“She is descended from Robert E. Lee, Civil War commander of the Confederate Army” ("Harper Lee." 220). Lee has told critics that the novel is not autobiographical, despite the similarities between herself and the main protagonist of the novel, Scout Finch. Although To Kill A Mockingbird is not autobiographical, many characters were inspired by important people and symbols in Lee’s life. Much like Scout, Lee could be pressured into submission with certain remarks about her being more like a girl. Lee’s Father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was the main inspiration for Scout’s father, Atticus Finch. Like Atticus, A.C. Lee was a lawyer in Alabama, and was appointed to defend African-American men in which the jury “convicted a man whom they had probably deemed guilty before the trial had begun”("To Kill a Mockingbird." 392). Tom Robinson and Boo Radley both symbolize the mockingbird, the symbol of the South. Atticus tells Scout and Jem that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is make music for them to enjoy. “The children's fear of Boo Radley, based on ignorance rather than knowledge, subtly reflects the prejudice of the town against Tom Robinson” ("To Kill a Mockingbird." 285). Lee chose the Mockingbird to represent the allegiance, kindness, and purity of characters such as Atticus, Tom Robinson, and Boo
Radley.