There are numerous various books in the world, and some of them are products of pure imagination while others reflect real life. Often authors implement some aspects of their lives into their works, and one such example is Harper Lee and her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. To understand the narrative better, one should analyze the resemblance between the story and the author’s own experiences.
First, one should look at the author’s life to investigate the connections with the story. Nelle Harper Lee was born in a small quiet town in Alabama called Monroeville in 1926 (Hu & Zhou, 2019). Her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a lawyer and a partner in the local newspaper (Jassim, 2019). As a child, Harper was considered a tomboy and was close with Edwin, her brother, and the author Truman Capote, her friend at the time (Jassim, 2019). In brief, Harper Lee grew up in a small town, spending most of her time with boys her age.
Equally important, there was an incident in Lee’s life that may have affected her future as a writer. When she was young, Harper spectated a case of nine Black men being accused of assaulting two White women with no solid evidence, thus bringing up disputes on racism (Hu & Zhou, 2019). Following that, Harper enrolled in Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, to study law but did not finish her education and in 1948 went to New York City (Jassim, 2019). Instead, she pursued a career as a writer, worked as a bookstore clerk for some time, and later decided to focus on writing a novel (Jassim, 2019). At a young age, Harper Lee witnessed racism and studied law before becoming an author.
Next, one should analyze the content of the book itself. In 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird was first published, and the story’s events are set in the early 1930s in Maycomb (Jassim, 2019). The book is written from the point of view of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch when she was a little girl who described Maycomb as a “tired old town.” (Lee, 2002, p. 5). Her father, Atticus Finch, “went to Montgomery to read law” when he was young and then became a lawyer (Lee, 2002, p. 4). Similar to Harper, Scout used to spend most of her days with her brother Jem and their friend Dill who was “spending every summer in Maycomb” (Lee, 2002, p. 8). Scout also observed her father defending a “Negro” in a case that she was not “old enough to understand” (Lee, 2002, p. 86). However, the reader then finds out that the case was about a Black man accused of assaulting a White woman, with people angry at Atticus defending this man because he was Black (Lee, 2002). The book tells the story of Scout’s childhood and her family’s experience with racism.
Lastly, there are few more connections between the story and real life. Although, according to Hu & Zhou (2019), Harper Lee has stated that her book is not a description of her life, she confirmed that the story reflects a typical Southern town. As the narration is set in the 1930s, it visualizes the lives of people in the times of the Great Depression (Hu & Zhou, 2019). Aside from having connections to the author’s childhood, the book shows people’s lives during certain historical events.
To summarize, there is a connection between Harper Lee’s life and the story of To Kill a Mockingbird, especially with its narrator. As Harper Lee was born in 1926 and the events of the book are set in the 1930s, the author’s childhood was at the same period as Scout’s was. Moreover, they both lived in small towns, both of their fathers were lawyers, and the two girls were close with their brothers and had one particular friend. Finally, the way Harper was present at the time of Black men being trialed for the assault of White women, Scout witnessed her father defending a Black man in a case of assaulting a White woman. Although To Kill a Mockingbird is not a retelling of Harper Lee’s childhood and there are many differences, the story reflects certain aspects of its author’s life.
References
Hu, Y., & Zhou, M. (2019). The root of sin: An analysis on the social and economic situation reflected from To kill a mockingbird. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, 7(4), 48-55.
Jassim, I. H. (2019). The influence of fathers on family and society: A study in Harper Lee’s To kill a mockingbird and Charles Dickens’s Dombey and son. Al-Adab Journal, 130, 151-166. Web.