...Biography of Harper Lee (1926-) Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38). As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and she enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the young Truman Capote, who provided the basis of the character of Dill in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of Scottsboro, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men. The defendants, who were nearly lynched before being brought to court, were not provided with the services of a lawyer until the first day of trial. Despite medical testimony that the women had not been raped, the all-white jury found the men guilty of the crime and sentenced all but the youngest, a twelve-year-old boy, to death. Six years of subsequent trials saw most of these convictions repealed and all but one of the men freed or paroled. The Scottsboro case left a deep impression on the young Lee, who would use it later as the rough basis for the events in To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee studied first at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama (1944-45), and then pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama (1945-49), spending...
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...Contrary to what many people think, courage does not mean that you live without fear. It does not mean that fear is absent from your life. Courage is your ability to face the fear. It is the bravery inside of you that helps you conquer the fear. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, many examples of courage are shown, such as emotional, moral, and physical courage. Extra information about courage. Transition sentence. In chapter 2 of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Scout shows an example of emotional courage. When Miss Caroline is confused as to why Walter Cunningham will not accept her money, Scout makes a courageous move by standing up and explaining to Miss Caroline that he is a Cunningham. “‘The Cunninghams never took anything...
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...I Believe that Harper Lee and Campbell Robertson expressed how people contributed to society back then and now and, Lots of people were bad but the only ones that mattered are the good ones. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Many people were racist and had no respect for people that are African American. In Campbell Roberton’s Document “History of Lynching in the South Documents Nearly 4,000 Names” It sums up how brutal these people are. Lots of people in these two Sources have people that contribute to society the bad way. But people like Atticus Finch and Scout are people that do Contribute to society in the Good way. These are the people that respect anyone know matter the race and know matter the gender. Atticus is a man that is helping...
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...All parents teach and parent their kids differently. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus the parent of Jem and Scout parents them differently than most parents would. This novel takes place in a small town in of Maycomb in Alabama. Atticus who is the town lawyer has to work a lot so he does not have very much time to care for kids but when he does have time he still cares for his kids and make sure they are making the right decisions to make them into respected adults. One way that Atticus is not the best father is when he does not make time for his kids. Atticus didn’t bring Scout and Jem to the first day of school which normally the parents take them. (Lee 15) This shows that even on the things that most parents would go to he did not because he does not make time for kids. Most parents on their kids first day of school would take time out of there day to take them to school especially on the first day. This shows that Atticus does not make time for his kids even on the important events....
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...Phoebe Sanders English 9 Period 1 Who can be considered a Mockingbird? When thinking back to “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee it makes people think of many characters. When answering the question who could be considered a mockingbird, people may think of three characters. Those characters are Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson. Readers can see this through the towns people actions, and beliefs. Many believe and consider it a sin to kill a mockingbird. This is because mockingbirds do nothing wrong. They do not hurt anyone, or hurt plants. They are simply here to give you pleasure. It is a sin to kill one because they cause no harm just like these characters. They give you pleasure and happiness and stand up for what they believe in....
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...To kill a Mockingbird is said to be about Harper Lee’s life; however, she never did interviews so there is some evidence, but not enough to say for certain. With Harper Lee’s death in 2016 no one will ever know for sure. To Kill a Mockingbird is about Scout and her family going through Tom Robinson's trial and the family living through the Great Depression. Scout is six at the beginning of the story, but we watch her grow up through the book. Scout's older brother Jem is ten in the beginning of the book we watch him grow up in the book as well. To Kill a Mockingbird was published on July 11th 1960 by Warner books the book takes place in the 1930’s great depression times. The book was written to show you the life of scout as a kid. The meaning...
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...Blind Spot No matter ethnicity, religion, or color, everyone has flaws, everyone has a blind spot. In the novel, To Kill a MockingBird by Harper Lee, a literary hero named Atticus says, ¨Mr.Cunningham’s basically a good man; he just has his blind spots.¨ What is a blind spot? Well, it is a fatal flaw that corrupts one’s mind from seeing right to wrong. Whether conscious or unconscious, everyone has one; it is part of one’s human nature. When felt like nothing is going right, people tend to break. When others turn a blind eye to the suffering, it mentally breaks another. In the novel To Kill a MockingBird by Harper Lee, a wise man says, “People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for” (232). Living with a race that...
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...In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Boo Radley as a symbol of misjudgments and superstitions. Throughout the beginning of the book Boo Radley has been seen as a person who hides himself and has no friends at all, he is considered as a dangerous person. However due to the curiosity from 3 kids, the hunt to discover what type of person Boo Radley is, begins. Boo Radley tries befriending the children in his own type of way, by placing small little things, as to what might resemble Boo Radley’s personality, inside a knothole of an oak tree. Some of the things he gave shows that Boo Radley is a man who is well-educated, due to the fact he won a spelling bee. However Boo Radley is antisocial, yet he would go as far as to protect children, and would not stab his parents, although it was not particularly proven whether he did or did not....
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...how small.” Dr. Seuss. Maycomb County belittles the members of the community according to their race. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates that the town of Maycomb, Alabama drives down the lower class and colored members in society to keep them from usurping within the county. The main character Jean Louise “Scout” Finch learns this in her childhood as her father, a well known lawyer, has the chance to defend a colored man in court. Scout learns that even inside the court there is racism and hate towards the colored members of society and that they are belittled every day of their life. Fighting racism is like throwing a pebble in calm waters: One drop creates a ripple effect....
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...I think Atticus is a great role model. His character is truly admirable. He gives the impression that he knows what to do in any situation. When solving those problems, he does it in a firm yet calm manner. If I was Atticus during the incident of Jem cutting Mrs. Dubose camellias, I wouldn’t have been composed like Atticus was. I would be angry and ashamed, and go with Jem to make sure he apologized to Mrs. Dubose properly. The dedication and hard work he puts in his job as a lawyer is amazing. Guarding Mr. Robinson’s cell late at night and not giving up on the case are merely two examples of this. Atticus is brave also. Despite knowing the threats that the Robinson case might bring to his family, he didn’t back down. Raising two children isn’t...
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...Mockingbirds are a big part of the story in Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Mockingbirds sing their hearts out, that’s just what they do. They don’t hurt others or damage any trees, they sing a beautiful tone for all to hear. As Mockingbirds sing, so do people, they have their own characteristics and ways that they express themselves in. Atticus says that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird, and so it would be a sin to kill someone’s voice or the way they stand up for others. Three characters that I think are mockingbirds that sing their own song are Atticus Finch, Scout Finch, and Jem Finch. Atticus Finch is the person that does the dirty work, he is a wise and great father to his children, he teaches them many great life lessons...
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...‘Explore how Harper Lee describes the character of Miss Maudie’ The first time Harper Lee introduces Miss Maudie to the reader, Scout says that she spent the rest of her remaining twilights with her. This at once shows us that Miss Maudie isn’t like most adults in the book, who treat Scout like a child, because she is one whom Scout likes to be with and talk to. ‘I spent most of the remaining twilights that summer sitting with Miss Maudie.’ This shows us that Scout, who is quite an adventures child, is very comfortable with Miss Maudie, and Miss Maudie instead of treating Scout like a child treats her more like a friend. She is given off as an auntie figure to the children and it is shown within the book that she is very fond of them as they are of her. Harper Lee shows through a metaphor that Miss Maudie is very adaptable to her surroundings. ‘A chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men’s coveralls, but after her five o’clock bath she would appear on the porch and reign over the street in her magisterial beauty.’ The word ‘magisterial’ Harper Lee uses to describe Miss Maudie once changed from her worker appearance to her more feminine appearance makes me think of how royal she would have looked and how the sudden change would appear to everyone else within the town who saw her. Miss Maudie takes pride in the appearance of her garden as well and it seems to me that because she has no children she treats her plants like children by devoting...
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...“I’m simply defending a Negro- his names Tom Robinson”. With these words Atticus informs Scout of his life altering task of standing up to the prejudice and racism that pervades the sleepy southern town that was Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The effects of racism on Maycomb and its citizens will be discussed with further reference to ‘To kill a Mockingbird’. The court case of Tom Robinson seems to be a turning point for “the sleepy town “of Maycomb County. One acquires the impression that Tom is hated by everyone in the town as he, a black man, falls at the bottom of the social hierarchy that is very much a part of the town. Due to racism , black people are looked down upon by white people and the very few who choose to go against this norm...
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...Brittney Garrison Mrs. Easton English 3-4 Period 7 9 June 2015 To Kill A Mockingbird Everyday people’s lives are judged by others. Why? Because most think they understand what the other is going through when they have no clue. The idea of walking in someone else’s shoes teaches that everyone has things, big or small, going on in their lives and that you should not judge a person until you know the full story. Like in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, a few of the main characters begin to understand other people's suffering by “walking in their shoes” and learning that even the most misunderstood people need attention. One example of this theme is when the children prejudge Mrs. Dubose before they step into her shoes. She is a recovering drug addict who is very harsh and opinionated but the children only notice this and do not understand why. Jem begins to get tired of Mrs. Dubose’s taunts she makes at him and decided to break the stems of all her flowers. Because of these actions, the readers begin to see how courageous Mrs. Dubose really is by attempting to give up the drug “cold turkey” (Interpretation). This...
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...There are certain topics in life that we do not like to talk about. They make us feel uncomfortable or insecure. However, most of the time, those topics are the ones that need to be talked about the most. Many are afraid to approach such intense topics, such as racism, classism, prejudice, or discrimination. But Harper Lee was not. She addressed issues that nobody else would and helped people see them in a new light. Harper Lee absolutely showed the conflict of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird, through the characters of Tom Robinson, Calpurnia, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Harper Lee absolutely showed racism through her characters. One of those being Tom Robinson. Tom was an innocent black man, who offered his help to a lonely white woman. He had never done anything to her, except be kind and helpful. But, since he was a black man helping a white woman, he got accused of rape. The girl's father automatically thought that since he was black, he was doing no good. Everybody just assumed he was guilty because...
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