What Does Harper Lee Represent In To Kill A Mockingbird

Nelle” Harper Lee is a pulitzer prize winning author. She has written the books Go Set A Watchman, and To Kill A Mockingbird. Her books were a part in the civil rights movement and still are considered a large piece of literature in the scene of racial equality. The books take place in the point of view of scout, a young tomboy girl that is assumed to be a reflection of Harper Lee herself. But why did she write her novels? What influenced her to do so? What do her characters represent? We first take a look to Harper Lee’s hometown of Monroeville Alabama, to see what her childhood was like, and how it was growing up in her area. As the article “Encyclopedia of Alabama : Monroeville” states, “Lee was born in Monroeville on April 28, 1926.” Around this time the town was small, primarily white, but with a near equal black population. The two demographics were heavily separated, but as you may find out in the story, just how it was in real life, there are a few people that blurred that line of separation.

Amasa was a southern lawyer, that defended a black man that was falsely accused of murder, much similar to Atticus Finch. Atticus is presumed to be a storyline reflection of Amasa, such as Scout is presumed to be Lee herself. Lee has always said that the novel is not a fictionalized autobiography, but it seems quite obvious that she takes heavy influence from her hometown, family and friends. The novelist also took influence from her family names. This can be seen in the characters in the Cunningham family, Francis Finch, and the Finch last name as a whole. All of which take their names from Frances Cunningham Finch, Harper Lee’s