Harper Lee once said an author “should write about what he knows and write truthfully”(Lee). “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place in town called Maycomb, in Alabama. Maycomb is suffering through the Great Depression and the towns challenge to overcome racism. With the South's history of slavery, the relationship between the black and white communities has been one of Harper Lee’s have focused on regularly in her novel. Raised during the segregation era Harper Lee not only interprets the cultural/ historical lens within her life but also in her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” she does this to give a universal message to the readers.
First and foremost, Harper lee uses the cultural/ historical lens on her life to give her readers a realistic idea of this time era. For example, “Lee saw segregated and harsh cultural attitude toward African Americans” while growing up in Alabama (Harper Lee 1). Growing up with these social problems allowed Harper
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For instance in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” it “shows how Scout and her elder brother, Jem, learn about fighting prejudice and upholding human dignity through the example of their father Atticus, who takes on the legal defense of a black man who has been falsely charged with raping a white woman” (Harper Lee 5). With the story revolving about a trial case where a colored man may be accused of sexual assault against a women based on his race shows the social status in the novel. Seven years before Harper’s birth, her father defended two colored men accused of murder. With using her own experience with her family during the segregation era Harper is able to make the cultural/ historical lens effective. After reading and understanding “To Kill a Mockingbird” one is able to tell that the white men were in first place when it came to social and political