Author Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 during a time of change in the United States, race relations were strained, civil rights leaders were emerging from sit-ins and protests and states confronted the tensions of segregation. To Kill a Mockingbird, while fictional, had a plot that resonated with many southern whites and African Americans, that of racial injustice and loss of innocence. The author claims that the plot is based on her interpretation of events that occurred in her home state of Alabama. While she does not reference the exact event the plot is based on there are similarities to the Scottsboro, Alabama case that occurred in 1931 in which nine African American males were accused of raping a white woman on a train to Mississippi. The novel deals with the serious issues of racial inequality as well as issues of leadership, courage and integrity. …show more content…
There are several examples in the book of Atticus showing these leadership characteristics, not only in the courtroom but also in his interactions with his children. When Atticus’ son, Jem, asks “Do you defend niggers? He corrects him and says “don’t say that”, but the boy says, “Everybody at school says [it]” then Atticus says “From now on it’ll be everybody less one.” (Lee, 1960, p. 75) Atticus is teaching his son that moral fortitude is a sign of a leadership, a good leader does the right thing, regardless of what everyone else is