ipl-logo

The Influences Of To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

701 Words3 Pages

The Influence of To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most influential pieces of American literature ever. It was a novel written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. The book is set in a fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. The story is in the perspective of Jean Louise ``Scout” Finch, a young girl who lives with her brother, Jem, her father, Atticus, and their cook, Calpurnia. The book is loosely related to Harper Lee’s own life growing up and the racial tension she witnessed. She conveys the things she has seen through a trial about Tom Robinson, a black male accused of raping a white woman. Throughout the course of the book, many people are shaped and influenced by society, and after …show more content…

She relates many things that she saw from her own life to the book, “It's believed that Harper Lee was inspired by her own life growing up in Monroeville, Alabama. The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is reportedly based on a trial where Lee's father—a lawyer like Atticus Finch—served as a defense counsel for two African American men accused of murdering a white storekeeper” (Britannica). In her book, it seems that she embodies her own experiences through friends and family. All of the events sparked a desire to write a book that would call out the cruel inequality that the colored community endured and overcame on a daily basis. One of the ways that she relates her life to the book is by taking herself and representing that using Scout basically as …show more content…

These feelings are brought out when he sees how Tom Robinson is so ganged up against by Mr. Gilmer. After he rushed out of the courtroom crying, he explained what had upset him, “The way that [Mr. Gilmer] called him ‘boy’ all the time an’ sneered at him, an’ looked around at the jury every time he answered--” (266). This symbolizes that Dill has not become accustomed to the harsh reality of the situation. Like many characters in this story, Dill was a representation of innocence during his childhood and was swiftly introduced to reality, as we can see by his reaction to Tom’s cross-examination. Dill felt bad for the colored community but they felt very different to the

Show More
Related

Atticus Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

998 Words | 4 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an amazing book with an abundant of surprises. Set back in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama, when the Great Depression was happening and racism from the civil war still rages on in this southern city. All the quotes and themes in the novel can still be associated to life today. As the book was narrating in the past by Jean Louise Finch (Scout), there is one man that guides her and her brother, Jem Finch. It is their father, Atticus Finch.

Read More

What Is Scout's Allusion To The Scottsboro Trial

899 Words | 4 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. All of the story is an allusion to the Scottsboro Trial where 9 black kids were wrongfully accused of rape only off of the word of a few white girls. The story centers around Atticus who is a lawyer, and his children Scout, and Jem. They are a poor white family who has it better off than most during the depression. Scout is the narrator and her brother Jem is the one whom she hangs out with most throughout the book.

Read More

To Kill A Mockingbird Historical Influences

1019 Words | 5 Pages

Historical influences on To Kill a Mockingbird The Great Depression was a time of devastation and uncertainty (McCabe 12). The great depression was a time when the stock market crashed causing many people to lose their jobs and homes. This novel is based on the time around the Great Depression. There were many historical influences in the book To Kill a Mockingbird such as the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality and the Scottsboro trials.

Read More

How Does Harper Lee Use The Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

812 Words | 4 Pages

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird brings out many emotions as you read the book. It was published in 1960 and became a total hit. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Alabama, in a small town, Maycomb, during the 60’s. The book makes you feel as if you were the main character, Scout, a young 8 year old girl.

Read More

Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

1348 Words | 6 Pages

Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, wrote the book in 1960’s while the events in the book take place in the early 1930’s. During the 1930’s, the Great Depression just hit the United States, the unemployment rate grew and many families lived in poverty. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes the childhood of Scout, also known as Jean Louise Finch, and her older brother Jem which is short for Jeremy Atticus Finch. The Finches were fairly wealthy compared to the rest of the residents of Maycomb County, Alabama, which is due to Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus Finch, being a lawyer. Throughout the beginning of the novel, Harper Lee uses symbols to foreshadow the loss of innocence leading up to Atticus’ big trial with Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell.

Read More

Tom Robinson Trial

680 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about a small family that lived in a fictional town called Maycomb County, Alabama in 1938. The main character and narrator, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, lived with her brother Jem, who is three years older than her six years of age, and her father Atticus, a lawyer. The author, Harper Lee, introduces the idea of discrimination to the main characters of the book. She shows this through the town’s opinions, Tom Robinson’s court case, and the way people avoid expressing positivity towards African Americans because it is not socially acceptable in that time.

Read More

Quotes That Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

676 Words | 3 Pages

The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story of Atticus, Scout, and Jem Finch along with some other family members in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1920’s. This family has an interesting life in such a small town. They have different social classes and crime, but they all look out for one another. Nothing happens in Maycomb without everyone knowing about it. Lee reveals that courage manifests itself in a variety of ways.

Read More

How Is Atticus Finch Told In To Kill A Mockingbird

842 Words | 4 Pages

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is based in a small town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the early 1930’s. The story is narrated by Atticus Finch's daughter Scout. The main character, Atticus Finch is the father of Scout and Jem, growing up they were taught to accept people by who they are, not the color of their skin, they lived in a town where racism was very popular. Atticus Finch was a liberal lawyer who took on the case of Tom Robinson, an african american man who was accused of beating and raping a white woman named Mayella, many in the town of Maycomb didn't approve of a white man helping an african american who everyone believed beat and raped Mayella.

Read More

How Does Lee Use Societal Judgment In To Kill A Mockingbird

1009 Words | 5 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, was released during the Civil Rights movement. Lee grew up in the racist South during the Great Depression which greatly influenced her novel. The story takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the 1930s and is told through the eyes of a young tomboyish girl named Scout. Atticus Finch, her father, is the defense lawyer for Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white women. In Maycomb, opinions rumors spread like fire and the town is quick to construct opinions about those who are different.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Four Freedom And Kennedy's Inaugural Speech

453 Words | 2 Pages

Do you ever wonder what it was like to be the president during the Cold war and during World War 2? Both Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and Kennedy’s inaugural address talk about freedom however Roosevelt's speech talked about aiding other countries that needed help, whereas Kennedy’s speech talks about how they need to negotiate to solve the problems. While Roosevelt was president World War 2 was going on. America didn't want to get involved with it for awhile.

Read More

Historical Influences On To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

866 Words | 4 Pages

Historical Influences on To Kill a Mockingbird The Great Depression affected thousands of people in many different ways. During The Great Depression “people lost their jobs, didn’t pay their rent, and had to give up their property” (McCabe 12). The Great Depression plays a big role in the novel. The Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and Scottsboro trials are the historical influences in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Read More

How Does Lee Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

693 Words | 3 Pages

The novel To Kill a Mocking Bird is written by Harper Lee in 1960. The story takes place in the tired old town of Maycomb, during the Great Depression. It is inspired by the author's own experiences growing up during these hard times. During the novel, Scout and Jem mistake physical strength for courage. However, true courage is the inner desire to do what is righteous, no matter the consequences that result from your decision.

Read More

Widespread Motifs In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

928 Words | 4 Pages

Furthermore Dill ran all the way from his hometown Mississippi, by himself to be with Jem and Scout (Lee 187). Traveling across states as a young boy symbolizes Dill’s spirit by taking that risk. There are many situations throughout, that show fearlessness that matters to the development of themes shown in the

Read More

How Did Harper Lee Impact On To Kill A Mockingbird

1483 Words | 6 Pages

Harper Lee grew up in a severely racist and discriminatory time. She exposed the reality of life during those times of hatred in her most famous book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee was born on April 29, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a lawyer who was able to provide her with an education and was able to give her a privileged life throughout her childhood (Daly). Lee would notice how some kids would struggle in reading and she would ignore it.

Read More

Theme Of Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird

551 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird, written in 1960 by Harper Lee, was a novel about the times of the Great Depression in the state of Alabama. The story took place in the town of Maycomb County in the 1930s and is told briefly in the point of view of a six year old girl, Jean Louise (“Scout”) Finch. In the story, Jean Louise describes the Depression by looking back into her childhood. To Kill a Mockingbird not only displays the theme of racism and bravery, but also demonstrates the theme of coming-of-age.

Read More

More about The Influences Of To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Related Topics

Open Document