About The Author…

Who Was Harper Lee?

Writer Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. In 1959, she
finished the manuscript for her Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller To Kill a Mockingbird. Soon
after, she helped fellow writer and friend Truman Capote compose an article for The New
Yorker which would evolve into his nonfiction masterpiece, In Cold Blood. In July 2015, Lee
published her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, which was written before To Kill a
Mockingbird and portrays the later lives of the characters from her Pulitzer Prize-winning
novel. Lee died on February 19, 2016, at the age of 89.

Background and Early Life

Famed author Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Lee is
best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). The
youngest of four children, she grew up as a tomboy in a small town. Her father was a
lawyer, a member of the Alabama state legislature and also owned part of the local
newspaper. For most of Lee's life, her mother suffered from mental illness, rarely leaving
the house. It is believed that she may have had bipolar disorder.

One of her closest childhood friends was another writer-to-be, Truman Capote (then
known as Truman Persons). Tougher than many of the boys, Lee often stepped up to serve
as Truman's protector. Truman, who shared few interests with boys his age, was picked on
for being sensitive and for the fancy clothes he wore. While the two friends were very
different, they both had difficult home lives. Truman was living with his mother's relatives
in town after largely being abandoned by his own parents.

In high school, Lee developed an interest in English literature. After graduating in 1944,
she went to the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Lee stood apart from the
other students—she couldn't have cared less about fashion, makeup or dating. Instead,
she focused on her studies and writing. Lee was a member of the Literary Honour Society
and the Glee Club.
 Plot
To Kill a Mockingbird is an exploration of human morality, and presents a
constant conversation regarding the inherent goodness or evilness of people.
Atticus, father of Scout and Jem, also plays the role of teacher, for his children
and his town. Atticus believes that people usually contain aspects of both good
and evil, but that good will usually prevail. Atticus teaches this to his children,
but also to the town, as he works to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent black
man accused of raping a white woman. In the racist town of Maycomb in the
heart of America's South during the Depression era, this is a Herculean task.
Despite the challenge of overcoming the town's deeply ingrained racism and
forcing people to change their social perspectives, Atticus struggles on,
because he believes that one day, goodness will prevail over the evils of racism
and racial equality will exist.
Throughout the book, Scout and Jem make the classic transition from
innocence to maturity. Jem leads this change, as he is older than Scout, but
both children experience it. At the beginning of the novel, they approach life
innocently believing in the goodness of all people, thinking everyone
understands and adheres to the same values they and their father do. During
Tom Robinson's trial, the children are sorely disappointed when the jury, made
up of their fellow townspeople, convicts the obviously innocent Tom Robinson
simply because he is a black man and his accuser is white. The realization that
there is true evil within their society shakes Jem to the core. He held a strong
belief in the goodness of all people, but after the trial must reevaluate his
understanding of human nature. The challenge of this struggle causes him
great emotional pain as he tries to come to terms with disappointing realities
of inequality, racism, and general unfairness. Scout also struggles to
understand these things, but even following the trial is able to maintain her
belief in the goodness of human nature. At the end of the novel, both children
are faced with true evil, as Bob Ewell tries to kill them. True goodness,
embodied in Boo Radley, saves them. In this final conflict between these
opposing forces, goodness prevails.
 Important Characters
Scout Finch
Scout is the narrator of The Kill a Mockingbird. Though the novel perspective gives
insight to Scout as a child, it is actually told by an adult Scout who is able to reflect on
the events she witnessed. Scout is six years old when the novel begins and nearly
nine when the novel ends. She is a tomboyish girl with a hot-temper, likely to beat up
anyone-even boys-if they offend her, especially when it comes to Atticus.
Throughout the novel, Scout learns about an important lesson that her father tells
her initially: the idea that sometimes you have to put yourself in another person's
shoes. The novel centres largely around Scout's growing up.

Atticus Finch
A lawyer and a representative to the state legislature, Atticus is all too aware of the
limitations and narrow-minded nature of his community. Atticus is the most
moralistic character in the novel. He chooses to represent Tom Robinson even
though he is keenly aware of the fact that his chances of winning are slim. He serves
as a positive role model for his children throughout the novel, encouraging them to
try and see things from other people's perspectives and never to harm someone who
has never harmed you. When he defends Tom Robinson, even though the trial brings
out the worst in the town, Atticus still believes in the good of his community.
Perhaps Atticus's only flaw is that he believes too strongly in the good of people, to
the point where he never suspects that Bob Ewell would actually come after him.

Boo Radley
Boo is a neighbour to the Finches, and there are many rumours that circulate
Maycomb about why he never leaves him home. Early in the novel, this phantom-like
man becomes an obsession for Scout, Jem, and Dill. However, as the novel goes on,
his goodness is revealed: he leaves presents for the children, gives Scout a blanket on
a cold night, and even saves the children from Bob Ewell's attack. By the end of the
novel, he has also taught Scout a valuable lesson about walking in another person's
shoes.

Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson is the black man who is charged with raping Mayella Ewell. The reader
will easily believe that he is innocent, as he has no use of his left hand and clearly
could have not raped Mayella. He seems to be a very decent individual, not scorning
Mayella or the Ewells even despite what they have done to him.
Relevance of the novel in present times
The story is about human nature, about tolerance, innocence, discrimination,
justice, about learning the difference between right and wrong, about getting
to know a man -- learning all you can -- before judging him.

We live in particularly negative times right now, both socially and politically.
News stories showcase people spewing invectives at each other. One of the
biggest issues we face every day is prejudice. We may judge people on the
colour of their skin, the type of car they drive, or even the way their hair is
done. Whatever the prejudice may be, everyone has got one.
We see when Aunt Alexandra and "the ladies" have their so called, "missionary
meetings" to drink fine tea, daintily eat biscuits, and gossip about all the poor,
unfortunate citizens of Maycomb. But, as seen in the book, even Scout Finch, a
six year-old girl, could not bear to listen to the way they gossiped about others
The only way to avoid prejudice in society is to shield children from our own,
and to teach them to see everyone as equal. This way, they will not see a need
to put everyone into categories they think they should be in.

In present day also people have developed such a mind-set. But, with a little
help, we can nurture something special in the hearts of the kids so that they
may grow up to respect each and every person, for the person he is. Racism is
a major theme of the novel. During the Depression era, blacks were still highly
subjugated members of society. Blacks were not permitted to commingle with
whites in public settings, as exemplified in the courthouse physical separation
of races and in the clearly distinct black and white areas of town which is
prevalent today as well in some areas. In India also exists discrimination on the
basis of caste, race etc.
Significant places in the novel according to
me
 “Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you
begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly convicted of the rape of a white woman, is
the representation of the gross injustice carried out through racial segregation.
Atticus, who took up Robinson’s case despite facing outrage from friends and
neighbours alike, knew from the very beginning that he was going to lose the
case. Despite this, he refused to throw the man to the wolves and stood by
him till the very end, even though he knew that by doing so, he along with his
family would be ostracised from polite society.

Too often in life, we don’t stand up for things we secretly believe in, because
we convince ourselves from the very beginning that there’s no victory to be
found in doing so. But that’s where we’re wrong. True courage comes in
challenging the insurmountable and standing ground till the very end, no
matter the consequences.

 Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They
don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one
thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a
mockingbird.”

This historic dialogue reflects Atticus’ request to his children to never shoot at
a mockingbird. Through the course of the novel, mockingbirds become the
symbolic representations of innocents like Tom Robinson and the reclusive Boo
Radley, who have been wrongly condemned and persecuted despite causing
no harm to another. Mockingbirds do nothing but add peace and happiness to
our lives. However, on account of this, they often become easy scapegoats to
our aggression and frustrations and become victims of a societal need to lash
out.

We should never take out our ire on another in account of their kindness and
availability – a crime we are all guilty of at some point in our lives.
  “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what
anybody says to you, don't you let ‘em get your goat. Try fightin' with
your head for a change.”

It’s so easy to get provoked. The human ego can be volatile. The minute our
feathers are ruffled, we gear up for the big fight. Scout, the protagonist of the
novel, was by nature more hot-headed and prone to violence than her older
brother, Jem. When her father took up Tom Robinson’s case, the children
began to get ostracised in school, with their classmates calling Atticus vile
names like ‘nigger lover’. This set Scout’s temper ablaze and she beat her
fellow male classmate into a pulp. Later however, she received an earful from
Atticus for falling to the same shallow levels as the boy who had insulted them
in the first place. To him, the minute you let someone get the better of you,
you’ve lost the battle already. Instead, you should practice to keep your head
above the hot waters and use your head instead of your fists to give it back to
them, twice over.