Essays on Harper Lee

There are two stories that Harper Lee had written over the years that portrayed a child’s life into adulthood. The two stories reflect each other in a sense of experiences throughout the character’s life. The two stories focus on a girl who grew up with an unrealistic view of her father. The two novels interact with each other from child to adult point of view. The two books that will be discussed involved To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman. The author displays a unique comparison between the two novels. Harper relates the child’s ...

Introduction

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mocking Bird is a unique story, which provides insight into the issue of inequality that existed between the black and white races during the 1930s. The Book is based on the author’s observation of the society during that era and reflected the biased and hypocritical views and actions of the members of the society. Although the book is relatively old and the inequality between the white and black races has been significantly eliminated from society, some resemblance can still be found in the modern day the United States of America and ...

“To kill a mocking bird” is a novel by American author Harper Lee. It was first published in 1960 and won Pulitzer Prize for literature. Despite being White herself, Lee was frustrated over the issues of racial bias and injustice done with Black Americans after the great depression. The unequal treatment with Blacks in the American society of that particular time is the most evident theme of this novel, for which Lee even received Presidential Medal of Freedom. Courage, compatibilities, and friendships amongst the family and community members are also some of themes of the novel. As the book covers ...

Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of Scout Finch, the six year old daughter of Atticus Finch, a strong father, a virtuous lawyer and the defender of Tom Robinson. Scout grows up in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, among the other interesting and entertaining people in the town. Going through her life and growing up with her friends, she learns many lessons from her father and the town itself. Much like Atticus with Scout, this book is incredibly important because of its teachings of morality and virtue; the book teaches the ...

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a highly influential American novel for many reasons, not the least of which is the compelling, well-drawn and uniquely American character of Atticus Finch. A strong, paternal presence to his family and his community, Atticus is highly principled, hard-working and dedicated to a sincere sense of justice. Both in his parenting of Scout and his defense of Tom Robinson, Atticus’ virtue is shown throughout. While America may not always live up to the standards Atticus Finch himself sets, he represents a set of ideals that America hopes to strive towards, including equality, fairness and standing up ...

ID Number Movie: To Kill a Mockingbird (2012)

Tom Robinson is a renowned victim of prejudice in the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. Robinson is a black man alleged to have raped Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Falsely blamed of a crime he did not commit. Robinson faced his case before a jury. Atticus Finch knew Robinson is innocent through a series of evidences. However, despite his best attempts, racism that has taken roots in the mind of jury won. The court rendered the verdict guilty against Robinson and the latter were sentenced to death. Atticus was aware that they still have a chance to defend the ...

Use one of the following quotes from Northrop Frye's The Educated Imagination to consider how literary criticism can help us unpack a creative text. For example, how can the study of literature help us better understand, think more clearly or feel more sensitively about children or childhood? “Imagination gives us both a better and a worse world than the one we usually live with, and demands that we keep looking steadily at them bothLiterature gives us an experience that stretches us vertically to the heights and depths of what the human mind can conceive, to what corresponds to the conceptions of ...

Introduction

Nelle Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird, thrived in an era in which racial injustice against African-Americans flourished. To Kill a Mockingbird drew several references from the life of Harper Lee, whose father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a lawyer and state legislator of Alabama who once served in the defense of two African-Americans (the Scottsboros) accused of murder. Rotating around themes of racial injustice, class and gender issues, To Kill a Mockingbird stood as a heavy social critique by Harper Lee against American society, which was undergoing turbulent changes such as the African-American civil rights movement that coincided with ...

The title of the book To Kill A Mockingbird comes from a proverb that states that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The characters in the novel are warned not to kill a mockingbird which is always depicted as an innocent bird. Mockingbirds are said to be harmless, as they do not eat up people’s crops in the gardens, they only sing their hearts out to please the people around them. The title is significant to the novel because, it portrays many forms of mockingbirds throughout the story. In the progress of the novel, it is evident that Tom Robinson ...

The film is based on the era in which racism was still a sensitive issue across the globe. The characterization in the film was one based on creating two conflicting sides on the issues of racism. In an argument by Fine racism was the main idea in the film and the creators of the film did a significant duty to ensure the film had enough theories and themes to create awareness on the sensitive issues (23). The author further points out that the film was of huge impact in the society setting in which the film was based considering the fact ...

The disabled character in To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson; his disability is a physical one, as one of his arms was mutilated in an accident some years prior to the events of the film. To that end, he is unable to use it in any way. Despite his physical disability, he is an extremely strong character; for one thing, he demonstrates a kindness and compassion for others, as he states that he helped Mayella (the woman he is charged with raping and beating) because he felt sorry for her during his testimony. He often took up Mayella’s requests for help ( ...

Introduction

The ability to convey information through exchange of messages or thoughts is enhanced by a good understanding of English grammar. Writing as a medium of communication is complement to the spoken language or speech. Writing is basically a powerful tool for studying since it plays critical role in education. Among the benefits of writing include generating new ideas, helping us to both absorb and master fresh information, and discover what we know. A number of English textbooks have in one way or another improved the use of English grammar in both writing and speaking among many students. One of these books is “ ...

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is a book by Harper Lee, which was first published in 1960. The author lived during a civil rights movement era. During this period, there were high racial tensions especially in the south where Lee resided. She is a white female writer who was anti-racism. It is through the experience she had and what she saw that inspired her to write the novel. The aim of the novel was to highlight some of the challenges that blacks faced at the height of racism and civil wars. However, she is also informing the audience that despite the looming racism, there ...

Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of Scout Finch, the six year old daughter of Atticus Finch, a strong father, a virtuous lawyer and the defender of Tom Robinson. Scout grows up in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, among the other interesting and entertaining people in the town. Going through her life and growing up with her friends, she learns many lessons from her father and the town itself. Much like Atticus with Scout, this book is incredibly important because of its teachings of morality and virtue; the book teaches the importance ...

Harper Lee's evocative piece, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most profound pieces of American literature of the 20th Century. A central factor leading to its impactful nature is the development of relatable characters, whether laudable or despicable, which have since become archetypes of certain personas. These personalities represent interminable characteristics of American history and highlight elements of the development of the American social conscience. Since the initial publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch has been a symbol of an individual whose moral compass points true North. Interestingly, Atticus is assigned the defense of Tom Robinson, he ...

There are two radically different and competing versions of family and community in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. One of these is the semi-feudal status quo of rigid divisions by race, gender, caste and social class and the other a more democratic, integrated and humane community of the future symbolized by Atticus Finch, his children and supporters. Broadly speaking, these two conflicting ideologies are not simply taking place in the small, fictional community of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. They are in conflict throughout the entire country and perhaps the world, and are not confined to one particular ...

Blacks live in complete poverty in Maycomb and have hardly any rights at all, but most of the whites are also poor, and the whole county is basically backward and marginalized, especially because of the Great Depression. Most of the whites do not even have money to pay the legal bills that they owe Atticus, but in compensation they do have a sense of racial superiority over the blacks, who are even poorer and more degraded than they are. That someone like Atticus even exists there is highly surprising, although he has no real chance of changing system as it ...

Step 1

What is the thesis of your paper? The movie Gettysburg did have elements of the Lost Cause myth but the movie did make progress in teaching about Civil War through the movie.

Step 2

HOOK: What is interesting about this thesis? ‘Hook’ your readers with an interesting fact or angle. The Lost Cause myth has been the basis of a lot of movies, and the Union soldiers and leaders aren’t respected at all in the Lost Cause myth.

Step 3:

Find a minimum of 7 sources (3 must be actual books) that relate to your thesis. (DON’T FORGET TO CONSIDER VISUAL ...

Introduction:

“To kill a mockingbird” is a luminous piece of literary work by Ms. Nelle Harper Lee. The novel was written in the year of 1960 wherein author portrays her childhood memories beautifully in the novel. The theme of the novel revolves around some serious issues including racism, rape, gender, audacity, empathy and inequality in American Lower South. The characters depicted in the novel are inspired by author’s family members and neighbors. The lead character Scout Finch is inspired by her father Atticus Finch. The Novel carries lot of humor and tenderness regardless of serious issues. The work done by author ...

Book Review: To Kill A Mocking Bird

The main reason for using the title “To Kill a mockingbird” is to bring out the theme of innocence. The mockingbird though small, is renowned for its ability to mimic the sounds produced by other animals. The bird innocently sings in the trees near houses and can at times be irritating which prompts people to kill it. However, the bird, just like any other animal is always innocent.

The central story in the novel concerns a black man (Tom Robinson) who had been unjustly accused of rape. In spite of insufficient circumstantial evidence, the courts are prejudiced and convict Tom of ...

Introduction:

Harper Lee’s classic novel is built on two main themes, racial injustice and the disruption of innocence which are skillfully interwoven together to create a complex web of intricacies that continually develop throughout the book. The theme of racial discrimination is rampant in the old Southern town of Maycomb in Alabama which positively reeks with the heat of injustice. However Lee is interesting in the sense that she manages to create a link between the innocence of children who do not think about racism in their heart of hearts but can observe it first hand through the noble doings ...

Atticus is a reputed citizen and he is a very good lawyer. He is very tolerant person and a humble human being who satisfies several queries of others and believes in helping other people. Atticus As father of Jem and scout pays his responsibilities in a proper manner. He inspires them to study, satisfies their queries and on the other hand, is always ready to help others in his social life. When his daughter scout refuses to go to school, Atticus not like other parents, merely tells him that she has to go to school but he patiently listens her and ask ...

Abstract

The coming of age novel To Kill a Mockingbird ,by Harper Lee uses her experience as Southerner to examine the ethical issues during the great depression taking the readers to a time when discrimination dominant.Setting the story in the southern town of Maycomb country, where the story is viewed through the eyes of a young girl trying to learn that life is a blur of good and bad. Through the innocence of Scout, Harper Lee presents the varying aspects of intolerance and racism evoking the vivid racial discrimination around the melodramatic town of Maycomb; provoking the distinctive characters to challenge their values to ...

As a nation, America is populated by immigrants and as such, its culture is a mixed bag – a melting pot, if you will, of ethnicities, cultures, ideas and beliefs. As a result, it is difficult to define any one traditionally American aspect of culture as it is bastardised from a whole variety of European, African and Asian influences. However, America can boast its culture as having been affected by these various different influences and as being shaped accordingly. One such major influence is that brought to the table by the African American community who have influenced American culture for decades through music, film, literature ...

To Kill a Mocking Bird is a novel that deals with serious issues of racial inequality and rape in the American society in 1930s. These are contemporary issues that affected the country during the time in which the book was written. The novel is written by Lee Harper and was published in the year 1960. The major issues of the novel involve destruction of people’s innocence and racial injustice (Johnson, 1994). This target audience of this book was the majority whites. Reading this book would make them realize the pains the African Americans went through. The novel became a ...