Biography and Legacy of Nelle Harper Lee

Harper Lee, born Nelle Harper Lee, was born on April 28 in 1926. From then, she grew on the be one of the best-known authors of the century and adored my many of her fans. Lee’s most famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, won a Pulitzer Prize along with her most recent novel Go Set a Watchman. Harper Lee is a groundbreaking, award-winning novelist who played with topics of rape and social inequality while entertaining her readers in her novels.

Nelle Harper Lee was born and raised in Monroeville, Alabama with her family: her mother, a stay-at-home mom, her father, who was involved in state legislation and was a title lawyer, and her two older sisters and brother (Johnson). Her family and people from her hometown were major influences on her future writings as shown in her characters and plot in both of her novels. After graduating high school, Lee went to Huntingdon College in Montgomery for a year, then transferred to the University of Alabama to study law, but did not graduate. She also attended a summer school, per request of her father, at Oxford University in England to study law. This aspect of Lee’s life correlates to the theme in her books.

The prime example of classic and modern American literature, To Kill a Mockingbird, was a profound eye-opener to many readers and has become a staple in most US high schools. The story was told from the point of view of a 6-year-old girl interpreting the realities of the world. Its characters were roughly based on Lee’s family and surrounding neighbors and childhood events (May). The similarities between the events in To Kill a Mockingbird and the authors personal experiences, gives the readers insight into Harper Lee’s life and her perspective of social interactions from the eyes of a young child. The way the book is written suggests that Ms. Lee had a strong bond with her father or felt a father figure was a necessity for a child to feel secure and in a safe environment.

The language displayed around the adolescent girl indicates the general population’s beliefs toward minorities and interracial relationships by showing the ingrained views pressed into impressionable minds of the young. Her novel revealed the injustices not only from a public view, but from a judicial one too. The preconceived notions that the community felt were undeniable truths to them yet turned out to be false allegations that ended the life of an innocent man. It is also revealing to the readers about how Harper shows that the individual that uncovers this racial injustice is her father. Atticus is an example for realism when he defends Tom, the African American accused of raping a young white woman. He does this even though the outcome of Tom getting convicted for these false accusations is inevitable. The novel was and still is loved by millions, despite the topics of rape and race between a black man and a white woman and the social injustice brought to end a innocent man’s life (Watson). This novel opened the eyes of many by showing the unjust treatment and the harsh reality of African American life during this time period.

After living for 89 years, Lee died on February 19, 2016 in her sleep. She had no children nor husband and was buried by her church the following day. Although Harper Lee only wrote two novels throughout her career, in addition to the five articles Lee also wrote, her ability to grab ahold of the reader and send a message is undeniable (Johnson). Lee lived a life of solitude, yet she had a voice that reached millions of readers worldwide and influenced movements against racial inequality with her novels. Harper Lee will always be a great American literature novelist, and her writings are a reminder of the negative side of America’s history and the realities of many people over half a century ago.