What was Harper Lees affect on American Literature - Term Paper Example

Harper Lee and American Literature (Southern Tour - Harper Lee) Nelle Harper Lee is one of the greatest American of the contemporary literature world. She rose to fame when her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” selected for the 1960 Pulitzer Prize. The major theme of this novel is her childhood memories about racism. Apart from Pulitzer Prize, “She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday November 6, 2007 for her services to literature by President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington D.C. She was also awarded the 2010 National Medal of the Arts for her services to literature” (Biography for Harper Lee). This paper analyses the biography and contributions of Harper Lee to American literature. Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38) (Biography of Harper Lee (1926-)) Harper Lee showed immense interest in reading literature even from her childhood. She was very much interested in establishing friendship with others and was eager to learn more and more things from her friends. She was very much sensitive and was eager to analyze or learn more about the incidents happening around her during her childhood. “Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of Scottsboro, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men” (Biography of Harper Lee (1926-)). The above case was a fabricated one and was aimed to create problems to the black community. Even though, the medical tests revealed that the claims of the white women about the rape was incorrect, the court sentenced the culprits to death and that also without providing the services of an advocate to the suspects. The above incident shook Lee’s heart and she realized the extent of problems faced by the black community as a result of racism during her childhood. The above incident influenced Lee immensely and motivated her to write the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” later in her life. 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 could have cared less about fashion, makeup, or dating. Instead, she focused on her studies and on her writing. Lee was a member of the literary honor society and the glee club (Harper Lee Biography) “Harper Lee graduated from Monroeville High School in her hometown in Alabama in 1943. She then attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, where she completed most of her core classes from 1944 to 1945” (Benson). “She studied law at the University of Alabama, and spent a year studying as an exchange student at Oxford. She never completed law school, and moved to New York to pursue a career as a writer” (Southern Writers Tour - Harper Lee). Lee’s law studies happened during the period of 1945-49. “During the 1950s, she worked as an airline reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways”((Nelle) Harper Lee (1926-)). In fact Lee studied law with an intention to help the black community as much as possible. However, she realized that as an advocate she has limitations in providing enough social justice to the black community. The above realization forced her to stop her Law studies and to concentrate more on writing articles. In 1957 Miss Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel to the J. B. Lippincott Company. She was told that her novel consisted of a series of short stories strung together, and she was urged to rewrite it. For the next two and a half years she reworked the manuscript with the help of her editor, Tay Hohoff, and in 1960 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was published (Harper Lee Bio) To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee's first and last novel. “Lee was 34 when the work was published, and it has remained her only novel”(Harper Lee.com). Even though she has written many other articles and literature works, she never bothered to write another novel independently. “By the mid-1960s, Lee was reportedly working on a second novel, but it was never published” (Harper Lee Biography). At the same time she helped some other writers to complete some other novels. For example, Lee helped one of her closest childhood friends, Truman Capote, in writing the novel, In Cold Blood. “To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into several languages. An illustrated English edition appeared in Moscow in 1977 for propaganda reasons” ((Nelle) Harper Lee (1926-)). To Kill a Mockingbird’s central character, a young girl nicknamed Scout, was not unlike Lee in her youth. In one of the book’s major plotlines, Scout and her brother Jem and their friend Dill explore their fascination with a mysterious and somewhat infamous neighborhood character named Boo Radley. But the work was more than a coming-of-age story, however. Another part of the novel reflected racial prejudices in the South. Their attorney father, Atticus Finch, tries to help a black man who has been charged with raping a white woman to get a fair trial and to prevent him from being lynched by angry whites in a small town (Harper Lee Biography). “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” (Harper Lee.com). Harper Lee used humor and warmth in her novel even though the theme was a serious one like racial discrimination. Harper Lee compared Mockingbird and the black community in a similar fashion. As in the case of mockingbird, the black community in America is innocent people who always like singing and dancing. In other words, they are performers who contribute to the enjoyment of the people irrespective of white or black community. Killing of such people is definitely a sin according to Lee which is explained in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee’s life achievements revolutionized American literature, and demonstrated how racial injustices were common in the 1930’s. She revealed the real face of the southern courtrooms, and how cruel whites can be to convict a black man of a horrible crime, even though there may be enough evidence to prove his innocence. Lee was also able to use a point of view of a six-year-old in her only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which many authors are unable to use correctly. By doing this, she can convey ideas through the implications of the narrator (Benson) Harper Lee succeeded in changing the writing styles of American literature. Earlier, American writers concentrated more on glorifying American traditions, beliefs, culture etc. Most of them avoided controversial subjects like racism in their novels and dramas. However, Lee showed immense courage in breaking the traditions and customs and was brave enough to criticize the hypocrisy in American society. Lee was succeeded in unveiling the double standards prevailing in American society while dealing with the issues of whites and blacks. She argued that racism is still prevailing in America in different forms. Lee also succeeded in making the public aware of the issues like class, courage, gender roles etc in America. Lee ridiculed the criminal justice system in America for keeping prejudices while dealing with issues related to black community. Even though majority of the Americans accepted her novel as a classic, there are some criticisms also labeled against her novel. The initial critical response to Lee's novel was mixed. Many reviewers lauded the book as a poignant and insightful expose of racism in the South, and a powerful rendering of modern heroism. Others, however, found fault with Lee's use of narrative voice, asserting that she fails to effectively integrate the voice of the adult Scout with the childish perspective of the young girl who narrates much of the novel. Critical reception of the book has primarily centered around its messages concerning issues of race and justice. Proponents of the novel have championed its usefulness as a teaching tool in high school and college curricula for examining issues of racism and justice (To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee) Harper Lee was never interested in marriage and she is still leading a single life. However she was in good relationship with her old friend Capote. “Capote was the inspiration for the neighbor boy 'Dill' in To Kill A Mockingbird, and he said that a character in his Other Voices, Other Rooms was based on Lee” (AKA Nelle Harper Lee). Lee is not much interested in gaining publicity and avoided interviews and other publicity making activities. “Lee continues to live a quiet, private life in New York City and Monroeville. Active in her church and community, she usually avoids anything to do with her still popular novel” (Harper Lee Biography). To conclude, Harper Lee is one of the most famous American literature writers of the current world even though she wrote only one novel. Works Cited 1. “AKA Nelle Harper Lee”. Web. 23 May 2011. 2. Benson, Brendon. “Harper Lee: Life and Work”. 2003. Web. 23 May 2011. 3. “Biography of Harper Lee (1926-)”. Web. 23 May 2011. 4. “Biography for Harper Lee”. Web. 23 May 2011. 5. “Harper Lee Bio”. Web. 23 May 2011. 6. “Harper Lee.com”. Web. 23 May 2011. 7. “Harper Lee Biography”. Web. 23 May 2011. 8. “(Nelle) Harper Lee (1926-)”. Web. 23 May 2011. 9. “Southern Writers Tour - Harper Lee”. 2009. Web. 23 May 2011. 10. “To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee”. Web. 23 May 2011. Read More