It is impossible to make it to college without hearing of the name "Harper Lee" and that is because in high school you most likely had to read her Pulitzer Prize winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." The book was published during the Jim Crow era in 1960, set in the 1930s and created a momentum that is still relevant to today's current events. The book sold more than 40 million copies, and later became an Oscar-winning motion picture.
Harper Lee, birth name Nelle Harper Lee, was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. According to the New York Times, she was the youngest of four children (Fun fact: Lee dropped her first name when she began to fear others would pronounce her name "Nellie"). She was known as a tomboy growing up and was always playing around outside and obsessed with crossword puzzles.
She later went on to go to Huntingdon College for a year, then transferred to the University of Alabama to study law, but then realized that law was not for her, even though her older sister and father were lawyers and had a family firm. During her senior year, she went to Oxford University in England, and afterwards went to New York to pursue her dreams of being a writer. She worked hard and alongside a couple of talented writers. She conducted research on every page that she wrote, which cultivated her to be the writer that she became.
Lee passed away on Feb. 19, 2016 in her sleep at the age of 89. Lee lived a very private and quiet life in her hometown of southern Alabama. The New Yorker wrote an article where they revealed that she wouldn't even do an interview with Oprah. Whaaaat? They met briefly for lunch once and she said, "You know the character Boo Radley? If you know Boo, then you understand why I wouldn't be doing an interview, because I really am Boo." Boo Radley in the book is perceived as a tough, dangerous character, but at the end he saves Scout, leaving the millions of readers in awe. He is painfully shy, and it makes you think of those people you believe are creepy, but just have a hard time socializing.
The importance of Lee's literary work has not been overlooked. She never imagined the book would become the phenomenon that it became, but it has been the book that has shaped many lives and was a realistic example of what was happening in America (especially in the south). 2015 was a big year for Lee, when her publisher released "Go Set a Watchman," a sort of sequel to her first and, until now, only book. The book brought much speculation about why now publish another book? Despite all the rumors and backlash, Lee still remains one of the biggest American authors who didn't let fame change her. In her life, she continued to focus on her love for language.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" does not have a "happily ever after" ending because, similar to real life, life brings with it complications and downfalls. Lee wrote about the faults of human beings and the world we still live in. And her message is still loud and clear:
"It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” and the reason for it: The birds harm no one and only make beautiful music."
