Harper Lee, the author of the famous literary novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, passed away this past Friday in her Alabama hometown, Monroeville.
At 89 years old, the author had written only two novels and briefly played around with short essays. Her success was definitely a surprise to her and for most of the publishing world, as she had predicted a “quick…merciful death at the hands of reviewers,” while still hoping for what she described as “public encouragement” to cheer her on. Still, she was just as afraid of this praise.
It is equal parts a dream and nightmare for a writer to produce a literary success, as this makes other works hard to follow and measure up. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love explains that there is a “doomed feeling” accompanying the triumph (and has a brilliant Ted Talk about it!).
It is unsurprising that Harper Lee felt her work would be short-lived, as most compositions by women were automatically thought to be inferior to the efforts of men, and therefore dismissed. Although it stood a century ago, not much has changed since Charlotte Brontë had to use a male pseudonym to be taken seriously by her peers.
To recap for those who do not know the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird, the story centres around a family of two children whose widowed father is a lawyer and boldly defends Tom, a victimized African-American who has been accused of raping a white woman in a very racially segregated town. While all obvious evidence points that the accused plaintiff has not committed the crime (for example, the beatings and physical abuses were done by a left-handed person, and Tom had a severe injury that made his left arm physically damaged), the wrong person is still punished by the justice system and racial inequality prevails.
What is most striking about Lee’s career is how she led the way and wrote passionately about the inherently racially unjust and patriarchal society of the time. She challenged the taboo relations between whites and people of colour at the time, and thanks to her efforts, created an long-lasting impact.
The mix of inspirational characters and antiheroes makes her writing all the more interesting and a true reflection of the racial struggle and repression at the time. The fluidity of the work and incorporation of autobiographical facts makes the story a true masterpiece. Literary elements and other imaginative metaphors made the complex issues and heavy themes easy to digest, which makes Lee’s message about compassion as well as about battling injustice all the more well liked and accepted.
Civil rights movements gained popularity in the 60s, and TKAM’s message was highly relevant in the political environment of the United States.
The book is a piece of classic American literature, selling over 99 million copies worldwide. Its themes are timeless, and its messages of compassion and battling prejudice are still applicable today (like the #BlackLivesMatter movement and Beyonce’s Formation video).
Lee’s heartfelt writing and firm stance on the struggles and ongoing forms on injustice for all outsiders is ageless. Take, for instance, the fact that Scout was considered eccentric at the time because her tomboyish behaviour did not match the expectations of femininity in the patriarchal culture of the time, or Atticus’s social suicide for not standing by his male, white counterparts.
Atticus Finch, named one of the greatest heroes of time, faces some backlash for rightfully defending a black man in the conservative Alabama town. However, the discrimination against him pales when compared to the rejection and oppression that people of colour felt at the time.
The character has one of the most famously quoted speeches.
It is the unique and remarkable ability of Lee to make every person’s voice heard and included in just one story that made the novel momentous.
Even Oprah praised the powerful script and how drawn she felt to book’s main character, Scout, because she felt the personality come alive with the skillful communication.
Lee is one of the noteworthy literates mentioned in Black History month, and still considered an influential member of many communities.
The wordsmith, of course, struggled with many manuscripts and worked diligently at editing the book to the highest level of perfection she could possibly achieve, which explains why she was so media-shy and only published a book every 50 years or so.
In a CBS documentary, it is noted that Lee herself never let anyone “really climb inside her and walk around.”
The world got a glimpse of her character, and that crack was enough to shed light on a lot of noteworthy issues.
Maintaining the integrity of a complex issue but still having firm political standpoints was certainly difficult, but with the exceptional writing skills of Lee and her peer editors, it was worthy enough to earn a Pulitzer Prize.
Rest in power, Harper Lee.
Images obtained from:
https://pinkjinn.wordpress.com/tag/harper-lee/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/go-set-a-watchman/the-curious-case-of-h…
https://ncowie.wordpress.com/category/to-kill-a-mockingbird/
https://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J-1bdDEH8y…
http://www.buzzfeed.com/staceygrant91/10-life-lessons-atticus-finch-from…
Other sources:
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-charlotte-bronte-pretend-mal…
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/black-lives-matter-co-founder-t…
http://www.1stslice.com/go-set-a-watchman-atticus/
http://www.wherearetheynow.buzz/oprah-reflects-on-her-lunch-with-harper-lee