Harper Lee Biography

1. Harper Lee Biography A PowerPoint made by Hunter Ace Chaney

2. Life Story Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Alabama. She had three other siblings and she was the youngest. She lived her childhood as a tomboy. Her mother had a mental illness and she rarely went out of the house. Her closest friend Truman Persons, now known as Truman Capote. Lee was tougher than most boys in town and was usually Truman’s body guard.

3. In high school, Lee took an interest in Literature and writing. After she graduated in 1944 she went to an all female college in Montgomery. She was an outsider, extremely different from the rest. She never took part in any fads or dating. But instead she spent all of her time in her studies and writing short stories. Lee was soon a member of the literary honors society. After a while she was transferred to another college. Again she was known as a wall flower. But she took a few steps out of hiding and became more social. To continue her passion for writing, she helped write the campus newspaper, the Rammer Jammer.

4. Soon in her junior year, she was then submitted into the university’s law school. This gave her the ability to give students work in law while still being undergraduates. But because of this, she had to quit her work with Rammer Jammer. But deep down inside she still new that writing was her one true passion. In 1949, a 23 year old Lee moved to New York City. She didn’t live a smooth life when she arrived. She was a ticket vender for a British airline corporation. But there was also a good side to the move too. She was reunited with her best friend Truman Capote.

5. Soon after that she befriended the Browns. Mr. Brown was a Broadway composer and his wife’s name was Joy. Then in 1956, Lee got the best Christmas present she could get from the Brown’s, a year of writing, supported by the Brown’s. During that time she was writing her best and only book, To Kill a Mockingbird. But originally it wasn’t called that. The first title was Go Set A Watchman, but that wasn’t good enough for her. She then changed it to Atticus, but then she noticed that the name would be redundant because the main character was not Atticus, he was simply a co-character. She then gave it the title To Kill a Mocking Bird because in the book, Atticus gives Scout and Jem air rifles and he told them “Kill all the Blue Jays you want but don’t kill the Mockingbirds because they do no harm.” This shows innocence of a child through the child. It also shows injustice of victims. This gave the title a fresh and unique sound. Then in July of 1961, To Kill a Mockingbird won the prestigious Pulitzer prize. Then in 1962, a film adaptation was made by Horton Foote. Lee made appearances on the set and interviewed the cast members, supporting the movie. The movie earned 8 Academy Awards nominations and won half of that. One of those awards went to Gregory Peck, who won best actor as Atticus Finch. This was Harper Lee’s only book and is one of the great American tales.