To Kill A Mocking Bird
group of men led by Heck Tate showed up at Atticus' house one evening demanding to know what his intentions are regarding the defense of Tom Robinson. Atticus informs them that he intends on defending the young man
For the film, see To Kill a Mockingbird (film).
To Kill a Mockingbird
First edition cover – late printing
Author Harper Lee
Country United States
Language English
Publisher J. B. Lippincott & Co.
Publication date July 11, 1960
Media type Print (Hardback and Paperback)
Pages 296 (first edition, hardback)
To Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful and has become a classic of modern American fiction. The novel is loosely based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old.
The novel is renowned for its warmth and humor, despite dealing with serious issues of rape and racial inequality. The narrator's father, Atticus Finch, has served as a moral hero for many readers and as a model of integrity for lawyers. One critic explained the novel's impact by writing, "In the twentieth century, To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and its protagonist, Atticus Finch, the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism."[1]
As a Southern Gothic novel and a Bildungsroman, the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the destruction of innocence. Scholars have noted that Lee also addresses issues of class, courage and compassion, and gender roles in the American Deep South. The book is widely taught in schools in English-speaking countries with lessons that emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice. Despite its themes, To Kill a Mockingbird has been subject to campaigns for removal from public classrooms. Often the book is challenged for its use of racial epithets, and writers have noticed...
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