Boo Radley was based on a mentally ill man who lived near Lee’s childhood home. The novel also inspired many readers and activists to support or join the civil rights movement or to challenge their own prejudices.
Another event that shaped the historical context of To Kill a Mockingbird was the rise of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship. Hitler came to power in 1933 and ruled until his suicide in 1945.
He pursued a policy of racial supremacy and genocide that targeted Jews, Roma, Slavs, homosexuals, communists, and other groups he considered inferior or enemies. He also started World War II by invading other countries and forming alliances with Italy and Japan.
The novel makes several references to Nazi Germany as a contrast or comparison to the situation in Maycomb. For example, Scout’s teacher Miss Gates condemns Hitler’s persecution of Jews but supports segregation and racism against black people in her own community.
Atticus compares Hitler’s propaganda to Mayella Ewell’s false testimony against Tom Robinson. Jem compares Hitler’s invasion of Poland to Mr. Ewell’s attack on him and Scout.
The New Southern Writers
Harper Lee was part of a group of writers who emerged in American literature after World War II and who focused on the South as their main subject matter.
These writers included Truman Capote (who was Lee’s childhood friend), Carson McCullers, William Styron, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, among others.
These writers explored various aspects of Southern culture, history, identity, politics, religion, race, gender, class, violence, humor, folklore, and mythology.
They also challenged or criticized some of the stereotypes or traditions associated with the South or offered new perspectives or voices on them.
Who are some other writers from Alabama?
Some other writers from Alabama are:
- Truman Capote, who was Harper Lee’s childhood friend and the author of In Cold Blood, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and other works of fiction and nonfiction.
- Fannie Flagg, who wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, a novel that was adapted into a popular film starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy.
- Rick Bragg, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his journalism and wrote several memoirs about his family and his Southern roots, such as All Over But the Shoutin’ and The Prince of Frogtown.
- Zora Neale Hurston, who was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance and the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, a novel that explores the life and love of a black woman in the early 20th century South.
- Helen Keller, who was a deaf-blind activist, author, and lecturer who overcame her disabilities with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan. She wrote several books, such as The Story of My Life and The World I Live In.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that took place in the 1920s and 1930s in Harlem, New York City. It was a period of artistic and intellectual flourishing among African Americans, who expressed their creativity and identity through various forms of literature, music, art, theater, and politics.
