“You see, more than just a matter of putting words down, writing is a process of self-discipline that you must learn before you can call yourself a writer” (Harper Lee) . According to Laura Fine (2016), Harper Lee, born as Nelle Harper Lee, grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, with a successful lawyer as a father. His most famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird features Atticus Finch, a father and well-known lawyer who defends an African-American man. His father as well as the changing times of the 1950s when he composed the novel are strongly expressed through his work. At that time, the civil rights movement became a strong aspect in American society as leaders such as Martin Luther King became famous for fighting for racial equality. The novel reflects the racist era in which it was written through the main conflict, in which an African-American man is accused of committing rape against a young white woman. According to Audrey Clinton (2016), To Harper Lee's surprise, the novel won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and sold over thirty million copies. Clinton also said that Lee's novel brought a sense of unity to the nation, seen by the thousands of letters she received from states across the country sharing that they had seen expressed ideas of racism. This was unexpected, as Lee was basing the plot on his experiences in the South, as Clinton states. This is a reflection of the impact his work has had. Harper Lee was one of the most influential writers of her time and still in American culture today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayHarper Lee was born in Monroeville, AL on April twenty-eight, 1926. Harper Lee was raised primarily by her father, according to Laura Fine (n.d.) “Harper Lee is the daughter of Amasa Coleman Lee, an attorney who reportedly it seems he was rather similar to the hero-father of his novel in his healthy citizenship and friendliness" (Fine, n.d.). Lee's father's occupation as a lawyer in Monroeville, AL, during the time she grew up, is critical to understanding her childhood, as she grew up primarily in the 1930s, a time with little improvement nationwide. As Shields (2008) explains: “It was the 1930s, the Great Depression, when children went to school in hand-me-down clothes that had been patched and altered several times. Many children came to school without shoes, with dirty heels bouncing on the pine floors.” During this period following the stock market crash, the nation struggled both economically and socially, while racial tension grew. Shields (2008) goes on to say, “The only topic ever discussed, in my experience, was race relations. The prevailing view was that there was no reason to upset the status quo and most were willing to maintain existing conditions indefinitely” (Shields, 2008). The combination of racial inequality and economic depression had a major influence on Lee's life, expressed by the appearance of both in his novels. According to Shields, Lee attended a high school in Alabama, instead of an all-girls industrial school, which his mother hoped he would attend. According to Youngzine (2016), “After high school, Lee enrolled at the University of Alabama where she became editor of the campus magazine. She was accepted into the law school program, but dropped out before her senior year to become a writer.” Although her first novel wasn't published until 1960, Lee had been writing since she was a child. Harper Lee's childhood influenced her ability to influence society through her works To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman.Over the course of Harper Lee's writing career, she has only published two popular novels, but she has many short stories that she has kept private. Lee's works are often assumed to be based on his childhood due to the setting of his novels having similarities to his personal childhood, however Lee states, according to Clinton, "It's all fiction, just autobiographical in the sense that it's about a little city. None of the incidents recounted in the book ever happened to me as a child. I didn't have an eventful childhood," he said, explaining that most reviewers make the mistake of taking the story at face value" (Clinton, 2016) Both To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman relate strongly to the issues of the time in which they were written, but still have the same impact as the online periodical “The Life, Death, and Career of Harper Lee.” 2018) states “At a time when so many novels made with mechanical tools are simply documentaries disguised behind some fictional twists, it is pleasant to recommend a book that shows what a novelist can accomplish with fairly familiar situations.” Lee's work is often shared in schools because of the relevance his work continues to show today. The online periodical “To Kill a Mockingbird Returns to Mississippi School's Reading List After Outcry” (2017) shares “Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has been taught in countless classrooms and influenced generations of readers.” Although his novels are recommended for young adults, the countless lessons in his writing apply to people of all ages. To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee's first novel, which began his legacy. One of Lee's most famous novels is To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel explores the morality of human beings through a court case with much controversy in the 1930s. Lee is often credited for getting the setting right. According to Clinton (2016), “The book is a record of the general spirit of something. This was life in the 1930s. This is how it was with the children of the South." Lee was able to capture the details so accurately for her own experiences growing up in this time period in the South. The novel expresses the racial injustice of the time through a court case, Scout, the main character's father, defending a black man in the case. Fine (n.d.) states, "Scout and his brother, Jim, learn the principles of racial justice and open-mindedness from their father, whose righteous and compassionate acts include the unpopular defense of a black man falsely accused of raping a girl white". The novel is sometimes deemed controversial for its frank use of racial words and situations. Referring to a Mississippi high school, the periodical “To Kill a Mockingbird Returns to Mississippi School Reading List After Protests” states: “The book was still available in the library, but the eighth-grade curriculum would use a another book because some of the language “makes people uncomfortable”. (Hauser, 2017). Although his novel is not appreciated by everyone, it has received numerous awards for its excellence, including the Pulitzer Prize. The new sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman continues Lee's story and legacy. Although Lee's most famous work is To Kill a Mockingbird, a sequel called Go Set a Watchman came out 55 years later. The novel picks up the story many years later, but has a twist as "Atticus, known for his efforts to promote racial equality, has turned to segregationists!" according to the periodical “Goodbye Harper Lee..”. Although Lee's first novel was a great success, he waited centuries before publishing the sequel because according to the periodical “La vita, la.”