Nelle Harper Lee was a respected author and driven student who lived a full and accomplished life. Lee lived her life in Monroeville, Alabama, and at the age of 89, she passed away in her sleep in her hometown. Throughout her life, she studied at Huntingdon College for a year, but then transferred to the University of Alabama to study law and write for the university paper, but she never actually completed the credits for a degree. Instead, she was a novelist. She published two books, the famous American novel To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, and the sequel Go Set a Watchman in 2015.  

Critics were judgmental on Lee’s sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird because her first novel set tremendously high standards with the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. Most people agreed that her different depiction of Atticus did not do him justice and were frustrated that a man that served as such a role model for many readers suddenly became racist and discriminatory. It was confirmed that Go Set a Watchman was actually the first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird and was written in the 1950s before she had a change of vision and developed the activist version of Atticus that we love so dearly. However, it is hard to argue with the fact that Harper Lee was an influential and talented contributor to American literature. Her novels will continue to be read by Americans across the nation, and her words will live on forever.

Source:

“Harper Lee Biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.