...Truman Capote has said, “ Writing stopped being fun when i discovered the difference between good and bad, and even more terrifying, the difference between it and true art. And after that the whip came down.” Capote had many experiences in his lifetime that influenced his writing. One of the novels that he wrote “In Cold Blood “ was written based on a true story of a kansas murder. Capote had grown attached to the story. So he decided to write a novel about it. Truman Capote was born on September 30, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana (“Truman Capote.” Encyclopedia of World Biography) . He was born to the name Truman Streckfus Persons. As a young kid he did not have very good memories of his mother and his father. Primarily due to the fact that...
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...The Six Most Exciting Facts About Truman Capote 1. Truman Capote was neighbors with Harper Lee. Truman and Harper became friends at the age of only five (Alter). The two renowned American authors lived across the street from each other in Monroeville, Alabama (“Truman”:A childhood). Lee and Capote had many things in common, including the strained connection they had with their parents. They also had their love of reading, writing, and being read to in common. Furthermore, Harper would go on to work for Truman as a writing advisor before going on to write To Kill a Mockingbird (Alter). 2. Capote carried his childhood blanket with him always. Truman Capote did not have an easy, loving childhood. While he was still young his bipolar...
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...what probably won her Pulitzer prize winning novel. Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Her mother, Frances Cunningham Finch Lee, was a homemaker. For most of Lee's life, her mother suffered from mental illness, rarely leaving the house. It is believed that she may have had bipolar disorder (Harper Lee 1). Her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, practiced law, a member of the Alabama state legislature (Lee, Harper 2). She grew up as a tomboy in a small town, which she fought on the playground, and talked back to teachers. She was bored with school and resisted any sort of conformity. Truman Capote was one of Lee’s closest childhood friends, Lee often stepped up to protect Truman from other boys his age that picked on him for the fancy clothes be wore and also for being a sissy. The two were different but they both shared in having difficult home lives. Truman had to live with his mother’s relatives because he was abandoned by his own parents. He eventually moved to New York City, in the third grade, to join his mother and stepfather, he returned to Monroeville most summers and saw Lee. In high school Lee was introduced to challenging literature and rigors of writing well by her English teacher, Gladys Watson Burkett (Lee, Harper)....
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...it is a lovely story with a beautiful ending. 3 Bibliography and Biography of the author Name: Nelle Harper Lee Aka: Harper Lee Born: April 28, 1926 Monroeville, Alabama Occupation: Author Harper Lee was born and raised in the state of Alabama during the nineteen thirties. She grew up in a small town and was the daughter of a lawyer, who had a seat in the Alabama state legislature and owned the local newspaper and a woman who suffered from a mental disease. Her closest friend in the early years was another writer Truman Capote, later known as Truman Persons. Harper Lee was one of the boys since she was a little kid, she was very bold for her age. In secondary school, she developed her interest in the English literature. When she graduated in 1944, she went to a women’s college in Montgomery. But she wasn’t like the other students. She didn’t care about boys, clothes or any of that stuff, only literature truck her eye from the very beginning and was later transferred to the university of Alabama, were she studied law. Between her graduation and her first novel, she worked at a ticket agent when her old friend Truman crossed her path (who was a literary star during that time). Truman supported Lee financially and by the year of 1958, she finished her first novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ The years went by and Harper wrote some articles in cooperation with Truman Capote. In the grid below are the novels she wrote and the articles with...
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...Biography of Harper Lee (1926-) Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38). As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and she enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the young Truman Capote, who provided the basis of the character of Dill in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of Scottsboro, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men. The defendants, who were nearly lynched before being brought to court, were not provided with the services of a lawyer until the first day of trial. Despite medical testimony that the women had not been raped, the all-white jury found the men guilty of the crime and sentenced all but the youngest, a twelve-year-old boy, to death. Six years of subsequent trials saw most of these convictions repealed and all but one of the men freed or paroled. The Scottsboro case left a deep impression on the young Lee, who would use it later as the rough basis for the events in To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee studied first at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama (1944-45), and then pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama (1945-49), spending...
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...Andrew Holloman ENG 1101 11/13/12 Compare and Contrast Essay Similarities between Harper Lee’s Childhood Life and Scout Finch’s Childhood Life The To Kill a Mockingbird novel written by Harper Lee is commonly considered one of the twentieth century's most widely read American novels. The vast majority of people that have read the novel are of the belief that the events contained within the novel are based on Harper Lee’s childhood experiences growing up in the South. However, absent of Harper Lee actually confirming the inspirational source for her novel; it’s still an assumption made by the masses. Nonetheless, we all have to agree that there are some very distinct similarities between Harper Lee’s childhood life and the childhood life of Scout Finch’s in the novel. Similarities that exist between Harper Lee’s childhood life and that of Scout Finch in the To Kill a Mockingbird novel were the facts that they were both raised in small rural towns, both of them were tomboys during their childhood years, and they both lived through times of racial prejudice. The first similarity between Harper Lee’s childhood life and Scout Finch’s childhood life is that they were both raised in small rural towns in Alabama. Harper Lee grew up in the small rural town of Monroeville, Alabama that. The town has a small closely knit population where everyone knew their neighbors and knew their neighbor’s business. Aside from this the town of Monroeville is riddled with poverty and racial...
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...because it stresses the theme of the novel and makes key comparisons for the reader’s understanding. In To Kill a Mockingbird , the true nature of people are revealed and life lessons are learned by the important events that occur throughout the story. Harper Lee was born in 1926 in a small town called Monroeville, Alabama. She was the youngest of three children and was known as a rough tomboy by her childhood friends. Her father was Amasa Coleman Lee, and he was a lawyer. Her childhood and characteristics can be comparable to that of Scout Finch. It is also noticed that her mother’s maiden name was Finch. Lee had a childhood friend that lived with her neighbors during the summertime, his name was Truman Capote. Later Capote became a famous novelist and also a movie screenwriter. Capote and Lee’s friendship can be compared to that of Scout and Dill’s. Critic Jill May notices that when Harper Lee was five years old, the Scottsboro trial was in process. The Scottsboro trial was nine black men convicted of raping two white girls. This trial could have been inspiration to her writing this novel in the view of Scout. Lee states that To Kill a Mockingbird, is not an autobiography, but critics such as Jill May notices the similarities between Lee’s personal life and her novel. To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The setting of this book is very important because it is almost a character itself. This small town has an aura about itself that the children...
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...“How Does Harper Lee Present Her Ideas About Childhood in the Novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’?” In the novel ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’ written by Harper Lee, childhood is expressed throughout the story. The narrator of ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’ is Scout, an adult when the book was written, but a child when the story was lived, with this narration Harper Lee, uses Scout to portray the events which, normally would have had a biased review by adults at the time, but because it is written by a child it has non-judgemental views. Therefore, because of the child narrator, and the other main characters being children, this shows that childhood in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’ is important and crucial. In the chapters 1 to 12, childhood is presented by friendship, gullibility, pride, questioning and fear. The fear element, is a major part through ‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’, because at different stages of the novel at least one of the main characters is scared. The Finch children first experience real friendship in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’, when they meet Charles Baker Harris – Dill. Before Dill has passed the ‘Jem test’, Dill boasts to Scout and Jem that he can read. Which was not usually common in Maycomb at the time, but Jem and Scout could both read, which meant that they thought Dill was showing off and they wouldn’t want to be friends with him. Also what makes Dill become an issue about friendship, is how he introduces himself. He recites his entire name, and makes fun of...
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...of “In Cold Blood”, Truman Capote paints a picture of Holcomb that is nothing more than a dull, boring, and desolate small town. He develops his view thought specific detail selection which depicts visual imagery, a detached and repetitious tone, accompanied with a specialized sentence structure. In a town that is as dreary as Holcomb, no one would ever expect a quadruple murder. Through his details, Capote attempts to place Holcomb as an extremely desolate and lonesome a area. He refers to Holcomb as a place that “other Kansans call ‘out there’”. He also depicts that the small town is surrounded by rivers, prairies, and wheat fields which gives the reader a feeling of loneliness. Several times he mentions the decaying paint among the “aimless congregation of buildings”, which shows how he views that Holcomb is dull and unchanging. Capote also uses broad terms to describe the inhabitants. He has them all “barbed with a prairie twang [accent]”, and wearing trousers and “boots with pointed toes”. He focuses on the superficial and outward appearance of all of the townsfolk of Holcomb, while describing one specific towns person as “[she] wears a rawhide jacket, denims, and cowboy boots”. That is another way of saying trousers and pointed toe boots. He never really develops any unique insight into any of the inhabitants. This overgeneralization proves Capote’s view that Holcomb is one-dimensional and simplistic, and therefore solemn and dull. In addition, Capote reveals the has-been...
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...Choose any 3 characters from the first half of the novel and discuss how they have a positive influence in Maycomb. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays a very distinct difference in the character that are “good” and those that are “bad” this often comes over in the way Scout or Atticus view a certain character. There are many positive influences in Maycomb and one of them is Calpurnia. Although Atticus does not see her as a motherly figure, I believe that she views herself as the womanly influence in their lives as she is loving towards the children, but often, can be strict and firm to teach them what is right or wrong. She has always been there for both children, especially Scout because they lost their mother early in their lives and because of this I feel that Scout and Jem do not Calpurnia as either black or white and this means that they respect her and love her a lot. An example of this is in Chapter twelve when Calpurnia is taking the children to church with her and she refers to them as “my children” and wants people to know that she looks after them. She also makes sure that they are clean before church however, this is partly showing self interest as she wants to be seen as motherly towards the children and if they look nice, it will reflect well on her peers. Another example of Calpurnia showing her love for the children is when there is a “mad dog” and she tells them to go inside because she is worried about them and wants them to be safe. Calpurnia...
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...In a crime story, Perry Smith would definitely be the antagonist, because he is the murderer. However, In Cold Blood is not merely a crime story; it is a warning for us that the whole society is responsible to build either good or bad people. Murderers or criminals are not born as criminals at first; they are all born as innocent babies; they start life as we all do: as a blank sheet of paper, ready to be filled with scripts of life. Here in this story, Perry Smith is not only a villain, he is also a victim. The series of failure in the development of little Perry has begun—at least—from his parents. After his father decided to have contraband alcohol business for living, Perry’s mother began to get drunk, and other bad things started to follow. They quarreled often, and I guess peace and love have slowly evaporated from their home and family, replaced by violence. Perry was a child with sensitive and tender heart who should be taken in special care; he needed love, affection and tenderness much more than anybody else with different personalities. These violent episodes in the family, unfortunately, happened on the very important phase of Perry’s early development. After that, his parents separated, and Perry must enter several institutions, and there he did not get any better treatment either. And that because people failed to understand Perry’s needs. If only they gave him love, acceptance and support, I believe it is not too late to bring him to the right path. But, it...
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...much to see—simply an aimless congregation of buildings divided in the center by the main-line tracks of the Santa Fe railroad” (Capote 1). This lonesome, boring landscape was home to a town of people used to the normalcy and monotony that came with their everyday small-town life; until one day, when it all changed. It is November 1959 when the Clutter family is brutally murdered by two previously convicted cons, Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene Hickock. Not much was known about the mass homicide outside of the small Kansas village until, after 6 years of hard research, Truman Capote published his tell-all book. In this true story, Capote provided information that depicted the sad and pathetic lives lived by Smith and Hickock up until the murder and gave in depth details about the crime that could be known only by those who committed it (via multiple interviews). Initially, Capote opens the novel describing the small town and goes into detail about the Clutter family’s last living day. By doing this and revealing information about the family that was killed, Capote is taking measures to ensure his readers are sympathizing with the grieving townsfolk and those who knew the Clutters. By showing the readers that two men brutally killed a hardworking husband, an emotionally fragile wife, and “…a trio of daughters and a son”, it seems as if Capote is trying to dehumanize Smith and Hickock before it is even revealed what they had done. However, through the course of the novel...
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..."A Christmas Memory" is a short story by Truman Capote. Originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in December 1956, it was reprinted in The Selected Writings of Truman Capote in 1963. It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edition by Random House in 1966, and it has been published in many editions and anthologies since. The largely autobiographical story, which takes place in the 1930s, describes a period in the lives of the seven-year-old narrator and an elderly woman who is his distant cousin and best friend. The evocative narrative focuses on country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the Christmas season, and it also gently yet poignantly touches on loneliness and loss. "A Christmas Memory" is about a young boy, referred to as "Buddy," and his older cousin, who is unnamed in the story but is called Sook in later adaptations. The boy is the narrator, and his older cousin — who is eccentric and childlike — is his best friend. They live in a house with other relatives, who are authoritative and stern, and have a dog named Queenie. The family is very poor, but Buddy looks forward to Christmas every year nevertheless, and he and his elderly cousin save their pennies for this occasion. Every year at Christmastime, Buddy and his friend collect pecans and buy whiskey — from a scary American Indian bootlegger named Haha Jones — and many other ingredients to make fruitcakes. They send the cakes to acquaintances they have met only once or twice, and to people they've...
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... PATIENCE: THE WAY TO COMBAT ANGER Chad Hobbs GENE 150: The True, Good, & Beautiful 3/10/2018 Anger: The deadly vice When somebody thinks of wrath, they think of destruction, or of the wrath of their parents finding out that they snuck out of the house at 2 a.m. on a school night and having to listen to the father screaming, or being punished because of his wrath. They may even think of the devastation that was caused by the hurricanes, or the wildfires, or even the school shootings. Instead of taking revenge, or getting angry with someone, we can learn to combat that wrath, or anger, with patience and forgiveness. We can see, even, where anger can be used to glorify God and be used for good. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used his anger of racial injustice for good. Dr. King focused his energy on making a change for the African Americans to no longer be segregated. His famous words, in his “I Have a Dream” speech will never be forgotten, “Free at last, free at last, Thank God Almighty we are free at last.” Dr. King used his wrath for good to glorify God. Even God was full of wrath and even Jesus flipped a table. “For the Lord your God among you is a jealous God; lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” God is slow to anger and he tells us to be as well. “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” One example of God’s anger being justified...
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...Jean Louise “Scout” Finch - The narrator and protagonist of the story. Scout lives with her father, Atticus, her brother, Jem, and their black cook, Calpurnia, in Maycomb. She is intelligent and, by the standards of her time and place, a tomboy. Scout has a combative streak and a basic faith in the goodness of the people in her community. As the novel progresses, this faith is tested by the hatred and prejudice that emerge during Tom Robinson’s trial. Scout eventually develops a more grown-up perspective that enables her to appreciate human goodness without ignoring human evil. Atticus Finch - Scout and Jem’s father, a lawyer in Maycomb descended from an old local family. A widower with a dry sense of humor, Atticus has instilled in his children his strong sense of morality and justice. He is one of the few residents of Maycomb committed to racial equality. When he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man charged with raping a white woman, he exposes himself and his family to the anger of the white community. With his strongly held convictions, wisdom, and empathy, Atticus functions as the novel’s moral backbone. Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch - Scout’s brother and constant playmate at the beginning of the story. Jem is something of a typical American boy, refusing to back down from dares and fantasizing about playing football. Four years older than Scout, he gradually separates himself from her games, but he remains her close companion and protector throughout the novel. Jem...
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