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CHILDHOOD LIFE AND GROWING UP |
Harper Lee was born and raised in Monroeville, Alabama. She was the youngest of five children in her family. Her mom was a homemaker and her dad was a former newspaper editor. Her father also practiced law and he served in the Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938. Before he became a lawyer, he defended two black men who were accused of murder. As a child, Lee was a tomboy and loved to read. When Lee was in high school, she became extremely interested in English literature. After she graduated in 1944, she went to an all female Huntington College in Montgomery. Harper Lee was much different from all the other girls at her school, she didn't care about fashion, makeup, or dating like the other girls did; all she cared about was school and writing. In college, she was a part of the literary honor society and Glee club. After being at the Huntington College for several years, she transferred over to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Harper Lee was known for being a lonely person and an individualist. She tried to become a more social person by joining a sorority for a short period of time. As time went on, Harper became the editor of the school newspaper, Rammer Jammer.
In her junior year of college, she was accepted into the university's law school. Because of the amount of time she was spending in law school, she was forced to leave as editor of Rammer Jammer. After Harper Lee was in the law program for one year, she decided her true passion was for writing. Lee went to Oxford University in England as an exchange student. She went back to law studies that fall and dropped out after the first semester to move to New York and pursue her dream as a writer. In 1949, she struggled for many years, working as a ticket agent for Eastern Airlines and for British Overseas Air Corp. While she was there, she became friends with Michael Martin Brown and his wife. In 1956, the Brown's, for Christmas, supported Harper so that she could pursue her career as a writer full time. Michael Martin and his wife Joy helped her find an agent. This agent helped Harper in publishing her book To Kill a Mockingbird which was first titled Go Set A Watchman.
In her junior year of college, she was accepted into the university's law school. Because of the amount of time she was spending in law school, she was forced to leave as editor of Rammer Jammer. After Harper Lee was in the law program for one year, she decided her true passion was for writing. Lee went to Oxford University in England as an exchange student. She went back to law studies that fall and dropped out after the first semester to move to New York and pursue her dream as a writer. In 1949, she struggled for many years, working as a ticket agent for Eastern Airlines and for British Overseas Air Corp. While she was there, she became friends with Michael Martin Brown and his wife. In 1956, the Brown's, for Christmas, supported Harper so that she could pursue her career as a writer full time. Michael Martin and his wife Joy helped her find an agent. This agent helped Harper in publishing her book To Kill a Mockingbird which was first titled Go Set A Watchman.