The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

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Harper Lee, Author of To Kill a Mockingbird, dies at 89

The author of the widely known novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee, passed away Feb. 19 at the age of 89 from natural causes. Many English teachers and admirers of the book, think this was a definite loss in literature.

“It is absolutely one of my favorite books to teach, I think a lot of students enjoy it,” said Chenetra Mangum, English I teacher.

The book, with originally published in 1960, was immediately successful and became a classics in American literature. Surprisingly, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was Lee’s only published work until June 2015 when, the author came out with a novel “Go Set a Watchman,” the sequel to her original novel,“To Kill a Mockingbird,” which received a lot of attention because it was her only Ms. Lee’s second novel after 55 years.

“No matter where we are, it just hits on that core argument of equality,” Morgan Caddell, English I teacher.

The news of Harper Lee’s death was announced almost immediately as it happened and traveled quickly on the Internet. The author was loved by many readers whichand this was expressed online. The news was shocking to many people because it was so unexpected.

“One book that spoke volumes to myself and to my students,” said Mangum.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” has been taught to high school students for over 50 years now. The symbol of the story title, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is to destroy innocence,. This is a relatable concept to high school students in their teenage years because teenagers are not children anymore, but also not an adult either. Racism is also a big part of the the book because an African American man is accused of raping a young girl and is not heard by the court.

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what,” To Kill a Mockingbird.

The famous quote above is a often recognized as it represents one of the many lessons from the book.  “Licked” in this context means to be defeated. The message that Lee portrays is portraying the idea that you should keep going even when one may think they have a disadvantage compared to others. Ms. Lee always encouraged unknown authors to follow their dreams and write what they believe is the truth.

“(a writer) Should write what he knows and write truthfully,” said Lee.

Harper Lee won a total of four awards for “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Ms. Lee won the Presidential Medal of Freedom 2007, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1961, the Quill Award for Audiobook 2007, all for “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She received the Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction 2015 for “Go Set a Watchman.”

The novel is planned to continue to be taught for years to come and carry on the legacy of Harper Lee’s work. At Athens Drive, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is read by the freshmen class.

“I really enjoyed the book’s overall message because it was so powerful,  and it was definitely one of my favorite books we read in English one,” said Rebecca Johnson, sophomore.

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