FREE ESSAY ON TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

In, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee refers to Oliver Optic, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and
Victor Appleton as three authors whose works were enjoyed by Scout, Jem and Dill. These
19th and 20th century authors had similar writing styles and plot formulations. Adventure
stories, which were the genre of the tales written by these particular authors, were
extremely appealing to the young children in Harper Lee's novel. Scout and her friends
wove detailed imaginary dramas portraying character's discovered in these works. The most
popular works, which were also mentioned in the book, were Tarzan, The Rover Boys, Tom
Swift, and The Gray Ghost. Not only were they popular with fictional Jem, Dill, and
Scout, but they swept the country and were popular with all children during that time
period.
Victor Appleton was the pen name of Edward Stratemeyer. He wrote numerous fictional
series for young children, although rarely using his real name. The Rover Boys
(1899-1916) was his best selling series although it was followed up with many more which
were equally liked. The Rover Boys was based on tales of preparatory school and college
life. These works were so popular that Stratemeyer continued the series with a follow up
one, on the lives of the original character's children. Other series included Tom Swift
(1910), The Peripatetic Motor Boys (1906), The Bobsey Twin series, although written under
the pseudonym Laura E. Hope. After creating at least 150 full-length, hardbound novels,
he opened the Stratemeyer Syndicate, established in 1914, which completed works that
Stratemeyer outlined and edited. 
Oliver Optic was the pseudonym of W.T Adams, a Boston author and schoolteacher. In 1965,
he left his teaching job and began writing novels full time and editing a magazine called
Oliver Optic's magazine for Boys and Girls (1867-1875). His Juvenile books and magazines
were said to compare the works of another famous author at that time, Horatio Alger. Both
of their Characters were ambitious young boys who struggled to become heroes facing the
obstacle of poverty. They differed in that Alger's characters were interested in rising
in the business world, and Adams's were concerned with patriotism and adventure.
Throughout his lifetime, he wrote many series'. Some being: The Boat Club Series (1854),
Woodville series (1861-67), Army and Navy Series (1865-94), Stormy Flag Series (1867-69),
Onward and Upward Series (1870), Yacht Club Series (1872-1900), and Great Western Series
(1875-82). In the end, he had at least 1,000 short stories and about 115 novels to his
name.
Probably better known as the author of the best selling series, Tarzan, Edgar Rice
Burroughs was another early 20th century author whose works were popular amongst the
children in his time. His second published story, Tarzan of the Apes, was released in
All-Story magazine in 1912. It was so popular, it was published in hard cover in 1914,
and sold millions of copies worldwide. The stories of Tarzan were adventurous and
exciting, if not scientifically accurate. The story of a noble's son abandoned and raised
by apes in the jungle, who later falls in love with a scientist's daughter was eaten up
by the public. They couldn't get enough. So, even though the main plot was formulated in
the first two books of the series, 20 more stories were added to meet the requests of the
readers. The character of Tarzan has been the subject of comic strips, portrayed on radio
stations and televisions in numerous languages, and made into about 40 movies. After
Tarzan, Burrough's followed up with a sci-fi series about the planet Venus. Pirates of
Venus (1934, Lost in Venus (1935), Carson of Venus (1939), and Escape from Venus (1946),
made up the not as successful series. During this time, Burroughs divorced his first wife
and remarried in 1935. Not only did he write adventure and science fiction, but he also
released carefully researched western adventure stories. These were based on his own
adventures on his brother's ranch in Idaho. When he was younger he served as a cavalry
soldier here. Some of these works were considered by critics to be his best writings.
The young characters in To Kill a Mocking Bird were interested, as were the many
realistic kids of their generation in America, in adventure stories. These three authors,
Edgar Rice Burroughs, W.T Adams, and Edward Stratemeyer had a writer's ability to quench
the young people's thirst for these novels. Harper Lee makes references to these three
authors in her book because they were the most popular of their time. All achieved great
accomplishments and fame in the world of literature through out their life times. 
Bibliography
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