To Kill A Mockingbird4
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.
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
Some common words found in the essay are:
Tarzan Apes, Escape Venus, Rover Boys, Alger Characters, Jem Dill, Edward Stratemeyer, Harper Lee, Harper Lee's, Western Series, Adams Boston, rice burroughs, edgar rice burroughs, adventure stories, edgar rice, rover boys, selling series, victor appleton, jem dill, 20th century, wt adams, harper lee,
Approximate Word count = 763
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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