Representation of the Subaltern Voice in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

Abstract

The present dissertation aspires to undertake the representation of the subaltern voice in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. This study examines whether Lee raises the issues of subaltern or not. This dissertation unmasks the fact that Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird revolves around the trial of black boy named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman and the white lawyer, Atticus Finch defends him. Lee exposes prejudice of the society to focus on the role of intellectual to make the subaltern people conscious. On the top of all these, Lee shows race subalterns who are marginalized and suppressed. However, the elite intellectual speaks for the right and existence of suppressed subalterns, which gives the glimpse of hope in hopelessness. A docile and obedient subaltern boy changes into revolutionary figure and silently speaks for equal right. In this way, Lee represents the voice of subaltern people.