Understanding the literature of humanity and the message conveyed therein is of utmost importance for the present world as we can assert that it the humanity that is at stake presently throughout the world. Rest is all ok. The political world is alright; business is going on in a smooth way. Administrative affairs are being held smoothly, but at the cost of humanity- the most ironical helm of affairs. The term in itself emerged as a tendency to human liberty as a human being not as a citizen. “A Glossary of Literary terms” by M.H Abrahams and Geofarry Galt Harpman; mentions that it is term that applies to literary works that raise issues connected with human rights –rights that one has simply by virtue of being a human being, not as a consequences of citizenship or any political arrangement – often by depicting the suffering inflicted by abuse or exploitation. Human rights literature includes poetry memoir, and testimony, but the dominant form is novel. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906), John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath ((1939), Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird (1960), J.M Coetzee’s ‘Waiting for Barbarians (1980), and Michel Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost (2000).

I would like to discuss only two or three novels from the list given above so that the write-up doesn’t take a length and is not boring for the readers. Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016) was an American novelist whose 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood (1966). An earlier draft of Mockingbird, set at a later date, Go Set a Watchman, was published in July 2015 as a sequel. A collection of her short stories and essays, The Land of Sweet Forever, was posthumously published on October 21, 2025
The plot and characters of To Kill a Mockingbird are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family and neighbors in Monroeville, Alabama, as well as a childhood event that occurred near her hometown in 1936. The novel deals with racist attitudes and the irrationality of adult attitudes towards race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s as depicted through the eyes of two children. Lee received numerous accolades and honorary degrees, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, which was awarded for her contribution to literature.
As a Southern Gothic novel and Bildungsroman, the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the loss of innocence. Scholars have noted that Lee also addresses issues of class, courage, compassion, and gender roles in the Deep South. Lessons from the book emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice. Despite its themes, To Kill a Mockingbird has been subject to campaigns for removal from public classrooms, often challenged for its use of racial epithets. In 2006, British librarians ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die". This novel has an element of autobiography in it as Harp Lee doesn’t garade in such way as says, “ I never expected any sort of success with 'Mockingbird.' ... I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but, at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected,
Instead of a "quick, merciful death", Reader's Digest Condensed Books chose the book for reprinting in part, which gave it a wide readership immediately. Since the original publication, the book has never been out of print”
Another novel is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck who won noble prize in literature in 1962.The novel explores the theme of poverty and the struggle for survival by Joad family who suffers only on account of the bankruptcy after their crops are destroyed by the dustbowl. They shift to California with the hope that they may get better life their thinking the best opportunities of work are available there, but only a few survive to reach to the destination as some die on the way. They find it very difficult to survive as the rates of wages are very low and they are hardly earning as much as they can buy food for two times. The Grapes of Wrath is often listed as among the greatest novels in the English language and as a contender for the Great American Novel. It is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy. A Hollywood film version, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, was released in 1940.

Conclusion

The literature of human rights, as depicted in the mentioned novels, explores life through the various circumstances and how human society behave with one another when comes to the social status viz a viz upper class vs lower class and violence of human rights on the pretext of racial discrimination. In inventing human rights (2007) , Lyn Hunt argues that the news forms of fiction that arose during 18th century were crucial in disseminating the attitude and premises that underlie the concept of universal rights. By representing the moral integrity and desire for autonomy of those who are who are not wealthy or powerful, the novel she contends, implicitly argued for certain kinds of equality and by taking the readers in the mind of protagonist promote the faculty of empathy.

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