Lest I turn a serious scholars baleful eye my direction (again. )

It's hard to say how deeply the parallels run and how much is superficial, because while many authors consciously allude various iconic aspects of their cultural heritage, most, perhaps all, do so subconsciously. Whether or not one accepts its validity there are few more widely known Western examples than Christianity; you can probably find a Christ figure in "Fun with Dick and Jane" if you search diligently (poor long suffering Spot, enduring those horrid childrens shenanigans. ) It's hard to miss them in "To Kill a Mockingbird" though, and difficult to believe at least a few were intentional from a native of the Deep South. Particularly in light of this response to a school board trying to ban the book (quoted from Wikipedia: )

"Recently I have received echoes down this way of the Hanover County School Board’s activities, and what I’ve heard makes me wonder if any of its members can read.

"Surely it is plain to the simplest intelligence that 'To Kill a Mockingbird' spells out in words of seldom more than two syllables a code of honor and conduct, Christian in its ethic, that is the heritage of all Southerners. To hear that the novel is 'immoral' has made me count the years between now and 1984, for I have yet to come across a better example of doublethink.

"I feel, however, that the problem is one of illiteracy, not Marxism. Therefore I enclose a small contribution to the Beadle Bumble Fund that I hope will be used to enroll the Hanover County School Board in any first grade of its choice. "

I also recall a Plan II professor from my own brief and abortive college career who claimed, in essence, that EVERY subsequent tale of anognorisis is but a variation on the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and since that protagonists journey is as much spiritual as physical, and given that it predates virtually all other extant works, the claim is hard to dispute (or easy to make, depending on ones perspective. ) "There is nothing new under the sun" I seem to recall reading somewhere. Unless the author is very heavy handed or explicitly identifies an allusion though it's often hard to say whether it's conscious, unconscious or just superficial coincidence. The parallels are so many and deep though, and Lees background so apt for it, that it seems certain many of the apparent Christian parallels are real and intentional.

Incidentally, proofreading IS important (I've provided MANY negative examples in my time ' />) here or anywhere, people are far less likely to accept even the best arguments they can't follow, and the harder it is to pursue an argument the less likely they are to try. Critiques of form are less rebuttal than they are substitutes for it, but a persuasive argument must also be an engaging one or it has no audience. Like most things, however, it is best perfected with disciplined practice, and I've seen (made...?) worse starts.