Carson McCullers was born Lula Carson Smith on February 19, 1917. She achieved great critical and commercial success with her first novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. It is also her most autobiographical work. Because some aspects of the character Mick in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter are drawn from McCullers own experiences as an adult. As her career began to take off, McCullers went through a difficult time personally. She divorced her husband in 1941. The marriage that ended with her husband's suicide. she and her husband were both bisexual and had an affair.

One of the most distinctive American writers, Carson McCullers is considered a member of the "Southern Gothic" tradition in American literature. She is often compared to writers such as Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor.

This novel was a breakthrough hit that launched McCullers' extremely successful literary career. The novel revolves around Singer, a deaf and mute man, and Mick, a teenager who lives in the house he rents. Mick and Singer become friends, although they are separated by Singer's lack of communication skills and Mick's struggles with teenage problems.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter's portrayal of Mick Kellyde bears a resemblance to author McCullers: her description of Mick Kelly's typical tomboy is very much in line with contemporary descriptions of McCullers herself. Like Mick, McCullers grew up with ambitions of becoming a concert pianist.

The character John Singer in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" is a silver engraver at a local jewelry store. McCullers' father was a jeweler and her mother also worked for the jeweler.

“The Heart is a lonely hunter with only one desire! To find some lasting comfort in the arms of anothers fire...driven by a desperate hunger to the arms of a neon light, the heart is a lonely hunter when there's no sign of love in sight!”
― Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

This is an important quote that not only emphasizes the title of the novel several times, but also explains the meaning of the title and gives examples.

This is a good question for the author of this book. John Singer, who is deaf in the book, cannot communicate with most people in the world because he cannot speak; Mick Kelly cannot communicate with anyone in her family because they do not share her wisdom and ambition; Biff Brannon is alone after his wife dies and does not want to open up to others. Communication became their biggest obstacle, and that's why they were isolated. So that communication becomes an important part of their life in the society, lack of communication may lose a lot of opportunities in the society.