Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, was taught nationwide for years after its 1960s publication, and is still being assigned today. With universal themes of good vs evil, social inequality, justice and judgement, and compassion and forgiveness, it exposed the reader to situations that may not be addressed otherwise.
Harper Lee wrote about a young girl who defied many gender stereotypes, including going by the name Scout. She and her brother Jem admired their widowed father, Atticus Finch, as he defended Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s. Atticus was written as a loving and patient father and lawyer devoted to the American judicial system.
Now, 55 years later, Harper Lee has the sequel, Go Set a Watchman.
The novel takes place in the 1950s, twenty years after the first novel takes place.
But the era is the smallest difference between the two novels. It seems as though everything has changed.
Here are a few things that you should know before picking up this book and expecting another generation-shaping novel.
1. There is no more "Scout"
The beloved tomboy Scout is all grown up, 26 years old actually and she does no longer go by the name Scout. She has moved to New York City and now goes by Jean Louise Finch. Although she may no longer be writhed as outwardly curious and boyish, her unique awkwardness is still a part of her character.
2. Jem is dead
Scouts older brother Jem, who in To Kill a Mockingbird represented bravery and inner change, is not a part of the sequel. He is said to have "dropped dead in his tracks one day" leaving his father without someone to pass along his law practice to.
3. Go Set a Watchman was written before To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee submitted Go Set a Watchman for publishing in 1957 where she was told to rewrite the story form the girls childhood perspective. Two years later she returned with To Kill a Mockingbird. There are small parts in Watchman that reveal how it influenced Harpers writing of Mockingbird. For example, while the trial of a black man raping a white woman is the main story line of Mockingbird, is is just a passing event in Watchman.
4. Atticus Finch is a Harsh Racist
Say goodbye to the accepting and tolerant Atticus Finch that was seen as a hero in Mockingbird. The man who saluted the american judicial system in Mockingbird is now a harsh critic to the system in Watchman. Once a man who fought his hardest to acquit Tom robinson, the black man accused of raping a white woman, now associates with an anti-segregation group.
Maybe it was the failure of the judicial system in Mockingbird that turned Atticus so harshly away from it, or maybe he has just lost his mind, but we do know that we are in for an eye opening read with Watchman.
