Harper Lee’s newest release, Go Set
a Watchman, is the most talked about book this summer. Go Set
a Watchman, the first book Harper Lee wrote, was rejected when she submitted
it to her publisher in 1957. The publisher asked that Lee rewrite her book
and focus on Scout’s childhood.
She then
wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, published
in 1960 which has become an American classic. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the novel in 1961.
I have not yet read Go Set a
Watchman, and am waiting eagerly for when my name comes up on the library request
list! However, I have read a number of
articles since its release on July 14.
While To Kill a Mockingbird is
set in the 1930’s, Go Set a Watchman is
set in 1955, which was the beginning of the Civil Rights movement and
awareness of the Jim Crow laws. In 1954,
with Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court unanimously voted to
mandate integrated schools. Jean Louise
(Scout) returns to her hometown of Maycomb after living in New York. Her father, Atticus, is now 72 years
old. She is shocked to find out that her
father is not supportive of the black community integrating the schools and the
community. The book shows that Atticus
is not simply the hero of To Kill a
Mockingbird. He is a more complex
character, and some critics say he is a disappointment, compared to the
original book.
I have read articles that suggest that Go Set a Watchman should not have been published. There was an inquiry this year concerning Harper Lee’s mental fitness to decide on the publication. The author is now 88 years old and lives in an assisted living home in Monroeville, Alabama. She was determined to be mentally able to decide for herself that the novel should be published. Some critics feel that the new novel changes our understanding of Atticus and the value of To Kill a Mockingbird, which is a standard required read in most American high schools. Atticus Finch confronted race in the 1930’s setting, in a book published in 1960. In 1960, the nation was ready to look at the treatment of Blacks. In Go Set a Watchman, finished in 1957, and set in 1955, Harper Lee wrote about race relations as they really were at the time. The South was having a difficult time with integration. Atticus Finch is not flawless, as he was in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Some critics believe that publishing Go Set a Watchman tarnishes the image of Atticus Finch, and lessens To Kill a Mockingbird. Some believe that future students will not be able to read and understand the classic in the same way. Although I have not yet read Go Set a Watchman, I think publishing the novel is a positive decision. It would have been a loss to the literary community if the manuscript had disappeared and never been available to readers and critics. The novel reveals the author’s process as a writer, and her understanding of the 1950’s, as a time of trial and change in the South. Hopefully the novel will not ruin future readers of To Kill a Mockingbird, but will give them more background information to consider and discuss.
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