Discussion thread for Harper Lee's 2nd published novel Go Set a Watchman

[3DOCTORS]

Alert - contains spoilers

As a huge fan of To Kill a Mockingbird, I know I was shocked.

With all the debate brewing over the origins of Harper Lee’s novel “Go Set a Watchman,” the biggest bombshell turned out to be an explosive plot twist that no one saw coming.

Atticus Finch — the crusading lawyer of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” whose principled fight against racism and inequality inspired generations of readers — is depicted in “Watchman” as an aging racist who has attended a Ku Klux Klan meeting, holds negative views about African-Americans and denounces desegregation efforts.

Entire article here - nytimes.com/2015/07/12/books/racism-of-atticus-finch-in-go-set-a-watchman-could-alter-harper-lees-legacy.html?_r=0

I also don’t know if I care for the adult Scout (Jean Louise) Finch who is so much more cosmopolitan, has affairs, etc. I didn’t expect her to remain prepubescent, but I guess I did see her as more of a grown-up Southern lady like the character Miss Maudie, but not racist like so much of the town was in TKAM. And I fully expected and hoped to see Jem as an adult and their sibling bond in adulthood, rather than him be deceased already.

To read the first chapter:

wsj.com/articles/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-read-the-first-chapter-1436500861

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I read a while ago that this was based on the first draft of “To Kill a Mockingbird” and her editors at the time had her focus on Scout as a child.

I think I will skip it.

 

[Catholic1954]

I read the first chapter; it was well written, but I think I will skip the rest of the book also and keep the movie memory of Atticus Finch.

 

[7_Sorrows]

What is the debate?

I loved To Kill a Mockingbird - both the book and movie.

I don’t like the title - Go Set a Watchman. I hate titles like that.

 

[Irishmom2]

Keeping the character of Atticus the way he has always been to me by not reading the new book and going to save myself $27.99.

 

[WT1]

Keeping the character of Atticus the way he has always been to me by not reading the new book and going to save myself $27.99.

I’m very intrigued because it seems to explorer a part of the south many of us had to struggle with. An elderly generation that grew up thinking they were kind and considerate to blacks but still had racist views but didn’t see it that way. It was hard to hear some of the views of people you cared about knowing they were absolutely wrong but would get extremely upset if you corrected them or tried to explain why they were wrong.

I’m proud to say my kids don’t really see color, have friends of all different racist and can’t relate to a world where that wasn’t the case. This very well could be an important work by one of our best authors that shows a small window into that struggle.

If we don’t remember the past we are doomed to repeat it.

 

[GEddie]

Deciding whether to read it or not.

I read TKAM in school, and while I liked it fine, it was not one of the favorite books of my youth.

I wouldn’t expect Scout to become a classical Southern Belle, given that she would come of age around 1940.

ICXC NIKA.

 

[Irishmom2]

I’m very intrigued because it seems to explorer a part of the south many of us had to struggle with. An elderly generation that grew up thinking they were kind and considerate to blacks but still had racist views but didn’t see it that way. It was hard to hear some of the views of people you cared about knowing they were absolutely wrong but would get extremely upset if you corrected them or tried to explain why they were wrong.

I’m proud to say my kids don’t really see color, have friends of all different racist and can’t relate to a world where that wasn’t the case. This very well could be an important work by one of our best authors that shows a small window into that struggle.

If we don’t remember the past we are doomed to repeat it.

I understand what you are saying, and yet, as a stand alone book, the character of Atticus Finch in TKAM was flawless. There was no sign of racism in his character in THAT book. I prefer to keep his character flawless because after all, he is a fictional character, not a real person. This has nothing to do with people I care about in real life or my own particular views, only my wish to have a book, and a character that I can return to when I am looking for something uplifting and positive.

It is kind of along the lines of my family not acknowledging the 3rd “Godfather” movie.

 

[7_Sorrows]

the sequel to Gone With the Wind did not go over well.

 

[Potter]

I am not reading it. This world is diseased and delights in destroying every good thing while celebrating every evil thing.

 

[GEddie]

the sequel to Gone With the Wind did not go over well.

But that was not done by the original author. Mitchell herself steadfastly refused to do a sequel.

The result, decades later with another author, in a time hypersensitive to racial issues and a non-romantic time setting, never had a chance.

ICXC NIKA

 

[dixieagle]

the sequel to Gone With the Wind did not go over well.

Keep in mind that Go Set a Watchman (Isaiah 21:6, “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.” King James Version of the Bible) is by no means a sequel, but a first draft of what eventually evolved into TKAM.

Here is a link to an excellent NYTimes article detailing the relationship between Harper Lee and her editor, Tay Hohoff: nytimes.com/2015/07/13/books/the-invisible-hand-behind-harper-lees-to-kill-a-mockingbird.html

What becomes clear to me, especially after reading about the editor’s background and ideological bent, is that the original Atticus, the flawed bigot portrayed in “…Watchman”, reflected the attitudes that Lee observed at the time, both in her community and - at least in part - in her lawyer father (considered a “moderate” on racial matters.) Her editor, a progressive, coaxed, coached and ultimately persuaded Lee to write Atticus as a model of what should be, rather than what was the pervading mindset in the deep South at the time.

As we live within an hour or so of Monroeville, Harper Lee’s home and the model for fictional Maycomb, the imminent publication of GSAW has caused quite the stir. It will be interesting to see the local reaction when the entire book, rather than just the introductory chapter, becomes available tomorrow.

 

[3DOCTORS]

Keep in mind that Go Set a Watchman (Isaiah 21:6, “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.” King James Version of the Bible) is by no means a sequel, but a first draft of what eventually evolved into TKAM.

Here is a link to an excellent NYTimes article detailing the relationship between Harper Lee and her editor, Tay Hohoff: nytimes.com/2015/07/13/books/the-invisible-hand-behind-harper-lees-to-kill-a-mockingbird.html

What becomes clear to me, especially after reading about the editor’s background and ideological bent, is that the original Atticus, the flawed bigot portrayed in “…Watchman”, reflected the attitudes that Lee observed at the time, both in her community and - at least in part - in her lawyer father (considered a “moderate” on racial matters.) Her editor, a progressive, coaxed, coached and ultimately persuaded Lee to write Atticus as a model of what should be, rather than what was the pervading mindset in the deep South at the time.

As we live within an hour or so of Monroeville, Harper Lee’s home and the model for fictional Maycomb, the imminent publication of GSAW has caused quite the stir. It will be interesting to see the local reaction when the entire book, rather than just the introductory chapter, becomes available tomorrow.

Well said. Have you visited Monroeville yourself? I’ve looked it up on Google Earth, and in some of reviews of GSAW there have been photos of 1930s Monroeville which as a TKAM fan I enjoyed.

 

[jediliz]

the sequel to Gone With the Wind did not go over well.

It was not written by Margaret Mitchell…who died long before it was published.

I also read TKAM in school…I think I was a sophomore. Just from the chapter one…definitely not reading this one.

I loved Grapes of Wrath…can’t remember how I felt about TKAM, but the movie was a good adaptation.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Keep in mind that Go Set a Watchman (Isaiah 21:6, “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.” King James Version of the Bible) is by no means a sequel, but a first draft of what eventually evolved into TKAM.

Here is a link to an excellent NYTimes article detailing the relationship between Harper Lee and her editor, Tay Hohoff: nytimes.com/2015/07/13/books/the-invisible-hand-behind-harper-lees-to-kill-a-mockingbird.html

What becomes clear to me, especially after reading about the editor’s background and ideological bent, is that the original Atticus, the flawed bigot portrayed in “…Watchman”, reflected the attitudes that Lee observed at the time, both in her community and - at least in part - in her lawyer father (considered a “moderate” on racial matters.) Her editor, a progressive, coaxed, coached and ultimately persuaded Lee to write Atticus as a model of what should be, rather than what was the pervading mindset in the deep South at the time.

As we live within an hour or so of Monroeville, Harper Lee’s home and the model for fictional Maycomb, the imminent publication of GSAW has caused quite the stir. It will be interesting to see the local reaction when the entire book, rather than just the introductory chapter, becomes available tomorrow.

so what does that mean - “go set a watchman”? I did not realize it was from Isaiah.

Atticus must have a conversion experience in this book then if he is attending Klu Klux Klan meetings at the beginning of the book to where he is at in To Kill a Mockingbird. It is not that he is tolerant and becomes a racist. He might be a racist and then in TKAM is not anymore. did she recently just finish this novel, but started it a long time ago?

 

[7_Sorrows]

But that was not done by the original author. Mitchell herself steadfastly refused to do a sequel.

The result, decades later with another author, in a time hypersensitive to racial issues and a non-romantic time setting, never had a chance.

ICXC NIKA

but it was still a sequel.

this new book by Harper Lee is not a sequel though.

 

[dixieagle]

Well said. Have you visited Monroeville yourself? I’ve looked it up on Google Earth, and in some of reviews of GSAW there have been photos of 1930s Monroeville which as a TKAM fan I enjoyed.

Yes, we’ve been there several times, most recently a couple years back when Mary Badham, who played Scout in the movie, was in town for the annual presentation of the play. The play is presented on the lawn of the courthouse, where several sets are erected, and also inside the courthouse for the trial scenes. My husband got to participate in a “walk on” role; he is a news anchor in this neck of the woods and gets to do fun things like that.

The play is beautifully produced, using local folks as actors, and they do a magnificent job. It seemed for a while this year that they had lost the rights to produce it, which would have been awful, but things seem to have gotten straightened out.

 

[dixieagle]

so what does that mean - “go set a watchman”? I did not realize it was from Isaiah.

Atticus must have a conversion experience in this book then if he is attending Klu Klux Klan meetings at the beginning of the book to where he is at in To Kill a Mockingbird. It is not that he is tolerant and becomes a racist. He might be a racist and then in TKAM is not anymore. did she recently just finish this novel, but started it a long time ago?

“Go Set A Watchman” simply means to keep a lookout, to be aware of what’s going on, to be vigilant.

“Watchman” was written before TKAM and only now published after being discovered (supposedly) by Harper Lee’s lawyer. It was the original draft of what, after much editing and back and forth between Lee and her editor, turned into TKAM.

 

[Irishmom2]

Atticus must have a conversion experience in this book then if he is attending Klu Klux Klan meetings at the beginning of the book to where he is at in To Kill a Mockingbird. It is not that he is tolerant and becomes a racist. He might be a racist and then in TKAM is not anymore. did she recently just finish this novel, but started it a long time ago?

The book was written before TKAM. The new book is set when Scout is an adult, so Atticus did not have a conversion (unless it was to the dark side.) I am guessing that since it (TKAM) was seen through young Scouts eyes, she only saw her father doing good and did not see his racist side.

Personally, I find the jump hard to believe. Not buying it, literally or figuratively.

 

[3DOCTORS]

The book was written before TKAM. The new book is set when Scout is an adult, so Atticus did not have a conversion (unless it was to the dark side.) I am guessing that since it (TKAM) was seen through young Scouts eyes, she only saw her father doing good and did not see his racist side.

Personally, I find the jump hard to believe. Not buying it, literally or figuratively.

My theory is that Harper Lee never envisioned the original manuscript being published as a separate novel decades after TKAM, which was a “spinoff” from it as it were. It’s kind of like Star Wars - when George Lucas made the original film, which is now “Episode IV: A New Hope,” he didn’t know if he was going to be able to make the subsequent films so he didn’t really set it up right in Episode IV for Darth Vader to be revealed as Luke Skywalker’s father in Episodes V & VI, to say nothing of the prequel trilogy. In other words, “It’s complicated.”