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Second Lee novel a worthwhile read

3 min read
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Fifty-five years after the release of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a second novel written by Harper Lee was released in the summer of 2015, “Go Set a Watchman.”

This novel is considered by some to be a sequel of the Pulitzer-prize winning “To Kill a Mockingbird,” while others argue it is merely a draft of the previous novel. Either way, the release of “Go Set a Watchman” was controversial, with many people claiming 89-year-old Lee was not in the condition to give proper consent for the publication of her novel, or to explain whether it was a second book or only a draft of the first.

“Go Set a Watchman,” like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is set in the small, fictional town of Maycomb, Ala. The second novel follows 26-six-year-old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch as she returns home to visit her aging father, Atticus. Throughout the novel, she revisits childhood memories, including many scenes readers will remember from “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Through this novel, Jean Louise finds herself in disagreements with family members and long-time friends as she struggles to find her own identity among the racial and political chaos that plagued the South at the time.

Much like, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Go Set a Watchman” is filled with memorable lines and quotes, such as, “If you did not want much, there was plenty,” “conceived in mistrust and dedicated to the proposition all men are created evil” and “The novel must tell a story.”

“Go Set a Watchman” also emphasized many of the same morals that were prevalent in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The ideas that every individual should think for himself or herself, that a person’s conscience must be a trusted guide and that the majority is not always right are portrayed in both of Lee’s novels.

However, there are also some slight differences between the books. Of course, “To Kill a Mockingbird” features Jean Louise “Scout” Finch as a child, while “Go Set a Watchman” features her as a young woman revisiting her childhood home and memories. Her once strong and mighty father, Atticus, is now an aging man, her childhood friend, Charles Baker “Dill” Harris, is no longer a part of her life and her family’s maid, Calpurnia, is no longer working for the family.

Overall, “Go Set a Watchman” is worth reading. Though it falls short of being as much of a masterpiece as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” it is still a well-written book with an easy-to-read plotline, an inspirational message and some of Lee’s most lovable characters. Anyone who enjoyed “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be delighted by “Go Set a Watchman.”

By Julia Felton

Junior, Canon-McMillan

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