You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am so happy I didn't let the top Goodreads reviews influence my decision to give this a go. I found this to a be a wonderful and power read...and, dare I say, I actually prefer this ever-so-slightly to To Kill a Mockingbird.
I'd recommend this to anyone that's read and enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and has also realized their own values (and potentially their own morality) have begun to diverge from their parents'/heroes'/idols'.
After reading this, I'm not sure you can trust any negative review of this story predicated solely on the fact that we learn Atticus Finch is
I'd recommend this to anyone that's read and enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and has also realized their own values (and potentially their own morality) have begun to diverge from their parents'/heroes'/idols'.
After reading this, I'm not sure you can trust any negative review of this story predicated solely on the fact that we learn Atticus Finch is
Spoiler
fallible and/or prejudiced. It's true...we do learn those things, but to cling to Atticus' heroic nature is to miss the entire point of Scout's story and transition into true adulthood.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was fine? I felt like it got very preachy near the end and I didn't get what it was saying. Many many people said that To Kill a Mockingbird is best as its own thing and doesn't need this book, that this book makes TKaM worse, and I tend to agree. It was well written, though, which is why I can't rate it less than I have.
Three stars have been awarded for Harper Lee, and the fact she was wise enough to be a hermit.
Two stars have been removed because ?????.....??....?
Total score: 3/5 stars
Three stars have been awarded for Harper Lee, and the fact she was wise enough to be a hermit.
Two stars have been removed because ?????.....??....?
Total score: 3/5 stars
Even before its official release, Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman solicited strong opinions from readers. Many felt that publishing an early draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, as a stand-alone novel, would tarnish the legacy of the book and its author. Because of the sacred place that Mockingbird’s characters hold within the lexicon of American literature (most notably Atticus Finch), many feared that revisiting the southern town of Maycomb would reveal aspects of its beloved characters that would forever change the way we relate to them. After reading Go Set a Watchman, I can confirm that fans of To Kill a Mockingbird were justified in their worries; however, the disillusionment that GSAW evokes is socially relevant and literarily enriching.
The grittiness absent in To Kill a Mockingbird is present in excess within its supposed sequel. Scout, now referred to by her given name of Jean Louise, is a 26-year-old woman living in New York City, far removed from the sleepy southern town of her youth. The novel begins as she returns home on holiday. Her time away from Maycomb has shifted her perspective, allowing her to clearly identify the hypocrisy that motivates southern prejudices.
At the onset of the novel, Jean Louise, like many fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, still holds an idealized perception of Maycomb and her father. She repeatedly attributes her ethical and moral righteousness to the people who raised her. Like the reader, she is revisiting the narrative which shaped her opinions on justice and race.
Throughout the narrative, Jean Louise begins to discover that the people whom she held to be idols of righteousness are actually deeply flawed individuals. The most notable of these is her father Atticus. For Jean Louise (and the countless fans of To Kill a Mockingbird), Atticus Finch is a symbol of the human ability to resist social pressures and bigotry. The image of Atticus sitting bravely before the Maycomb prison, protecting Tom Robinson from a racist mob, shines brightly in our collective conscious. However, Watchman presents to us a very different Atticus. In GSAW, he is revealed to be a man who hides his racism under the guise of social-preservation and philanthropy. He feels that the Supreme Court’s decision to end segregation will collapse antebellum values, and believes that blacks aren’t ready (as a race) to be given the same dignities that whites enjoy. He states, “The Negroes down here are still in their childhood as a people […] they’ve made terrific progress in adapting themselves to white ways, but they’re far from it yet.”
Much of Go Set a Watchman focuses on white southerners’ desperate need to protect white privilege. Although Lee reveals Atticus to be a hypocritical bigot, she does so for an enormously significant reason. She is illustrating that racist values can exist in even the most seemingly benign of individuals. A person can be blind to the hatred that motivates their prejudices. Ironically, this message comes at an important moment in our nation’s history, as we reconsider the place of confederate imagery within our modern culture.
In GSAW, Uncle Jack acts as the guiding force. He explains to Jean Louise (and the reader) that an idol is merely a false representation of a person through the projection of our own virtuous desires. Atticus, if he is to be truly human, must possess flaws. He must exist separate from Scout’s (or our) expectations. In this way, it is the principles that we venerate and not the person. He states, “You wouldn’t have listened to him. You couldn’t have listened. Our gods are remote from us, Jean Louise. They must never descend to human level.” This revelation seems to repudiate the criticisms towards the book’s publication; To Kill a Mockingbird isn’t great because of Atticus Finch, it is great because it forces us to confront our own perceptions of race. Do Atticus’ flaws negate the virtues we learned in To Kill A Mockingbird? I believe not. If anything, they strengthen them by making them our own. This is the realization that Scout comes to within Go Set a Watchman.
I encourage fans of Mockingbird to read Watchman. In this sequel (of sorts), Lee illustrates the importance of refraining from over-venerating concepts, symbols, or individuals. In an era when people are prone to becoming staunch, unwavering acolytes of venerated religions, celebrities and politicians, it is important to remember that our moral compass resides within us – not without. We, like Scout, don’t need to have our convictions validated in order to live by them; because, at the end of the day, not even Atticus Finch will be able to meet our expectations. Only you can live up to your personal standards.
The grittiness absent in To Kill a Mockingbird is present in excess within its supposed sequel. Scout, now referred to by her given name of Jean Louise, is a 26-year-old woman living in New York City, far removed from the sleepy southern town of her youth. The novel begins as she returns home on holiday. Her time away from Maycomb has shifted her perspective, allowing her to clearly identify the hypocrisy that motivates southern prejudices.
At the onset of the novel, Jean Louise, like many fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, still holds an idealized perception of Maycomb and her father. She repeatedly attributes her ethical and moral righteousness to the people who raised her. Like the reader, she is revisiting the narrative which shaped her opinions on justice and race.
Throughout the narrative, Jean Louise begins to discover that the people whom she held to be idols of righteousness are actually deeply flawed individuals. The most notable of these is her father Atticus. For Jean Louise (and the countless fans of To Kill a Mockingbird), Atticus Finch is a symbol of the human ability to resist social pressures and bigotry. The image of Atticus sitting bravely before the Maycomb prison, protecting Tom Robinson from a racist mob, shines brightly in our collective conscious. However, Watchman presents to us a very different Atticus. In GSAW, he is revealed to be a man who hides his racism under the guise of social-preservation and philanthropy. He feels that the Supreme Court’s decision to end segregation will collapse antebellum values, and believes that blacks aren’t ready (as a race) to be given the same dignities that whites enjoy. He states, “The Negroes down here are still in their childhood as a people […] they’ve made terrific progress in adapting themselves to white ways, but they’re far from it yet.”
Much of Go Set a Watchman focuses on white southerners’ desperate need to protect white privilege. Although Lee reveals Atticus to be a hypocritical bigot, she does so for an enormously significant reason. She is illustrating that racist values can exist in even the most seemingly benign of individuals. A person can be blind to the hatred that motivates their prejudices. Ironically, this message comes at an important moment in our nation’s history, as we reconsider the place of confederate imagery within our modern culture.
In GSAW, Uncle Jack acts as the guiding force. He explains to Jean Louise (and the reader) that an idol is merely a false representation of a person through the projection of our own virtuous desires. Atticus, if he is to be truly human, must possess flaws. He must exist separate from Scout’s (or our) expectations. In this way, it is the principles that we venerate and not the person. He states, “You wouldn’t have listened to him. You couldn’t have listened. Our gods are remote from us, Jean Louise. They must never descend to human level.” This revelation seems to repudiate the criticisms towards the book’s publication; To Kill a Mockingbird isn’t great because of Atticus Finch, it is great because it forces us to confront our own perceptions of race. Do Atticus’ flaws negate the virtues we learned in To Kill A Mockingbird? I believe not. If anything, they strengthen them by making them our own. This is the realization that Scout comes to within Go Set a Watchman.
I encourage fans of Mockingbird to read Watchman. In this sequel (of sorts), Lee illustrates the importance of refraining from over-venerating concepts, symbols, or individuals. In an era when people are prone to becoming staunch, unwavering acolytes of venerated religions, celebrities and politicians, it is important to remember that our moral compass resides within us – not without. We, like Scout, don’t need to have our convictions validated in order to live by them; because, at the end of the day, not even Atticus Finch will be able to meet our expectations. Only you can live up to your personal standards.
As frustrating as it is fascinating, still ultimately profoundly affecting. Difficult, perhaps even impossible, to star-rate.