By Amelia Ruffolo & Amanda Tennant, staff writers
In the summer of 2015, the long-awaited sequel to the beloved American classic To Kill a Mockingbird was released. Go Set a Watchman is the second coming of Harper Lee that the public had been waiting fifty-five years for. The story continues with Jean Louise, also known as Scout, as the book focuses on the events that happen during her visit to her old hometown in Maycomb, Ala. and her ongoing fight against racism.
As of July 20, only six days after its premier, Go Set a Watchman had sold over 1.1 million copies, according to the New York Times.
Since Mockingbird is a required book for all American Literature students to read at Indian Trail High School and Academy, English teachers Allison Walton and Michelle Corbett give insight on teachers’ reactions to Watchman.
Both teachers shared their initial joy upon hearing of the publication of the book.
“I was so excited when I heard it was going to come out and I preordered a copy,” said Walton.
“I was very excited about it when I first heard about it, and I went into it knowing that this was a draft that hadn’t been edited at all; it hadn’t been worked on after the first time [Lee] took it to a publisher,” said Corbett.
However, the writing style of Watchman soon dismayed Walton, making her doubt if Lee actually wrote Mockingbird.
“I started reading it and then I just hated it… I was really disappointed. I didn’t like the writing; I didn’t like the writing style… It made me question if Mockingbird was really written by Harper Lee. I can’t imagine the book being revised that early and that differently,” said Walton.
Though Corbett was not extremely pleased with the writing, she does not question Lee’s workmanship.
“I think there are places that it is very much her voice and it really comes through. I think it really shows how important editing is and going through the drafting process… and how much that changes,” said Corbett.
When asked whether publishing Watchman was a good idea, Walton reveals her suspicions that it was nothing more than a “marketing stunt”.
“The more I think about [ Watchman], the more I think it was just a marketing stunt—a way for a publishing house to make some money, and I think they did.”
Corbett has some different views on the matter. She is unsure whether it was a smart decision for it to have been published.
“I don’t know because.. [Lee] says she’s fine with it, she’s done an interview and she says that she’s completely okay with it… so I think it’s her decision what she wants to do. I don’t know if I buy into all the conspiracy theories about lawyers taking advantage of her… I’m kind of neutral on that question,” said Corbett.
Regardless of their views of Lee’s contribution in Mockingbird, both teachers agree that the lessons and themes in both works are still prevalent today.
“The intolerance here in America… we’ve got prominent legislators proposing that people not be allowed to immigrate anymore unless they pass a religious test… so intolerance, I’m afraid, is alive and well,” Walton speculated, on the topic of the Syrian refugees.
Corbett also spoke of the refugees: “Yes. Absolutely. I think on so many different fronts, not even specifically racism, but prejudice in so many different areas of LGBT communities… right now with the Syrian refugees, there’s that fear. So I think absolutely that that fear can make us do and think things that we normally wouldn’t, so it’s absolutely relevant.”
Though controversies have risen due to the publication, perhaps the most controversial is that of Atticus Finch. In Mockingbird, Atticus serves as a just lawyer that fights racism in the Southern judicial system and therefore is considered the main hero of the novel. However, in Watchman, Atticus becomes the mirror opposite of the righteous lawyer in Mockingbird as he begins to question his pro-tolerance beliefs and thus becomes prejudice. As a result, an uproar over which is the right interpretation of Atticus has erupted among literary scholars.
In the midst of the argument, Corbett maintains that the Atticus in Mockingbird is the character Lee wanted readers to know.
“I keep reminding myself of this, even though it was a sequel, it really was her first draft. So, ultimately, Atticus and Scout ended up being who she wanted them to be in TKAMB,” Corbett said. “So, I kind of, for myself, flipped it and reminded myself ‘this is her first draft, this isn’t ultimately who she wanted them to be, and who she wanted them to be was in TKAMB.’”
All in all, despite their grievances with Go Set a Watchman, both teachers hail To Kill a Mockingbird as one of the best books of all time.
“I absolutely fell in love with it– it is one of my all time favorite books,” said Corbett.