One of my strongest memories of high school was my freshman, and senior, year English teacher, Mrs. Sheridan Briggs. She seemed to be a polarizing experience for my classmates and the people I knew who had her other years. She taught the Gifted-Talented English program freshman year, then the AP literature class senior year. Expectedly, this group of kids remained more or less consistent. Because high school classes are generally arduous endeavors, the majority of students would hate a class not because of any sin the class had committed by doing anything than being itself. The subject of chemistry itself may be mildly interesting, but repetitive, trite, and/or indecipherable assignments, when compounded with 90 minutes of confinement, a surge of adolescent temperaments, and a terrible lunch, would make anyone miserable. Mrs. Briggs English class was no exception. However, she did happen to firstly be an excellent teacher, and secondly an excellent woman. One of my strongest memories of her class was made in my freshman year, reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. It was a unit we studied for several weeks, and at the end, she gave each student a Indian head penny, the same kind as Boo Radley leaves for Scout and Jem in the knoll of a pecan tree. One thing that she emphasized about the book was Harper Lee's seclusion. I have kept it to this day. Mrs. Briggs told us that Harper Lee was the master of an author's equivalent of a reigning hide-and-seek champion, having popped up once with this book, which was a rousing success, and then secluding herself ever since.
Needless to say, I was very surprised when Go Set a Watchman was announced to be released. Alice Lee, Harper's sister, who had for a long time been her confidant and defender, passed away a mere three months before the book was announced, and Mrs. Briggs and I both smelled perhaps a little foul play. Regardless, I'm ashamed to say that even if that were true (which it has never been proved to be), the glint of this blood diamond was too alluring for me to resist. I, however, did decide that I would wait until Harper Lee passed to read it. This meant that I would have heard about it far before reading it myself. While I managed to avoid any major spoilers, I did pick up on a general destain that people seem to have. Certainly, no one I've talked to would claim that Watchman was as better than or as good as Mockingbird, and there seemed to be an uneasiness and reluctance to accept it for what it is. Having read the book, I believe I understand why.
The charge often indicted against Watchman is that it Atticus is a racist. This is undeniably true. The character of Atticus believes that there are fundamental differences between African Americans and White Americans, which lead to their segregation being advantageous for both races. He believes that they are unfit to and incapable of holding public office, conduct matters of governance, or even really fulfill the responsibilities of being a citizen. He believes that integrated schools would lead to the falling of their standards, and that they are intellectually inferior to White Americans. While he it is a little more hazy whether or not he believes this inferiority can chance, it is obliviatingly obvious that Atticus is racist. I can understand why people would push back against this. In Mockingbird, Atticus is made into a sort of hero for his defense of a black man against charges that are false. He is the character that proclaims that rule of law, truth, and legal equality, are more important than the racial prejudices of town. This sentiment is not contradicted in Watchman, so much as it is qualified. Atticus gives a reasoned defense of his actions, and while I do not agree with him, I believe that this reasoning is consistent with the characters presented in Mockingbird.
On the note of consistency, I believe that this book does a remarkably good job. Despite necessary changes to the cast, the recurring characters are accurately preserved, the newly introduced are realistically constructed, and the ones who are left behind are treated with dignity. Other criticisms of the book include that characters are not as well developed. The plot is nowhere as riveting as Mockingbird, and that it lacks the idyllic pastoral quality that Mockingbird excelled at. It has none of the childhood innocence, the slow progressions of seasons, the balled fists and angry tears of pedantic childish rivalry. And these are all things that I agree with. However, I believe that Watchman is valuable for several reasons, the strongest of which is this. It gives a glimpse into the psychology of the Jim Crow southerner. It shows the perspective of two characters which present the matter of southern post-war racism from two angles. Henry is a child from poverty, whose greatest impulse is to find a place in the tapestry of the community in a way that is befitting and beneficial. He is juxtaposed with Atticus, a man who has lived most of his life in the privilege of the community's graces on the merit of his conduct and family name. By building compelling narratives, Lee shows the reason why people of different upbringings would support an institution in the ways that they did. This perspective, I believe, is indispensably relevant to modern discussions on race and heritage, and I believe has a lot to offer. Of course, this is not to say that the racism, however justified, of this book is to be condoned. It is merely to provide another way in which the motivations and origins of racial thinking in the American south can be understood, and how it can then be effectively discussed. In short, far from pushing away from this book because Atticus is a racist, I believe that people ought to read it because Atticus is a racist, because he is not alone.
Unfortunately, I live in a country filled with racists. They inhabit not only the corner stores and community meetings of Maycomb county, they are teachers, doctors, policemen. They are grocery store baggers. They are fast food servers. They are juries. And they are people. To be dismissive of them because of the views they hold is to be likeminded in their ignorance, only differently focused. The most important lesson I believe Go Set a Watchman has to offer is to listen. Listen to the writing. It is quite beautifully written. Listen to the characters themselves. Listen to their struggles and opinions, their hopes and fears. Walk a mile in their shoes. And listen to the voice of the other, not to embrace it as your own, but to grow in perspective and understanding.
