To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee: A Literary Analysis

Published in July of 2015, the book is Lee’s second full-length novel following her Pulitzer Prize-winning “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1960). Though initially touted as a sequel, “Go Set a Watchman”—the manuscript of which was allegedly discovered during an appraisal of Lee’s belongings in 2011—is actually the first draft of what would later become Lee’s masterpiece. Following the phenomenal success of that book, Lee shunned public life and returned to Monroeville, Alabama. Now eighty-nine-years-old, she resides in an assisted living facility. Given the great, and controversial, fanfare surrounding the book’s publication—a literary event, if ever there was one—it is somewhat difficult to offer an objective look at “Go Set a Watchman.” Of course, the work stands up best when viewed as a companion piece to “To Kill a Mockingbird” as opposed to a singular endeavor (in this reporter’s humble opinion). Therefore, the following reflections are viewed through that lens. As the story opens, readers are (re)introduced to twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—“Scout”—as she journeys home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus, in Maycomb, Alabama. Still a practicing attorney, Atticus is struggling with the debilitating effects of rheumatoid arthritis. His sister, Alexandra, lives …show more content…
While the book would likely have been lost to obscurity had its author not risen to prominence prior to its release, its timeless relevance can now be appreciated. In asking Jean Louise to accept her father as a human being possessing the requisite complexities and faults, Harper Lee asks the same of us. Given Jean Louise’s great difficulty with reconciling her idealized image of her father with the reality, is it any wonder that readers have found themselves challenged? But it’s exactly that challenge—and need for tolerance—that makes this story worthwhile