Over the last five days I’ve stolen every moment I could to read Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman: A Novel with the end dished up at lunch today. I’ll try not to spoil anyone’s read; where to start?
The prose is so elevated over most of the modern fiction I’ve read over the last ten years – how much more could we learn about Maycomb (and Miss Lee’s South) than what is offered in these passages?
Home was Maycomb County, a gerrymander some seventy miles long and spreading thirty miles at its widest point, a wilderness dotted with tiny settlements the largest of which was Maycomb, the county seat. Until comparatively recently in its history, Maycomb County was so cut off from the rest of the nation that some of its citizens, unaware of the South’s political predilections over the past ninety years, still voted Republican. No trains went there—Maycomb Junction, a courtesy title, was located in Abbott County, twenty miles away. Bus service was erratic and seemed to go nowhere, but the Federal Government had forced a highway or two through the swamps, thus giving the citizens an opportunity for free egress. But few people took advantage of the roads, and why should they? If you did not want much, there was plenty. (Location 86)And:
Dog days in Maycomb meant at least one revival, and one was in progress that week. It was customary for the town’s three churches—Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian—to unite and listen to one visiting minister, but occasionally when the churches could not agree on a preacher or his salary, each congregation held its own revival with an open invitation to all; sometimes, therefore, the populace was assured of three weeks’ spiritual reawakening. Revival time was a time of war: war on sin, Coca-Cola, picture shows, hunting on Sunday; war on the increasing tendency of young women to paint themselves and smoke in public; war on drinking whiskey—in this connection at least fifty children per summer went to the altar and swore they would not drink, smoke, or curse until they were twenty-one; war on something so nebulous Jean Louise never could figure out what it was, except there was nothing to swear concerning it; and war among the town’s ladies over who could set the best table for the evangelist. Maycomb’s regular pastors ate free for a week also, and it was hinted in disrespectful quarters that the local clergy deliberately led their churches into holding separate services, thereby gaining two more weeks’ honoraria. This, however, was a lie. (Location 671)Readers of To Kill a Mockingbird may find some familiar characters’ epilogues unsettling – saddening actually. There is also an inconsistency between the two books - don't let it distract you. But seeing many of Miss Lee's characters aged some twenty years is a happy reunion to this reader. And there are constants. Atticus, suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, responds characteristically with, “The only remedy for this is not to let it beat you.” (Location 122)
And, while we are on the subject of Atticus Finch, don’t believe the media – he’s not racist.
Moreover, his daughter, throughout the book, is alternately “Scout” and “Jean Louise” – and she is a remarkable foil to the evolving culture of Miss Lee’s South. The character is both frustrating and inspiring – and fully lovable.
Jean Louise’s Uncle Jack Finch serves both as a Greek chorus and as a broker of realpolitik. In a conversation with Jean Louise, he argues that tenant farmers and field hands no longer exist – they’ve gone to the factories – he suggests that their current lot is worse than their previous:
Dr. Finch pulled his nose. “Those people are the apples of the Federal Government’s eye. It lends them money to build their houses, it gives them a free education for serving in its armies, it provides for their old age and assures them of several weeks’support if they lose their jobs—”If you are going to read the book or have started, you might want to skip through the next quotation.
“Uncle Jack, you are a cynical old man.”
“Cynical, hell. I’m a healthy old man with a constitutional mistrust of paternalism and government in large doses. Your father’s the same—”
“If you tell me that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely I will throw this coffee at you.”
“The only thing I’m afraid of about this country is that its government will someday become so monstrous that the smallest person in it will be trampled underfoot, and then it wouldn’t be worth living in. The only thing in America that is still unique in this tired world is that a man can go as far as his brains will take him or he can go to hell if he wants to, but it won’t be that way much longer.” (Location 2240)
The turmoil builds beautifully and this reader’s heart hung heavily through many pages. Finally, Miss Lee lets us know things will be okay with this exchange between Jean Louise and Atticus:
“Atticus?”Thank you Miss Lee – this was a joyful read.
“Ma’am?”
“I think I love you very much.”
She saw her old enemy’s shoulders relax, and she watched him push his hat to the back of his head.
“Let’s go home, Scout. It’s been a long day. Open the door for me.”
She stepped aside to let him pass. She followed. (Location 3141)
All quotes taken from the Kindle Edition, Go Set a Watchman: A Novel by Harper Lee, published by HarperCollins Publishers
Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Set_a_Watchman
