Log #5

Go Set a Watchman is a story meant to be sold as a sequel to Harper Lee’s all-time classic To Kill a Mocking Bird; however, the book was actually written before To Kill a Mocking Bird, and is now generally regarded as the first draft of To Kill a Mocking Bird. Nevertheless, I am still excited to read the book, a book given to me as a graduation gift by my high school teacher.

In the first chapter of Go Set a Watchman, Jean Louis traveled from New York back to her hometown of Maycomb. There, she was welcomed by her childhood friend Henry, to whom she had feelings for. Henry asked Jean to marry him, but she refused out of confusion with her own conflicted feelings.

This chapter gives some important background information on Jean Louis, the protagonist. I feel quite soothed reading Harper Lee’s words describing the country, and amused by the strange conflict going on within Jean. One part I like the most is the incorporation of biblical elements. The title Go Set a Watchman is per se an example. One thing touched me particularly is when Henry said, “I, like Israel of Old, have labored seven years in the vineyards of the University and the pastures of your father’s office for you－” which comes from the parable of Jacob and Rachel－the same was quoted in Jane Austin’s Persuasion.