Log #8

Book: Go Set A Watchman

Author: Harper Lee

Page: 85~162

Previous chapters mentioned many of Jean Louise's childhood memories but didn't talked much about her rest of the family and how did they past away so during our book discussion with my members we were all curious about it. Also, we wondered about the relationship between Jean Louise and Atticus and her uncle, John. Now we finally have the answers and these answers are very important plot twists as well.

Jean Louise's brother, Jem died of a sudden heart attack at age 28. According to Jean Louise’s narration, he inherited a weak heart from their mother, who died the same way when the children were young. I think Jem’s death really made a way for Henry Clinton, Atticus' right-hand man and Jean Louise’s romantic interest during her annual two-week visit home. After Jem’s death, Atticus took Henry in as his new law apprentice, having known Henry from his childhood friendship with Scout and Jem. Despite his untimely death, Jem has a large role in the novel’s many flashbacks, and remains a moral support for Jean Louise into the present. The confrontation between Jean Louise and Atticus at the climax of the novel takes place outside Atticus' law office, the exact spot where Jem died, which I thought it gave the confrontation an additional emotional charge.

Another plot twist, which is probably the most shocking part is Atticus is racist (and so is everybody else) After Jean Louise caught Atticus and Henry (and most of the other "respectable" men of Maycomb) hosting a racist preacher at a "citizens' council" meeting. When she confronted Henry about it later, he told her that he and Atticus are both card-carrying members of the KKK. I was astonished by the fact that Atticus is clearly racist. 

Almost finishing the book, I realize that Go Set A Watchman is about the loss of innocence and adulthood. The book's subject is how that innocence disappears when you return to the scene of your childhood after spending time away. Atticus was always this way, but Jean Louise only sees it now because she’s spent time living on her own in New York. Moreover, I believe that the task of adulthood is learning what to take from your parents and what to reject. Jean Louise and Atticus' disagreement shows that she has finally become her own woman with her own thoughts and the adults around her also emphasize the importance of this growth and independence.