Call me a killjoy, a party pooper, or even a pessimist, but I stand firmly in camp doubtful when it comes to the release of the author Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. It was written prior to the iconic novel and is now slated to be released this summer.
Here it is: wrongly publishing Harper Lee’s work would be like the theft of a part of her soul.
Ask yourself—WWAD—What would Atticus do? I believe that anyone who has truly understood the lessons of To Kill a Mockingbird knows the answer to that question. In case you are unfamiliar with it, below is the history from Wikipedia as background. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Set_a_Watchman.
I was ecstatic when I first heard that Lee was allowing the release of a book whose existence I had always questioned as fact or fiction. Like most fans, To Kill a Mockingbird is a deeply personal novel to me. That is what makes it such a remarkable piece of literature. As you age, you grow in your understanding of it, even if you first read it in your youth. A part of Atticus’ morality becomes your own. And the film remains one of my favorites, as well. Still, when I come across it on television while channel surfing, I always stop and watch, no matter how far along it is in the airing. This is one of the few films I will do this for. It is hard to wait for the scene when the African-Americans, in their separate gallery high above the court room, stand to honor Atticus as he exits. There are few film moments as powerful as that one. Inevitably, it brings me to tears.
Now that the novel is about to be released, I am deeply torn—as a filmmaker, a writer, and a loyal fan of Harper Lee. Once out, the damage is done, right? What would it hurt if I purchased a copy and devoured it from cover to cover, as I so desire to do?
But damn the morality that I developed at a young age, largely in part owed to Atticus Finch, who fights on the side of the wrongly accused victim, no matter the cost, to stand as an example to his own children (and myself). And now Ms. Lee is likely a victim herself—be it a victim of age, a victim of deteriorating mental capacity, and/or possibly a victim of financial hardship.
I have only been writing for a year and a half, and of course I would never put my own work in the class of Ms. Lee’s, but I have come to understand that every word a writer commits to type-set is deeply and inextricably a part of her being. As far as I know, there is no clear answer as to why she felt that Go Set a Watchman should not be released. Also, there is the question of why she has never released any other works. Ms. Lee has always been a very private person. That is her right as a human being.
I write of the human condition. Lee also wrote of the human condition. I know the answer to my question What Would Atticus Do, and unless someone comes up with convincing evidence that Harper Lee, with a complete understanding of her actions, has released the novel Go Set a Watchman for publication, I will stand and walk out of the court room, first sad and defeated, and then proudly, because that is what Atticus would do!
Wikipedia Entry:
Go Set a Watchman is a novel by Harper Lee which is slated to be published on July 14, 2015, by HarperCollins in the United States and William Heinemann in the United Kingdom. It was written before Lee's only published novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). The title comes from Isaiah 21:6: "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth."[1] It alludes to Scout's view of her father, Atticus Finch, as the moral compass ("watchman") of Maycomb.[2]
Development History
Though the book has been characterized in media reports as a sequel to Lee's best-selling novel, Go Set a Watchman was written in the mid-1950s, before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published in 1960. She set it aside when her editor suggested that she write another novel from the young Scout Finch's perspective.
Controversy
Some publications have called the timing of the book "suspicious", citing Lee's declining health, statements she had made over several decades that she would not write or release another novel, and the death of her sister (and caregiver) just two months before the announcement.[7][8] NPR reported on the news of her new book release, with circumstances "raising questions about whether she is being taken advantage of in her old age."[9] Some publications have even called for fans to boycott the work.[10] News sources, including NPR,[9] BBC News[11] and Jezebel,[12] have reported that the conditions surrounding the release of the book are unclear and posit that Lee may not have had full control of the decision. Investigators for the state of Alabama interviewed Lee in response to a suspicion of elder abuse in relation to the publication of the book.[13]
Conversely, historian and Lee's longtime friend Wayne Flynt told the Associated Press that the "narrative of senility, exploitation of this helpless little old lady is just hogwash. It's just complete bunk." Flynt said he found Lee capable of giving consent and believes no one will ever know for certain the terms of said consent.[14]
This is an interesting article from Mental Floss on Harper Lee’s contributions to society: http://mentalfloss.com/article/54752/4-awesome-things-harper-lee-did-after-mockingbird.
Here it is: wrongly publishing Harper Lee’s work would be like the theft of a part of her soul.
Ask yourself—WWAD—What would Atticus do? I believe that anyone who has truly understood the lessons of To Kill a Mockingbird knows the answer to that question. In case you are unfamiliar with it, below is the history from Wikipedia as background. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Set_a_Watchman.
I was ecstatic when I first heard that Lee was allowing the release of a book whose existence I had always questioned as fact or fiction. Like most fans, To Kill a Mockingbird is a deeply personal novel to me. That is what makes it such a remarkable piece of literature. As you age, you grow in your understanding of it, even if you first read it in your youth. A part of Atticus’ morality becomes your own. And the film remains one of my favorites, as well. Still, when I come across it on television while channel surfing, I always stop and watch, no matter how far along it is in the airing. This is one of the few films I will do this for. It is hard to wait for the scene when the African-Americans, in their separate gallery high above the court room, stand to honor Atticus as he exits. There are few film moments as powerful as that one. Inevitably, it brings me to tears.
Now that the novel is about to be released, I am deeply torn—as a filmmaker, a writer, and a loyal fan of Harper Lee. Once out, the damage is done, right? What would it hurt if I purchased a copy and devoured it from cover to cover, as I so desire to do?
But damn the morality that I developed at a young age, largely in part owed to Atticus Finch, who fights on the side of the wrongly accused victim, no matter the cost, to stand as an example to his own children (and myself). And now Ms. Lee is likely a victim herself—be it a victim of age, a victim of deteriorating mental capacity, and/or possibly a victim of financial hardship.
I have only been writing for a year and a half, and of course I would never put my own work in the class of Ms. Lee’s, but I have come to understand that every word a writer commits to type-set is deeply and inextricably a part of her being. As far as I know, there is no clear answer as to why she felt that Go Set a Watchman should not be released. Also, there is the question of why she has never released any other works. Ms. Lee has always been a very private person. That is her right as a human being.
I write of the human condition. Lee also wrote of the human condition. I know the answer to my question What Would Atticus Do, and unless someone comes up with convincing evidence that Harper Lee, with a complete understanding of her actions, has released the novel Go Set a Watchman for publication, I will stand and walk out of the court room, first sad and defeated, and then proudly, because that is what Atticus would do!
Wikipedia Entry:
Go Set a Watchman is a novel by Harper Lee which is slated to be published on July 14, 2015, by HarperCollins in the United States and William Heinemann in the United Kingdom. It was written before Lee's only published novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). The title comes from Isaiah 21:6: "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth."[1] It alludes to Scout's view of her father, Atticus Finch, as the moral compass ("watchman") of Maycomb.[2]
Development History
Though the book has been characterized in media reports as a sequel to Lee's best-selling novel, Go Set a Watchman was written in the mid-1950s, before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published in 1960. She set it aside when her editor suggested that she write another novel from the young Scout Finch's perspective.
Controversy
Some publications have called the timing of the book "suspicious", citing Lee's declining health, statements she had made over several decades that she would not write or release another novel, and the death of her sister (and caregiver) just two months before the announcement.[7][8] NPR reported on the news of her new book release, with circumstances "raising questions about whether she is being taken advantage of in her old age."[9] Some publications have even called for fans to boycott the work.[10] News sources, including NPR,[9] BBC News[11] and Jezebel,[12] have reported that the conditions surrounding the release of the book are unclear and posit that Lee may not have had full control of the decision. Investigators for the state of Alabama interviewed Lee in response to a suspicion of elder abuse in relation to the publication of the book.[13]
Conversely, historian and Lee's longtime friend Wayne Flynt told the Associated Press that the "narrative of senility, exploitation of this helpless little old lady is just hogwash. It's just complete bunk." Flynt said he found Lee capable of giving consent and believes no one will ever know for certain the terms of said consent.[14]
This is an interesting article from Mental Floss on Harper Lee’s contributions to society: http://mentalfloss.com/article/54752/4-awesome-things-harper-lee-did-after-mockingbird.