TKAM 2.0

Go Set a Watchman is set 20 years after TKAM.

Jacquelyn Northcutt, Writer
February 12, 2015
Filed under Entertainment

In 1960, Harper Lee got her first and only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, published. To Kill a Mockingbird features Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, a 6-year-old girl who was born and raised in Maycomb County, Alabama. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer. He soon commits himself to proving that Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape, is innocent. The Finch family must go against the majority of the people in Maycomb, as well as years of southern tradition, to help Robinson.

When the book finished, there are some loose ends, and for 55 years, people have just had to assume what happens next. Are the black people of Maycomb finally beginning to have some respect from the white people? Where will Maycomb be in 10 years? 20? People have just had to know in their hearts that there is a happy ending. However, our questions will soon be answered. On February 3, 2015, the press went crazy when Harper Lee announced that To Kill a Mockingbird would soon have a sequel: Go Set a Watchman.

Go Set a Watchman still features Scout, yet she’s about 30 years old. She returns to Maycomb County to visit her elderly father. Many characters in Go Set a Watchman were first seen in To Kill a Mockingbird. Personally, I’d like to see more of Miss Maudie, and hopefully Go Set a Watchman will let us connect with her, as well as multiple other characters that we grew to love.

According to “The New York Times”, Go Set a Watchman, “may be one of the most monumental discoveries in contemporary American literature.” Lee wrote Go Set a Watchman first, but soon abandoned the story in order to write To Kill a Mockingbird. She assumed that the manuscript was destroyed, and the book remained forgotten for nearly 60 years. On one fateful day, her friend found the manuscript, and was able to persuade Lee to publish. “HarperCollins” said that Go Set a Watchman is to be released on July 14th, 2015.

If you enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird during your freshman year, I would definitely recommend keeping your eyes peeled for any opportunities to pre-order the book. Also, go ahead and read some of our other stories. If you have anything else that we should write about, comment below!