Saturday 17 October 2015

Go, Set a Watchman- Harper Lee




Supposedly, Harper Lee, wrote "Go, Set a Watchman" before she wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird". But it is quite obvious that the final version that has reached the readers must be one, that has been edited to be in perfect harmony and consistency, with the previous publication.

In the book, Jean-Louise Finch aka Scout comes home for her annual vacation, and before long she finds it trying to come to terms with the changing face of Maycomb ( Alabama). The book toggles between Scout ( Jean-Louise when she was eleven, till about fourteen ) of yesterday, and the troubled Present.

The Present is a set of questions, during an era of change in the US of A, the impact to remote Maycomb being difficult for its' white population to bear, Hence we have a worried white population, an outright racist white population, a Black community that is hurt and a Black community which is doing its' best to manipulate the new conditions to its' ultimate advantage. On top of this we have Jean-Louise coming over from prejudice free New York, and who firmly believes that her father is right up there with God,

The Past bring the reader to the ruckus that Jem, Scout and Dil had as kids, coming to terms with adolescence, Proms etc. As a result these escapades to the pasts are relative play time for the reader, against a narration in the Present tense in which mistrust is the main ingredient in the Atmosphere. For I found that the reader could find himself either rooting for the ideals of Jean-Louise or the practical dilemma that Atticus had to handle. It is safe to assume that the outright flavour of racism, as condoned by Alexandra is no longer acceptable to a larger majority of the people today, for the inherent mockery it brings is a type that no one likes own up to. New characters, Uncle Jack and Henry Clinton, especially the former bring in a degree of deeper enjoyment. I liked the deep discussions between Uncle Jack and Jean-Louise, with the former's  balanced insight on certain issues at hand.

Jean-Louise's debacle, where she finds herself between two stools, that of the New York ideals and that of more suspicion driven Alabama back county of Maycomb, especially where her hero let's her down is presented in very readable detail, with the nuances to be savoured. She expresses her frustrations: 
" You’ve cheated me in a way that’s inexpressible, but don’t let it worry you, because the joke is entirely on me. You’re the only person I think I’ve ever fully trusted and now I’m done for.”

Upon completing the book, I looked up a few reviews and found that more often than not, Atticus Finch has been taken apart as a racist. However I couldn't come to terms with the fact nobody has identified that this novel covers in an era, 50 or 60 years before,  the modern times in which the ideals are much more tolerant. Hence I found that to use a yardstick of today, to pass verdict on Atticus Finch, was, well, somewhat ignorant.The idealistic stance is to ignore the intricate behavioral patterns of a particular race, which favour that race, and expecting the Law of the Land to control any excesses. Whether the Law of the Land did rise up to control these said excesses due to loopholes is a moot point, especially in the times under discussion.  That Developed Nations expect the Law of the land to control these issues today, portray the advancement of civilization over the last hundred years. Yet, it is unfortunate that in Country's like ours where a particular majority in a particular Lane, can control the cultural freedom of others, while requesting for more freedom country wide, depicting the sorry state of Law and Order, and how it is yet not mature enough to confront the challenges.

In summary, albeit its' rather simplistic style, I found it to be a thought-provoking read, and one which I enjoyed for the contentious issues as well as the joys that a good yarn brings,
interspersed in equal measure.


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