Thus, when I heard that Harper Lee was releasing a "sequel" to this beloved tale, I was immediately defensive and suspicious. I was almost hostile to the idea of this sequel when I discovered that the beloved character of Atticus turns out to be a bigoted and flawed man. My suspicion only grew when I heard that this story was, in fact, written before To Kill a Mockingbird. It seems that this was the manuscript that she first tried to publish but the publisher had her rewrite (the rewrite being Mockingbird). I started to wonder even more if Lee, who has not published another work and is now nearly ninety, was fully aware that this earlier manuscript was being published. This seems like a money-grabbing move on behalf of those who are in control of Lee's trademarks and copyrights. I am not the only one concerned as I found out that this exact argument went to court and was struck down.
While I am still not convinced that Lee would want this version to see the light, a part of me wonders if this is actually for the best. Teachers of literature now have a prime example of how a work can change through revising. I have not read Go Set a Watchman, but I have heard that while the plot is quite similar to Mockingbird, the story has an entirely different feel. Watchman is filled with flashbacks while Mockingbird is set in the past while told through the voice of a mature narrator. Watchman is about the disillusionment with returning home while Mockingbird is about finding treasures in the small town life. Watchman is about the disappointment of learning the faults in our heroes while Mockingbird is about standing for what one believes against impossible odds.
Perhaps as Lee is approaching the end of her life, she has decided to allow the "true" or at least original story to come to light despite the fact that it might tarnish people's thoughts about Mockingbird and Atticus. Whether that's the case, or its a simple matter of greed on the part of the publisher, having this "sequel" might be an overall benefit. I just hope that I don't have to read it for a while. I'm not certain that I want another one of my heroes tarnished right now.