To many fans of literature that were born between the latter half of the twentieth-century and now, Scout, Jem, Atticus, and Boo Radley are considered household names. However, for those who are unfamiliar with those names, don’t worry because you will soon know.
Fifty-five years later, Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird is just as relevant in today’s society as it was in 1960, when the novel was released. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest works in modern literature, and it’s also a staple in freshman English classes at Scituate High School. Just when it was looking as if Lee would create another masterpiece, she disappeared from the public eye. That is, until this summer.
Go Set a Watchman, the much anticipated follow-up to To Kill a Mockingbird, has already garnered serious hype: the book reached number one on Amazon’s bestseller list, although it doesn’t come out until July. Freshman Birch Swart, who read the book this year in his English class, states that he is “excited and curious about her new book.”
The interesting part about Watchman is that unlike most sequels, she actually wrote the book prior to To Kill a Mockingbird. Yet, this book is set twenty years ahead of Mockingbird. The book takes place in the mid-1950s with Scout Finch as a grown woman, returning home to Alabama. Lee states that the flashbacks to her childhood that Finch had in Watchman inspired her first published work.
Social media has been active the past few days now that the word is out, and Scituate High School also has its fair share of reactions. Senior Ellis Rose said, “I liked the first in the series, but the sequel’s never as good as the first. But we’ll see,” revealing mixed, yet optimistic, feelings towards the book. Unfortunately, some students, like senior Sean Stein will miss the opportunity to read this book, since he said that “reading is against my religion.” Lets just hope that there is a movie so that people who face the same issues can experience the story in one way or another. Scituate High School English teacher Mrs. Sullivan is also curious to see what the second book has to offer. She says “I’m excited to see if the book is as strong as the first one published.”
As you can see, this upcoming novel has certainly sparked it’s fair share of reactions around the school, but no one is more curious about the book than English teacher Mr. Beattie. At first, he didn’t think that the rumors were true, but after many former students had e-mailed him, he needed to investigate. However, after he found out that the rumors were true, he has “been following it like nothing else.” When asked about his overall reaction to the book, he says that he is “very excited, but I’m scared of what it will be. But I’m more excited.”
Whether or not this book lives up to its predecessor, there is no denying that it is going to have a massive impact on literature and pop-culture as a whole.