Unpopular opinion, I loved Go Set a Watchman. I loved the recontextualization of Atticus as what a "Sothern Gentleman" really was, how he was more in love with the law than any type of social justice. It showed TKAMB was told by a child from her perspective where her father could do no wrong, that he was idealized by both Scout and all of us to the point he wasn't a real person. And then she has to see him as an adult, as he truly is and what that means for her. I cried, to me it was so powerful. It just gave both books so much more meaning.

For the record, the implication is that Tom was "trying to escape," _i.e._ , the jailers murdered him.

Also, what about Calpurnia? This is the black character with the most coverage in the book. Calpurnia is the maid and part-time cook for the Finch family and a mother figure of sorts to Jem and Scout. She's not exactly a traditional "mammy" character. One way the movie disappointed me is that it left out a chapter where Jem and Scout spend a weekend at Calpurnia's house when Atticus has to go to Montgomery to do legal research. It was an amazing chapter and was a Calpurnia dominated chapter. Yeah, white words in a black character, but I learned things. For instance, I was beginning to learn bass guitar at the time after a bit of background in classical piano. The scene at Calpurnia's church blew me away. I was learning the pentatonic scales and the similar blues scales derived from West African music, along with blues harmony. I never knew why blues songs had repeated lines with two different harmonies until I read this part of the book. I have to say it made learning the music easier to know how it started. I really think this vid should have covered Calpurnia.

I don't really think of Watchman as a sequel, more a glimpse of what Mockingbird might have been. For me, the Atticus of one is not synonymous with the Atticus of the other - they were not meant to co-exist and instead are set in distinct universes. If I remember correctly, the trial from Mockingbird is even mentioned in Watchman and has a different outcome. They're very different novels with very different intentions. Watchman isn't trying to be what Mockingbird ended up being. Instead it's a small story about discovering that the people you love aren't the perfect people your childhood mind thought they were. It's very fitting that Scout's shock and hurt at this discovery is mirrored by a lot of readers' reactions. While I think her editor was right in getting Harper Lee to focus on the childhood flashbacks so that Mockingbird could become what it did, I still found it a valuable read and am genuinely baffled why so many declare it unequivocally bad.

When my class had finished reading the book, the teacher said she was going to bring someone in to discuss it who didn't like the book. I think that was the first time the idea that not everything deemed important is universally liked, or needs to be liked, was presented. When the man came in I think the first thing he said after being introduced by the teacher was "the room got real quiet when you all saw me!" (He was Black).

I’ve heard some people say “Go Set a Watchman” is the better book because it’s not oversimplified but deals more honestly with upper class white collar racism. I’ll withhold judgement until I read it.

I enjoyed this one. Especially the running gag. I only wish you spent some time with Calpurnia. I agree with the points you made about agency vs the white savior narrative, but “Cal” was an unsung hero in this book, and I always tried to follow her example when it comes to opening myself up to others and taking risks to stand for outsiders in your culture. I think an “unsung hero” episode of It’s Lit would be enlightening

Your conclusion sums up my feelings pretty well too. It's fine to read that book, for school even, but it should be just one of many. If it is the sole work read to be used to discuss the heavy and complex history of racism, it is not adequate as a solitary representative.

I died at GSAW being compared to Jar-Jar. Not a comparison I was expecting even if it does fit

This is my all time favorite fiction book. It saddens me that they have taken it out of schools. Kids need to read this book to understand how horrifying racism was in the past to prevent it from ever becoming like that again.

I just love how we don’t talk about the book that shall not be named. Spoke too soon anyway in the sequel the uncle was the best character

I was literally named after Atticus Finch... I'm a POC, it's been confusing lol

I have been reading Octavia Butler (Kindred, the Parable of the Sower) so thanks for showing me what to read now.

The whole book is about Scout learning to not trust herself and to trust what Atticus says instead, like Jem does. Atticus says: the Klan is Gone. Tom was shot by white guards while trying to escape, but he knew that he would be killed and that was his choice, similar to Jem's statement Boo Radley's choice to stay inside all the time because of predjudice. The Klan wasn't gone. The guards may have shot Tom whether escaping or not. Boo Radley stayed inside because his father wanted to protect him.

Forever pour one out for all the guys out there who were named after Atticus Finch 😭

Like any classic text, I think Mockingbird should be neither accepted nor rejected wholesale but should be analyzed critically for its merits and faults, and as a product of the context it arose from, and that is precisely what this video does. As a hispanic kid who grew up in a northern city, I have a fair bit of psychological distance from the Mockingbird and other Southern-set classics, but I have always found them eerie and often touching parables of American identity and the American experience. My favorites in this idiom are probably A Lesson before Dying by Gaines and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by McCullers. One I think is underrated (though also limited in perspective) is Graceanne's Book by P.L. Whitney.

BTW, I think even in TKAM Atticus can't be described as a white savior. Tom was convicted despite a robust defense in what should have been an easy acquittal. Tom later gives up on what white people can provide him and is killed in an escape attempt despite the fact that Atticus tells Tom there may be a good chance for an appeal. In this book an idealized version of a white savior fails, and fails absolutely. And not just because of poor white folks. Plenty of better off white people like the sheriff and DA supported Tom's indictment, as did a Grand Jury. And I doubt the jurors were riff-raff. I have always read this book as a subversion of the white savior narrative. Yes, white people of good intentions and high aspirations really did exist, but not in the numbers to really change things. I say this as the great-grandson of an white man who tried, and I think backed down. My great-grandfather was on the school board of his county in a rural area of Texas. I heard this story both from my grandmother and my father. I later learned that my mother had asked my grandmother's older siblings about this story, and she told them to me. The story varies in detail, as truthful accounts do. An exactly identical set of stories is a rehearsed lie. The factual core of the story that does not vary is that my great-grandfather was at a public comment meeting about school tax spending and while he was away, the KKK made a public comment at his house, threatening his wife and children. Not sure exactly why. My grandmother was just a little girl scared by the horses and torches. Great uncle "J" said it was because they were going to bring in a "college-educated Negro" as an assistant administrator. Great aunt "V" said she did not exactly know what the board vote was about. I don't know what happened the next week at the budget vote. I only know the Klan did not come back. Also, the term "white trash" is racist. Racist against black folks. The idea is that black people living in some state of degradation is understandable, you know, because of "natural" inferiority. Yes, yes, I fully understand that such degraded conditions are almost entirely the result of the legacy of slavery, the failed promises of Reconstruction, and subsequent racial oppression. But the "white trash" narrative claims otherwise. Black people have the supposed "excuse" of "innate" inferiority, while any white folks living like that must be total defectives.

It seems pointless to examine TKAM by today's lens. A book in which white people are the perpetrators of racial injustice and how wrong it is written by a white person might not be so relevant today, but during the 1960's it absolutely was. With the civil rights movement in full swing, virtue signalling wasn't a thing. You could still face societal repercussions for the mere suggestion that non-whites deserved equal treatment. This examination also seems lacking in a lot of ways. I get that some of the other source material being pulled from is also to blame. The point of the book was showing empathy for everyone. Anti-racism was a facet of that theme. Boo Radley, a very important character, was mentioned in a single line in this video, and was another pivotal plot device for Scout's growth. The argument that TKAM is a portrayal of poor white people being the sole perpetrators of racism seems shallow given that the book takes place during the Great Depression, most people were poor. Not only that, but people of similar social standing to Atticus are overtly racist. His direct peer, the lawyer for the prosecution, for example. Scout was a child and an outside observer to the black community. During a time of extreme segregation, it would have been unnatural for her to observe the lives of black people in her town in depth. Her family's cook Calpurnia (another person responsible for a lot of Scout's growth and not mentioned enough) is a black woman who takes the kids to her church where Scout is introduced to her community for probably the first time in her life. I have never believed that Atticus was a paragon of anti-racism either. While having empathy, he was imperfect. He was an upstanding lawyer, however, and believed that every man deserves a fair trial, and so he agreed to represent someone most wouldn't, which in part led to Scout's awakening to empathy for all people, along with her interactions with Boo Radley and others. I wish the idea that Atticus is the only character that should be focused on, for any reason, would die. So many people were involved in Scout realizing all people deserve to be treated with respect who are always ignored during discussions of this book. The book isn't perfect, and by today's standards it doesn't stand up as a great depiction of allyship, but for all of its faults it was an important book when it was published and I believe it's an important read, if only because it's beautifully written and a good example of American literature.

I loved this book - first read it in high school and totally changed the way I look at the world.

"Please stop naming your children after fictional characters" tell that to my cousin who named his daughter Kylo Ren

Omg love her KZfaq vids, I didn’t know she did vids for storied but I really glad she does

I always find it fascinating when I hear about how scholarly writers have written whole theses on how one novel, telling one story, fails to "adequately explain/exculpate/admonish or atone" for an entire system and history of something. It's like... they don't get that, it's still just a story at the end of the day, and the other book is also still just a story. Maybe don't put all the weight and needs of academia onto one text written by a first-time author's published or unpublished novel? Personally, I always liked TKAMB, it's a great story, and it teaches some good lessons of tolerance, understanding and open-mindedness, while painting a very specific (if fictionalised) viewpoint of a time and place. Similarly, I would guess that GSAW does the same, and I will read it someday. Also, complaining that a novel by an upper-middle class southern white woman in the 50s fails to accurately portray the experience of the working class black community at that time... just seems a little bit of a facile statement.

I would love it if this KZfaq channels had a list of every book mentioned in the written description below the video. That would be such an amazing resource to give your viewers.

Love this book but agree with all the points. I do think it should be taught in school but ONLY within a curriculum that includes Black writers. Now that I’m thinking about it, Beloved as an anti-racist text has stuck with me more.

my required read was in 8th grade. the language arts teacher was obsessed with it and our social studies teacher joked (?) about how much room the stacks of books took up and how he was going to get rid of them. in an entirely opposite experience, a few years after i had to read it for school our local theater did a stage production of it. a childhood friend of mine played mayella ewell and it was seriously the most emotionally moving performance i've ever had the privilege of witnessing.

It’s nice to see an actual intelligent good faith criticism of TKAMB because there are so many people who just love the idea of criticising things people love

If anyone is looking for the black experience and perspective of the Jim Crow south to come from a Harper Lee book, well that's just really, really weird. It's been quite a while since I read the book but I remember Atticus in the book wasn't portrayed as gloriously in the movie adaptation. Some tend to conflate the two. Might just be my own flawed headcanon but I remember Atticus in the book wasn't so pure as the movie portrays. Who is the book for? Anyone who's interested in Harper Lee's experience and perspective of the Jim Crow South.

My English teacher mother will love this episode

Love this series, Princess Weekes, please never stop!

I agree on a lot of points here. You did an excellent job. TKAM cannot be a stand alone text to discuss racism in America. I do think Lee is a lot harder on the Southern Whites, including the "upper class," than you give her credit for. Aunt Alexandra is vile. The missionary tea scene is truly horrible in only the way being surrounded by sexist, racist, white, upper middle class women can be. I teach it every year because it says some interesting stuff about racism, sexism, and classism. Cal says some interesting things about code switching and double consciousness. After reading TKAM, I teach Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Audre Lorde.

Excellent episode, thank you. Very thought-provoking.

"An introduction to empathy, but at a distance." I love that, this is a wonderful take! Gives me new insight into TKAMB. I will say, however tangential, I did really enjoy Go Set a Watchman. The anger, frustration, and confusion that the readers felt when discovering Atticus was racist struck me as poetic given that Scout was going through the exact same dissonance; she could not believe her father, the devoted symbol of justice, could be that wrong. The whole book felt like her trying to come to terms with that, something I wish readers could do as well alongside her. Ah well, I totally get the outrage, but I still liked it personally.

I've read the comic version and the story , especially at the end , was so facked up but also so well written ... Gave me goosebumps

Literally one of my all time favorites

It's one of my favourite books, largely because my late grandfather gave it to me and Atticus (as played by Greogory Peck in the film, which I also watched with my grandfather) reminded me of him. This is one of the reasons I cannot engage with GSAW personally (that and the dubious story behind its publication, it makes me feel so sad to think about how she was taken advantage of), though my two cents is that it should be taken as an 'alternate' version, or just one possible version, since it was written before. I'm also Irish, so some of the context is missing for me. It's on the curriculum here, but many schools don't choose it (we did Of Mice and Men), but I defenitely agree - I think it's a fine book, I read it when I was eleven and am glad that I did, BUT it should not be read by a teacher who then closes it and says 'okay we learned about racism, let's move on'

This was one of the best books I got to read in highschool. What a read!

I'm Canadian, we read this in schools here.

Atticus is such a cool name. It’s the name I use whenever I need to name my characters in video games.

Ahmed Best's performance as Jar Jar Binks was absolutely fantastic and it it so sad that Lucas bowed to pressure and reduced Jar Jar Binks to a background joke. At the very least a new prominent character should have been created for Episodes 2 and 3 with the role given to Ahmed Best!

I'm very glad my teacher chose to teach Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry instead of TKAMB

Saying that we should follow up TKAM with a book that actually follows a black perspective is awesome. Almost every critic I see of the book says it should be replaced with an undefined book by an undefined black author. It definitely does feel like it is for a primarily white audience, but there is more there for everybody. The white P.O.V. is important while white people still set the course for society- as society spends more time and effort examining the perspectives of non-white people, this becomes a bit less vital. But the rest of the novel is also important. The way characters constantly judge others based on income, race, or... I believe they actually use the term "breeding"... makes it a good way to get people to think about prejudice in general. Atticus being impotent to change society shows the legitimate frustration that a lot of progressives face. (It is easy to make negative changes, as Bob Ewell attempts, but it is harder to make positive ones.)

The only one joke is brilliant

Tequila Mockingbird is now my band's name

Excellent points here. Thank you for the insight

"Introduction to empathy" was a great line.

"Stop naming your children after fictional characters" don't listen to her Naruto Kurosaki, you were named after two of the bravest men I've ever known

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES

For me, this is the story of two people (father and daughter) who try to do the right thing when all is against them. They lose, but they are right. That's matter more for the society, instead of do nothing in front an injustice. The "new book" is like when you try to return to your origin. You have changed, but you see how the old ideas and ignorance is still present in our society.

I am an Atticus. My parents for whatever reason love Go Set a Watchman. They can not seem to understand why I have issues with it

Ha ha that closing comment destroyed me, my daughter is named Scout because of a fever dream her mum had about this book whilst pregnant

I read it in my late 20s and really enjoyed it.

Can we just have some love for Boo Radley in the comments? I remember loving his character so much.

I will never read GSAW. I fully believe that it was published by vultures taking advantage of Lee's diminished capacity. So, so sad.

I, too, loved GSAW realizing that it was from the point of view of an adult Scout. I felt that it was much less edited than TKAM, knowing the history of Harper Lee having worked very extensively with her editor. In comparison, GSAW felt less much edited. But I love both and may just go read them both again.

On one hand, I kind of respect the nerve Go Set a Watchman had in calling out disingenuous support- that despite all their big convincing talk, they were just playing a role they for some reason felt they had to play- a real issue that media rarely touches upon in a non-shallow/ham-fisted manner. On the other hand, I dislike the bleak depressing message it suggests, that there might not be any such thing as true allies with the self awareness to see issue in the system they benefit from at the expense of others, that any of them could be phonies. But it isn't quite the latter; while Atticus Finch was in fact revealed to be disingenuous, Scout clearly actually believed in those values that Atticus only pretended to, she was actually disgusted with him for not living up to the image he projected of himself and taught her to follow. And despite how prejudiced Atticus was, he didn't really try to convince Scout that she was wrong for disagreeing with him, he respected that she stood up for what she believed in. The book ultimately reveals allies like Scout exist, but be weary of people like Atticus. But then again, disingenuous as it was, Atticus did still help people like Tom Robinson and inspire people like Scout, Scout's sincere belief had no such large-scale impact. Begrudgingly, we can't really afford to be without the Atticus Finches of the world, the Scouts of the world aren't enough to stand up to the Robert Ewells of the world. That's a bold and mature message.

Thank you. Good perspective.

I used to read TKAM annually. Then I read Go Set a Watchman...which was, in fact, published prior to this video, and barely before Harper Lee's passing. I haven't read either since. More interesting, TKAM was Harper's legacy, her only one. She never married (was Truman Capote's beard) and never had children. She was, like so many before her, destined to leave a mark so great, that descendents were superfluous. (Abraham Lincoln has no living descendents, no does Benjamin Franklin...just food for thought).

"Their Khaleesi turned fascist..." Nope, NOPE, NOPE!! IT'S STILL TOO SOON! OH, BY THE GOD'S SHE'S DONE IT NOW!!! *flips table* FETCH THE BREAST PLATE STREACHER!!!!

This is great We tell ourselves stories to reassure that we are OK But keeps us from reality's gray areas And holds us back from moving to deal with those realities

Fabulous video as always.

The book is a starting point and not the ending point

Thanks for sharing 🤔 I have more to think about

Yes new video!!

Also. One (1). Only one and not more than that.

1:50 three murders in the span of a year? Robinson and Ewell...she didn't personally witness Robinson but even counting that, what was the third one?

When she got to GSAW, I had to go get another drink and prepare myself.

I heard bad reviews about Go Set A Watchmen but 'the Jar-Jar of classic literature' had me pausing this video like DAMN!

My niece is 4 and her name is Khaleesi🤣🤣🤣 Her mother regrets NOTHING😂🤦🏽‍♀️

Can you make video about Vrykolakas

"The Jar Jar of classic literature" Lmao damn, that's rough 😆

The main reason I suspect GSAW wasn't really meant to be published was all the continuity errors. Aside from the radical changes in Atticus' character, GSAW says he got Tom Robinson acquitted. And, like... no. No, he didn't. The entire last section of TKAM would've gone VERY differently if he had. The fact that such a blatant and major error got through makes me think no one even bothered to edit the damn thing. Just a soulless cash-grab from a publisher.

Princess should have a spot in every highscool english lit class!

Wait... doesn't "Go Set a Watchman" fix those issues that caused criticism for the first novel?

Your contents, the never disappoint

Excellent content made better by you delivery.

How do you feel about Huckleberry Finn? Would you do a video on that?

When I had to read TKAM for my english class, I couldnt finish it. Now, I'm an avid reader and was reading ahead of the class. I was allowed to do this as long as I did the worksheets. Anyway, when it got to the point where it was "revealed" (use it loosely cuz anyone that knows the red flags could have seen it beforehand) that Bob was actually sexually assaulting his daughter, I couldnt finish due to my PTSD. My teacher was understanding and allowed me to move on to the next book instead. But theres one part I distinctly remember, wasnt it Bob's plan to frame Tom for the assault(s) in the first place so he wont get caught and could still keep his other children? Or am I remembering it wrong?? 🤔

I read this in school... apparently with polarized lenses ;)

Last year I paired TKAM with Warriors Don’t Cry. Parents complained. But not about TKAM.

My mom played Scout in a production of the play adaptation when she was a kid-so its always been a novel i think of fondly. I agree with Princess. TKAM still has its place in American literature. But black voices need to be heard as well. I love this book, and as Princess said-its a great "introduction to empathy" -something many parents are failing to model, let alone teach their children. I also think that because its written from a white perspective, it makes the ending-that Tom was wrongly accused, but convicted anyways, hit different. For a white child reading this, its a travesty of justice-a betrayla of everything theyve been taught America stands for. It makes the ending very powerful for young white readers imo. I of course, say this as a white person. I can understand why it would not have much of an impact on black students. But its not the black students who need to be shown what racism can do to ruin a persons life.

It’s one of the few books I read in high school I enjoyed reading … perhaps pair it with the other book to stimulate discussion… sooner or later every book gets pulled for one reason or other… maybe have a selection of books for the student to pull from. Of course I am assuming the students actually read the books…the Spark notes seem to be as far as most get these days… that’s kind of the problem with books…people like and respond to different things… I didn’t like Romeo,and Julliett or The Scarlet letter …but I’ve been informed that I’m wrong. I got a C on choice book assignment… HITCHHIKERS Guide To The Galaxy…because it didn’t meet the teachers standard of a worthwhile book…. Who is to say what is good? At least I read it…

This book was always very special to me. It's the first book I scored an A on in english class tests and book report without actually having read at all. It taught me the value of ignoring school as an educational institution and viewing it more as child jail. A lesson that has served me better than literally everything I learned in school.

Very nice 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Great video!

There is an old tendency among moralists to want all literature to tell the message they want given, rather than just being a more or less honest portrayal of how liberal white people in the late 1950’s felt about an issue. I am reminded of the comment that H.G. Wells’ later novels limped because “he sold his birthright for a pot of message”.

I preordered GSAW and, for some unknown reason, didn't read it. Now I both don't want to and, out of morbid curiosity, kinda do.

Agreed. Anyway if you want a black child narrated story set in the same era then read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. It's basically what TKAM should have been - black authored, black family centred. Black people are not objects passive in their own fate, but have actions and personalities and ways of handling things. And even the "good" non-racist white people are not White Saviour tropes.

I grew up white middle class in the Midwest in a pretty progressive (though probably very sheltered) household where the idea of treating someone badly because of their skin color was really foreign to me. I read TKAM in 8th grade and completely identified with Scout's naïve viewpoint, though I think it's one of the book's strengths - to children, the notions of racism and discrimination seem ridiculous. Telling someone they're somehow inferior because they look different is, at its core, total nonsense. We'd learned about Southern segregation and Jim Crow in Social Studies, so I knew the context, but I remember reading about the trial and thinking, "He's clearly innocent, why is this even happening?" It seemed like such an obvious injustice. Side note: The only fictional character name I would use would be Jo(sephine) from Little Women if I were to have a kid.

I kinda like the Scarlett letter 👉👈

Thanks.

Poor Jar Jar, gets more hate than he deserves

"Every adult should read (it) before they die ahead of the bible." Absolutly. And they also should read the bible, but completely, from start to finish; it's the best way to become an atheist. ;-)

Michiko says that, yet Stephen King's short, 1922, has some exact same statements from the anti-hero. Odd world, publishing.

First😄😃. What a pleasure to be here for the queen.

I just finished reading the sequel "Go Set a Watchman"

lol at the bit about not naming your kids after famous literary characters. I know someone this happened to who named her kid Atticus back in 2010 and I actually remember her moaning about how he was done dirty by Go Set a Watchman! Meanwhile, the worst I suppose anyone can think about my daughter Lorelei is that I named her after Gilmore Girls. (I didn't, I've never seen it actually, but if it helps people pronounce it better, I'm all for it.)

My cousin named their kid Atticus. Before this book came out. Apparently even decades later, it still isn't safe to name your kids after a fictional character.

In the constitution, it is an individual's right to have adequate representation. I always thought Atticus took on this case, not to fight the racial injustices of the world but because everyone is entitled to a defense. I never viewed him as a white savior. I always saw him as defense attorney. But that's just my opinion.

I read this in honors and tbh I seriously thought it was super boring. I’d rather read Huxley’s brave new world. Crazy what that man could write and how he portrayed how things are pretty much nowadays.

Y’all coming for the American canon’s neck! I’m here for it!