- April 17, 2024
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Of all the chapters so far in this novel, this is the one that can most appropriately be read as a legitimate sequel to “Mockingbird.”
Jean Louise sneaks into the courthouse–the same courthouse where she watched her father courageously defend a black man 20 years earlier–and now sees the opposite: Atticus is participating in an organized effort to undermine segregation. How can this be?
It is more disturbing if you have read “Mockingbird” than it would be if you hadn’t. Jean Louise has a flashback to the scene of her as a child, but it’s not necessary. The scenes of her in that balcony are such a part of the canon of American literature that they might as well be part of our memories as well.
The magnitude of Jean Louise’s disappointment and shock are felt by the reader. That is not easy to accomplish in a novel, and it’s a scene that, even though it’s still a draft with some clunkiness, can be considered art.
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