Atticus a racist from To Kill a Mockingbird???

[Lamb]

I have read on CNN that Harper Lee may have written another book that is a sequal to her classic To Kill a Mockingbird and Atticus is painted as a racist character. Do you buy that storyline?

 

[psalms 91]

No, but then I havent read the book

 

[brinny]

I have read on CNN that Harper Lee may have written another book that is a sequal to her classic To Kill a Mockingbird and Atticus is painted as a racist character. Do you buy that storyline?

No.

 

[NewCreation435]

Atticus was the father wasn't he? I really loved that book. I wish she had written more.

 

[Lamb]

Yep, Atticus was the father and also a lawyer representing a black man knowing he would lose the case. He was about justice and fairness.

 

[Tallguy88]

Maybe there's a reason she never published the sequel...

 

[Hammster]

I have read on CNN that Harper Lee may have written another book that is a sequal to her classic To Kill a Mockingbird and Atticus is painted as a racist character. Do you buy that storyline?

He certainly wasn't in the first book.


Sent from my iPhone using my right thumb.

 

[Tallguy88]

Well, the "new" book was written before Lee wrote To Kill A Mockingbird, even thought it chronologically follows it. So it's really more like a rough draft, rather than an actual sequal. So the portrayal of Atticus Finch in TKAM should be considered the canon portrayal of the character, while the newly publish book could be though of more as what Lee originally conceived, but decided against.

 

[Tallguy88]

It's just like trying to make some of Tolkien's Lost Tales jive with The Hobbit and the LOTR (and even trying to make those two jive with each other). What Tolkien actually published is considered canon, and what was publish posthumously should be considered canon insofar as it doesn't contradict the primary works. Everything else is interesting from a background and developmental perspective, but shouldn't be presumed to change anything fundamentally from the original stories.

That's the same way I look at this new material of Lee.

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

dp

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

From what I understand, the "new" book is a prequel that was never released. I've never read TKAM, but from what I understand, the new book paints a rather unflattering picture of a character that people associate with fairness and justice. Imo, it's all a part of character development, and some may not understand that fully - especially if it's a character they have a singular view of.

 

[MoreCoffee]

The news reporting here is that the new book was written before TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and that it is pitched for adult readers whereas TKAM was aimed at teens upward.

The 'new' book depicts Atticus Finch as a southern man in the southern culture of his time so he could be called 'racist' by some today but that is not really what is intended by the new book or its author.

 

[psalms 91]

What was the real purpose? I am curious about that

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

Now I guess I'll have to add these to my reading list. I'm surprised that TKAM was never required reading. Either that or it was and I just forgot about it. Thinking about my grades in high school, that's a distinct possibility

 

[Lamb]

Did you maybe just watch the movie instead??? :joke:

I know I tried to sneak by with that!

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

Cliff's notes were my best friend, but they never worked either. Actually, I enjoyed reading, but summary was my worst enemy.