Mockingbird and Watchman Theme Analysis

Outside the text of the novel itself, the writing and publication of Go Set a Watchman is just as important as its content. It was written in 1957 and then reworked to become To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published three years later and became a Pulitzer Prize-winning, nationally-beloved novel. Go Set a Watchman was seemingly lost, until (as the story goes) Harper Lee’s lawyer found the manuscript decades later and decided, with Lee’s consent, to publish it unrevised. There was some controversy surrounding this decision—because of Lee’s age, health, and previous declaration that she would never publish another book—whether she was actually capable of fully consenting to the publication of Watchman, but no conclusive proof has been found otherwise. Either way, Watchman is best read as both its own novel and as a first draft, the bones of what would become an American classic.

On one level, the text shows how Lee’s writing developed, as Watchman is scattered, disjointed, and often awkwardly written, compared to the focused and polished Mockingbird. Some passages (mostly descriptions of the citizens of Maycomb) are borrowed word-for-word from Watchman to Mockingbird, while other important facts are changed. The most notable of these is the trial of Tom Robinson. In Mockingbird the trial is the central conflict of the novel, ending with Tom being convicted, while in Watchman the trial is barely mentioned at all, and there it ended with Tom being acquitted.

The biggest changes are in characterization, however, most notably regarding the figure of Atticus. It is implied in the novel that Atticus changes in his old age, but he is also written as a slightly different character in the two novels, and it can be argued that the Atticus of Mockingbird could never have realistically grown into the Atticus of Watchman. The change represents a development of the character (since Mockingbird was written after Watchman) but also a different worldview Lee is expressing. Her portrayal of Atticus in Watchman is more cynical and realistic—he is a good father and a morally principled man, but still supports segregation and holds some racist, condescending views—while the Atticus of Mockingbird is more idealized and unrealistic—a saintlike father seen through the eyes of his young daughter, and written to provide an example of white morality and justice even in the Jim Crow South. This theme doesn’t lead to any cohesive conclusion, but it is vital for an informed reading of the novel, as Go Set a Watchman is almost impossible to read without also taking into account its publication history and the content of To Kill a Mockingbird.