Bright Summaries - Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

Since Jean Louise left the imaginary town of Maycomb, Alabama to study law in New York, she has been back regularly to visit her father, Atticus. During one of her visits, Henry, her boyfriend, welcomes her at the train station, happy to see her again. They have been together for several years and hide nothing from each other. Moreover, he has become fully part of the family as, since the death of Jem, Jean Louises brother, her father has become his guardian and helped him along to a shining career as a lawyer. Despite everything, Scout as everyone calls her has not committed to marrying him for now, as she cannot imagine spending her life in Maycomb.

As per tradition, her Aunt Alexandra invites all the young women in the town to tea to celebrate Scouts arrival, despite her reluctance. She is rather a tomboy, and has nothing in common with girls her age, who are all married with children. Trapped in their roles as housewives, their lives are confined to their husbands and children. They are incapable of thinking for themselves, and are happy enough repeating the racial insults they hear at home. Appalled by the stream of stupid things she hears at the tea, Jean Louise is relieved to see them leave. She did not remember such a strong hatred between black people and white people in Maycomb. She is used to speaking and acting as she wants, without worrying about gossip, and so she loudly gives her opinion to those present, but sees only contempt on the faces of the guests.

That evening, she goes for a moonlit walk with Henry. Not caring about convention, she pushes him into the water and they share a midnight swim together. But the next morning, the whole town is talking about this incident, much to the chagrin of her aunt, who would do anything to preserve her nieces reputation.

A short while later, a sinister piece of news overshadows this disappointment: a black man, driving dangerously, has run over and killed Mr Healy. The town is furious and the animosity between the black people and the white people is revived. Atticus is asked to advocate the defendants case, who is none other than the nephew of his cook, Calpurnia. Scout is deeply disappointed when she learns that he has only accepted to prevent the involvement of the lawyers of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), African Americans whom he does not hold in particularly high esteem, and not out of the goodness of his heart, as he would have done in the past.

A short time before the accident, Jean Louise finds, to her shock, a racist pamphlet among her fathers documents. Unable to believe that it belongs to him, she questions her aunt about it.

Not only does the brochure belong to him, but Scout learns that Atticus and Henry are very active members of the Citizens Council of Maycomb (a local association for white supremacists in the United States). Still sceptical, she goes to a council meeting to see for herself. During the meeting, she is overcome by violent nausea when she realises that her father and her boyfriend agree with what is being said. She feels betrayed and wronged by the two men she trusted the most. She wants to understand what has happened for them to change this much, and solicits the opinion of her Uncle Jack, but he only gives vague responses, as he knows that his explanations will upset her and that she is not yet ready to hear them.

Unable to be intimate with a man whose ideology is so opposed to her own, she decides to end her relationship with Henry. The latter, in no doubt that his beloved was present at the meeting, reveals the reason behind his acts and his joining the Council: he wants to integrate and to gain the respect of the residents of Maycomb, whatever the cost, even if it means appearing to have views that are the opposite of his own. But Jean Louise sees only cowardice and hypocrisy in his attitude. A while later, they become friends again, but they never recover their previous romantic relationship.

The confrontation between the heroine and her father is, however, more violent. They get into a debate on the place of black people in the Constitution. Scout is astounded to learn how much their opinions differ and, losing her cool, is seized by a hideous rage. Atticus declares that he loves her and that it is necessary for her to oppose his ideas so that she can grow and affirm her own opinions. Beside herself, Jean Louise quickly packs her bags, intending to never set foot in this house again, until her Uncle Jack intervenes and slaps her twice in an attempt to calm her down. Once she is calm, he starts explaining what she has just experienced. Scout has always seen her father as an infallible role model, almost like a god, whom she relied on if she was ever in doubt. But, for the first time, she has discerned a weakness in him, a point on which she disagrees with him. The divine image that she had constructed of her father shatters and paves the way for her own conscience. Uncle Jack calms her by maintaining that Atticus will always respect the law and will always be the first to intervene if misbehaviour arises.