Questions

1. Why publish Go Set a Watchman now?
2. What issues addressed in Go Set a Watchman are still relevant today?
3. Maycomb is a town without train service, and its bus service “was erratic and seemed to go nowhere.” How does this lack of connection isolate the citizens of Maycomb? How does that isolation affect how they see themselves and outsiders? 
4. Has living in a place like New York impacted Jean Louise? What does she think about New York and life there? 
5. Describe the relationship between Jean Louise and Atticus at the beginning of the novel. Does Jean Louise idealize her father too much? How does she react when she discovers that her father is a flawed human being? 
6. What was your reaction to some of the opinions Atticus voiced in Watchman? Do they make him a more realistic --- if less heroic --- character than that portrayed in Mockingbird? Is Atticus racist? 
7.  “Integrity, humor, and patience were the three words for Atticus Finch.” After your reading of Watchman, do these three words still hold true? What words would you use to describe him?
8. What kind of reception does Jean Louise receive in the Quarters when she visits Calpurnia, the Finches’ retired housekeeper? 
9. How does Calpurnia react to seeing Jean Louise, and what is Calpurnia’s response when Jean Louise asks her how she truly felt about her family? 
10. Late in the novel, Uncle Jack tells his niece, “Every man’s island, Jean Louise, every man’s watchman, is his conscience.” What wisdom is he imparting to her? 
11. Where do you see Jean Louise at the end of the book? Will she return to New York or stay in Maycomb? Will she champion Civil Rights? Do you see her becoming a feminist in the 1960s?
12. How would you characterize Harper Lee's style? Does her voice sound the same as it does in To Kill a Mockingbird? If you think the books sound different, what accounts for the changes?