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"Every man's island, Jean Louise, every man's watchman, is his conscience. There is no such thing as a collective conscience." These words, spoken by Dr Jack Finch, brother to Atticus Finch and uncle to Jean Louise Finch, point to a central theme in Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman". To say the words are pivotal in the climax of the novel may be too trite as they form part of a larger exposition from Uncle Jack tying together many of the book's themes, including individuality, societal cohesion, early civil rights activism and making decisions that, despite their apparent horror and hypocrisy, may, if the gamble pays off, establish longer term benefits. Anyone who has read (or viewed) "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, could be forgiven for assuming it was based on "Go Set a Watchman": Southern woman in her mid-twenties returns from New York where she has been experiencing northern ways. She tries to integrate herself into her old society, one in which she never felt wholly comfortable in the first place, but still had good standing as a member of her family. She ends up confronting a significant parent about racist attitudes. And this is the big story for fans of Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". The headlines say Atticus is revealed as racist. There is room for this interpretation, though I think it is erroneous. Instead, "Watchman" is more about exploring the methods employed in working for the ideals espoused by Atticus in "Mockingbird" and idealised by both the child Scout and the adult Jean Louise Finch: not judging a person until you've walked in their shoes, equality and justice regardless of skin colour or creed. However, the tension in "Watchman" is created by more complex issues than in "Mockingbird", despite the less complex plot. (There is no Boo Radley sub-plot here, although her romantic relationship with Henry Clinton serves to expand on the themes of identity and integration while also linking to delightful and skilfully woven vignettes from Jean Louise...
