Turns Out Atticus Is a Racist in New Harper Lee Novel

Turns Out Atticus Is a Racist in New Harper Lee Novel

"Finch spent the 20-something years between Mockingbird, set in the 1930s, and Watchman transforming into a run-of-the-mill Southern bigot fond of saying things like, 'the Negroes down here are still in their childhood as a people' and 'Do you want Negroes by the carload in our schools and churches and theaters? Do you want them in our world?' Finch also denounces the Supreme Court and the NAACP."

"Scout is shocked to find, during her trip home, that her beloved father — who taught her everything she knows about fairness and compassion — has been affiliating with raving anti-integration, anti-black crazies, and the reader shares her horror and confusion. How could the saintly Atticus — described in early sections of the book in much the same terms as he is in 'Mockingbird' — suddenly emerge as a bigot?"