Harper Lee's Bestseller "Go Set a Watchman" is Full of Religious Themes and Biblical Parallels

Leah Marieann Klett : Jul 24, 2015
The Gospel Herald

"'Go Set a Watchman' is a story of redemption, of the Wesleyan New Birth as a painful opening of the eyes, of the move into adulthood as learning to tell the truth. Even as the child Scout stared at her world, seeking the truth of things, so Jean Louise Finch stares at hers and dares to declare what she sees, thereby blessing the rest of us, if we dare to hear." -Bishop Will Willimon

Since its July 14 release, Publisher HarperCollins says more than 1.1 million copies of Harper Lee's "Watchman" have sold so far in print, e-book and audio formats, making it the fastest-selling book in company history. (AP Photo via Gospel Herald)

While Harper Lee's bestselling new novel, "Go Set a Watchman," focuses primarily on the themes of social inequality and justice, the story is equally brimming with religious imagery and Biblical truths.

"Watchman," officially released in stores last week, is set 20 years after its critically-acclaimed prequel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." In the story, protagonist Jean Louise Finch—formerly known as Scout—returns home to Maycomb, Alabama from New York to visit her aging father, the beloved literary hero Atticus Finch.

However, instead of having a sweet reunion, Jean Louis is dismayed by the segregation evident in her childhood town and the blatant prejudice of her now 72-year-old father, who once attended a Klu Klux Klan meeting and welcomes racist, pro-segregation speakers at the Maycomb County Citizens' Council meetings.

While "Go Set a Watchman" has received an overwhelming number of scathing reviews from critics horrified Lee's revision of a "literary saint," Religion News Service journalist Cathy Lynn Grossman argues the book is actually a story of redemption steeped in Biblical themes.

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