Character Clues

Character Analysis

Direct Characterization

Even though Go Set a Watchman was written before To Kill a Mockingbird, it takes place afterwards. It also seems to rely on you knowing Mockingbird in order to know the characters, because we're thrown into the world of Watchman and merely told, not shown, what to think of each character. Jean Louise is our spunky hero. Atticus is her noble father. Aunt Alexandra is a busybody, etc.

In an alternate, weird world where Go Set a Watchman is published before To Kill a Mockingbird, you'd have no idea who Jean Louise was a child. You're only told she used to be a tomboy, but now she's "a reasonable facsimile of a human being" (1.54). You're told Atticus has "integrity, humor, and patience" (9.1), and you are told he is racist… so you feel bad about this.

But anyone who has read Mockingbird (and seen the more nuanced characterization) will have stronger reactions to the characters in this book.

Clothing

Back when Jean Louise was Scout, she only wore overalls. And while we don't see her in her iconic garb in this book, we do see her shunning stereotypically female dresses and skirts for tasteful pants and comfortable shirts.

Comparing Jean Louise to Aunt Alexandra (who might—ouch—sleep in her corset), and you see the contrast between these two characters—traditional vs. modern, uptight vs. casual… or, as Aunt Alexandra would probably think, "loose."

The women aren't the only ones characterized by clothing. Atticus can't let go of his pocket watch, and

Styles my come and styles may go, but [Uncle Jack] and Atticus will cling to their vests forever. (14.9)

These men are traditionalists, and they have trouble letting go of the past. But hey, vests are pretty cute.

Speech and Dialogue

You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl. She may live in New York now, but Jean Louise's Southern twang returns once she crosses the Mason-Dixon Line. (We don't actually see her in New York, so we don't know how she talks in the Big Apple.)

All characters have a distinct and true Southern accent, but they don't all talk the same. Uncle Jack, in particular, has a bombastic overly intellectual way of talking, illustrating him as a mentor figure. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the black characters, who talk in vernacular: "Howdy do, Miss Jean Louise. We didn't know you was home" (12.148).

Calpurnia's dialect changes, depending on if she's talking to her family (i.e. Jean Louise/Scout) or other white people, and the fact that she adopts her "haughty dignity" (12.182) with Jean Louise, talking like the other black people—"He always do right" (12.181)—upsets Jean Louise.