Rewrite, Rewind
Poor Harper Lee. After years of insistence she only has one book in her, a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird was announced this year. The fans were ecstatic: an adult Scout! A reunion with old favourites! Yay!
Unfortunately nothing stays quiet for long in the modern world, especially where the internet is concerned. Last weekend Twitter exploded with the stupendous news: Atticus Finch, regarded as an all American hero and role model, is a racist curmudgeon in this version.
I'll admit, I was shocked and dismayed, and scuttled to the first book for reassurance. I know perfectly well it's illogical - he's not my father, and only loosely based on Lee's. It wasn't an implausible move: people's attitudes do harden as they age, and many older folks felt threatened by the civil rights movement. Atticus defends Tom Robinson because he's innocent and it's the right thing to do. Though he's liberal for his time, I doubt he would have welcomed a black son or daughter in law. (I personally don't see Scout bringing a man home, but that's neither here nor there). It may have been realistic but it was deeply disappointing.
Then you remember this was the rejected manuscript, which she never expected to resurface. While you and I might shove our faltering stories in storage and forget them, hers has been dusted off and touted as a sequel.
It's always fascinating to learn about abandoned drafts. Roald Dahl's Matilda died in a tragic accident; thankfully it was reimagined as the feminist fable it is today. In the first draft of Frozen, Elsa was a straight up villain, not even related to Anna. They realised while writing Let It Go she was a far more complex and sympathetic character, and went with this new direction. Speaking of relatives, the Skywalker family tree was nowhere near as knotty. You can still find official novels where Luke and Leia are a couple. As for the Big Reveal, this was a closely guarded secret. Even Vader's body actor didn't know - the line he delivered during filming was "Obi Wan killed your father."
No one would deny that these changes were improvements, instrumental in making these works the classics they are today. You could argue that a story belongs to whoever interprets it - if there are multiple tellings, they're each their own entity. Little Shop of Horrors started life as a creature feature spoof; it was adapted into a hit musical, which recast the screwball plot as a tragedy. The musical in turn was adapted for the screen - but the test audience hated the apocalyptic ending, where Seymour feeds Audrey to the malevolent plant and everybody dies. Perhaps Rick Moranis is too nebbishy and cuddly to be devoured; his Seymour is certainly less culpable. Whatever the reason, they opted for a conventional happy ending, which has practically displaced the original. Fans of the show might gnash their teeth, but the producers went with what felt right for that version.
When you write, you must always be receptive to constructive criticism. I can't comment on Go Set a Watchman, not having read it yet, but by following her publisher's advice and making Tom Robinson's trial the focus, Lee created a story loved by generations of readers. Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to help a work realise its full potential.
Unfortunately nothing stays quiet for long in the modern world, especially where the internet is concerned. Last weekend Twitter exploded with the stupendous news: Atticus Finch, regarded as an all American hero and role model, is a racist curmudgeon in this version.
I'll admit, I was shocked and dismayed, and scuttled to the first book for reassurance. I know perfectly well it's illogical - he's not my father, and only loosely based on Lee's. It wasn't an implausible move: people's attitudes do harden as they age, and many older folks felt threatened by the civil rights movement. Atticus defends Tom Robinson because he's innocent and it's the right thing to do. Though he's liberal for his time, I doubt he would have welcomed a black son or daughter in law. (I personally don't see Scout bringing a man home, but that's neither here nor there). It may have been realistic but it was deeply disappointing.
Then you remember this was the rejected manuscript, which she never expected to resurface. While you and I might shove our faltering stories in storage and forget them, hers has been dusted off and touted as a sequel.
It's always fascinating to learn about abandoned drafts. Roald Dahl's Matilda died in a tragic accident; thankfully it was reimagined as the feminist fable it is today. In the first draft of Frozen, Elsa was a straight up villain, not even related to Anna. They realised while writing Let It Go she was a far more complex and sympathetic character, and went with this new direction. Speaking of relatives, the Skywalker family tree was nowhere near as knotty. You can still find official novels where Luke and Leia are a couple. As for the Big Reveal, this was a closely guarded secret. Even Vader's body actor didn't know - the line he delivered during filming was "Obi Wan killed your father."
No one would deny that these changes were improvements, instrumental in making these works the classics they are today. You could argue that a story belongs to whoever interprets it - if there are multiple tellings, they're each their own entity. Little Shop of Horrors started life as a creature feature spoof; it was adapted into a hit musical, which recast the screwball plot as a tragedy. The musical in turn was adapted for the screen - but the test audience hated the apocalyptic ending, where Seymour feeds Audrey to the malevolent plant and everybody dies. Perhaps Rick Moranis is too nebbishy and cuddly to be devoured; his Seymour is certainly less culpable. Whatever the reason, they opted for a conventional happy ending, which has practically displaced the original. Fans of the show might gnash their teeth, but the producers went with what felt right for that version.
When you write, you must always be receptive to constructive criticism. I can't comment on Go Set a Watchman, not having read it yet, but by following her publisher's advice and making Tom Robinson's trial the focus, Lee created a story loved by generations of readers. Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to help a work realise its full potential.
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