When Harper Lee's new book "Go Set a Watchman" was published in July, literary lovers were either elated or profoundly upset.
The introverted Lee, now 89 and sight- and hearing-impaired, said she would never publish another novel after her classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" won the Pulitzer Prize and became known as one of America's great literary works.
But, according to news stories, Lee's caretakers discovered an unpublished manuscript for "Watchman" and submitted the draft to HarperCollins, which announced earlier this year it would publish the novel.
Some fans said they wouldn't read the new book, citing concerns of elder abuse by Lee's caretakers. Other fans, myself included, couldn't wait to get their hands on "Watchman."
But a few days before the official release, book reviewers shed some light on what readers would find in the pages: Atticus Finch, the heralded hero of "To Kill a Mockingbird" was portrayed in a very different light in the newly-discovered book.
Most people know the plot of "Mockingbird." The story, set in the 1930s, is told by 6-year-old Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, daughter of prominent small town Southern lawyer Atticus Finch. Atticus is called on to represent a black man - Tom Robinson - who is accused of raping a white woman.
The night before Robinson's trial begins, Atticus stares down a lynch mob, and despite evidence that Robinson did not in fact rape the woman, the all-white jury eventually convicts Robinson and sentences him to prison. He tries to escape but is shot to death.
Because of Atticus' rigid defense of Robinson and support of justice for all, many readers placed him on a pedestal. He is thought of as the novel's hero, one who won't back away from a fight because he believes in fairness for everyone, regardless of skin color.
"Watchman" took those notions and lit fire to them.
In the new book, Scout is now 26 and visiting her hometown of Maycomb, Ala., from New York City. While there, she begins to pick up on social changes, including how the town's white residents treat the sizable black population.
It hits home - literally - when she discovers some racist propaganda among Atticus' things. In a rage, she follows him to a County Council meeting, where all of the county's white men are gathered to discuss the Supreme Court's recent Brown v. Board of Education decision. A speech by a traveling segregationist is riddled with racist remarks, and Scout can only stare helplessly as her father sits and listens.
After agonizing over what she saw and heard, Scout eventually confronts her father about his segregationist views.
This confrontation between Scout and her father, whom she adored, idolized and thought perfect, represents something we all go through as we age. When we're 6, like Scout was in "Mockingbird," our parents, older family members and elders in the community can do no wrong.
We trust them fully and are wholly dependent on them to make sound decisions that protect us physically, mentally and emotionally. We don't yet understand what goes into a mature person's thought process - we just know we feel safe with them. These people are literally our entire world.
But when we're older and venture out of our communities, we become influenced by other ways of thinking that may challenge the ideals we grew up with.
We begin to come into our own and have our own thoughts and opinions about issues, whether its politics, racism, gay rights, foreign policy, religion, whatever. Those thoughts can, and often do, deviate from what our elders taught us when we were small.
It is important to note, however, that Atticus is a man of his time, shaped by lingering post-Civil War thoughts and the politics of the South. Like Atticus, people of older generations have been shaped by the political and social climate in which they were raised, and young people today - though they may not fully realize it - are being molded just the same. Though society progresses, many times opinions are slow to evolve, if they ever evolve at all.
The confrontation between Scout and Atticus is emotional and at times hard to read. But the dialogue is important, not just in the context in which the book was written but as an illustration of what happens when young adults realize the world around them, and those who helped shape it, begin to show cracks and flaws.
A great piece of literature is marked by its ability to transcend time. Though both "Watchman" and "Mockingbird" deal with race, parents and children today may be having the same dialogue about same-sex marriage - a hot-button issue with an accompanying Supreme Court decision some say violates the 10th amendment.
In 20 years' time, the argument will likely be over a different issue as society continues to advance.
As they were decades ago and are today, those conversations may be difficult to have. But they are important.
Contact columnist Whitney Burdette at 304-348-4813 or whitney.burdette@dailymailwv.com. Follow her at www.Twitter.com/wburdette_DM.