It turns out your literary boyfriend, Atticus Finch from Harper Lee's 1960 classic To Kill a Mockingbird is a racist. Yes, that Atticus Finch. The Alabama lawyer who defended a black man falsely accused of rape wasn't as noble as we thought.
In Go Set a Watchman, the long awaited sequel to Mockingbird, Lee has broken many readers hearts by revealing that Finch attended a Ku Klux Klan meeting, maintains a belief in African-American inferiority and doesn't approve of racial intermingling. And, the full book hasn't even been released yet to the general public yet!
We're not the only ones shocked and devastated by the news of Finch's dark interiors. Twitter reveals the emotional roller coaster this Finch revelation has unleashed.
There's been disbelief.
Atticus Finch as a segregationist? It's like finding out Santa Claus beats his reindeer. #GoSetAWatchman
— Jamie Harding (@jamiekharding) July 10, 2015It's like finding out your father never loved your mother, or that Mr. Rogers was a wife-beater.... #atticusfinch
— Amanda Kim (@amandakim529) July 11, 2015Tears have been shed.
Upset about #GoSetAWatchman. I have cried many times over fictional characters & today is one of those days. #AtticusFinch @HarperCollins
— kate robards (@katerobards) July 11, 2015If Atticus Finch being a racist is making you upset just remember we will never truly own anything and life is fleeting
— Jaya Saxena (@jayasax) July 11, 2015So, basically, Atticus Finch turns into Donald Trump? #GoSetAWatchman
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) July 11, 2015Wonder how many people (other than me) canceled their pre-orders of #GoSetAWatchman? #atticusforever
— Logan Levkoff, Ph.D. (@LoganLevkoff) July 11, 2015And, um, about that name you gave your child...
Our son is named for the most noble man in lit, #AtticusFinch. Please say it ain't so. He could not have been a racist. #devastating
— Logan Levkoff, Ph.D. (@LoganLevkoff) July 11, 2015Say it ain't so, Harper Lee!
Considering the iconic author is 89 years old, the series surely won't be extended into a three-parter in which we learned that Finch was just pulling Scout's leg. Looks like we might have to dabble in some fan fiction to rectify this wrong and mend our bookish hearts.
