Since the July 14 release of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, written five decades ago and which follows a now-grown-up Scout and her father, Atticus, much has been made of the change in Atticus’ character from the one so many knew from the original book. Mary Badham, who starred as Scout opposite Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch in the film adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, has a different take. Badham says, “The difference between Mockingbird and Watchman gets down to this: The first book was an idealized view of a father, Atticus Finch, from a child’s viewpoint; the new book is about seeing your parents as an adult. He’s making compromises that you had to make in order to survive in the South.” She adds: “When people think of Mockingbird, they think of Gregory Peck. That’s not going to change. Atticus is Atticus. He’s about justice.”
