Leslie Brody & Jennifer Maloney:

The release Tuesday of Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman” gave English teachers some tricky summer homework: how to reframe their lessons on “To Kill a Mockingbird” now that its moral center, Atticus Finch, has been depicted as a racist.

Many teachers said they are excited that this twist adds a thought-provoking dimension to the classic and will lead to valuable classroom discussions of flawed heroes, bigotry and the fact that Ms. Lee’s father, the model for Atticus, abandoned his segregationist views later in life, as the author worked on revising “Mockingbird.”

Some said these issues would be especially resonant after a year of protests around the country against police killings in confrontations with unarmed black men, South Carolina’s Confederate flag controversy and other racially charged news.