48 pages 1 hour read

Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015

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Part 6, Chapters 15-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 15 Summary

Jean Louise sits in the ice cream shop that was once her house and remembers what her life was like when she lived there. She recalls being 14 and shaped like a bowling pin. In her recollection, she wears false breasts under her dress to go to a school dance with Hank. She has a wonderful time until the false breasts shift. Hank notices and pulls her outside. She is embarrassed and demands that he take her home, but instead, he grabs them and flings them into the night. They return to the party, and Jean Louise finds herself with a crush on Hank.

The next day, the principal is enraged by the pair of false breasts hanging over a patriotic sign. He demands to know who put them there. Jean Louise feels guilty over her part in the situation and wants to confess. Hank does, too, but Hank will be expelled if he does so, whereas Jean Louise will be punished less severely. Hank refuses to let Jean Louise confess, explaining that she was his date to the dance and he can’t let her take the blame. Jean Louise angrily tells him she does not need his protection. Jem has Jean Louise write a simple note stating that the false breasts appear to be like her own.