English Quote Final- Asa

"There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Miss Maudie Atkinson to Scout about religious fanatacism. She is talking about Boo Radley's father and his foot-washing Baptists who consider any type of pleasure to be a sin and even criticize Maudie for working in her garden to make it pretty. The hypocrisy of being outwardly religious but not showing compassion is one of the novel's themes.

"You are too young to understand it...but sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of - oh, of your father."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Miss Maudie Atkinson to Scout. She is suggesting that sometimes religion in the hands of the wrong person can do more harm than a whiskey bottle in the hands of a good man such as Scout's father Atticus.

"Jem Finch, Scout Finch, Charles Baker Harris, come here!" Our promptness was always rewarded

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Miss Maudie is one of the most thoughtful and sensitive people in the novel. As part of her benevolence she baked cakes for the children.

"Only thing I worried about last night was all the danger and commotion it caused. This whole neighborhood could have gone up."

-Miss Maudie;To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 8. Miss Maudie, after losing her house in a fire, is a great example for Scout and Jem of courage and strength in the face of adversity.

"Let's try to make him come out," said Dill. "I'd like to see what he looks like."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 1. Boo Radley may be depicted as a monster who strikes fear in children, but the children have a curiosity about him and Dill suggests they try to make him come out of the house. He is reputed to only leave home at night to watch people while they sleep.

"It's just that I can't think of a way to make him come out without him gettin' us."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 1. Dill accuses Jem of being scared. Jem tries to act like the older kid and Scout's protective brother and show that he is brave when it comes to Boo Radley. Scout's interpretation from Jem's words is that he is afraid of Boo.

I asked Dill where his father was: "You ain't said anything about him.""I haven't got one.""Is he dead?""No.""Then if he's not dead, you've got one, haven't you?"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 1. Neglected by his parents, Dill makes up outlandish lies to impress Jem and Scout. Like lying about his father being dead.

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10. Atticus Finch's instruction, when he gives the childen air rifles for Christmas, foreshadowing the shooting of symbolic mockingbird Tom Robinson. The mockingbird, which sings beautiful music for the benefit of others and never does harm to anyone, is a symbol of innocence. So the rifles come with the condition attached: they are never to kill a mockingbird.

"Naw, Scout, it's something you wouldn't understand. Atticus is real old, but I wouldn't care if he couldn't do anything - I wouldn't care if he couldn't do a blessed thing."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10. Jem says this after finding out that his father was once known as One-Shot-Finch for his markmanship. Jem is proud of Atticus and loves him just the way he is, regardless of any accomplishments.

"People in their right minds never take pride in their talents."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10. Miss Maudie says this to Scout after Atticus shoots a rabid dog and Scout and Jem are shocked to learn their father is the best shot in town but they never knew. Miss Maudie's remarks are in response to Scout saying that Atticus should be proud. Atticus is a modest and humble man. The shooting of the mad dog could be seen as foreshadowing that Tom Robinson could meet the same fate.

"You're lucky, you know. You and Jem have the benefit of your father's age. If your father was thirty you'd find life quite different.""I sure would. Atticus can't do anything...""You'd be surprised," said Miss Maudie. "There's life in him yet."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10. Miss Maudie to Scout, who is angry because Atticus, a man in his fifties, cannot play with her and Jem.

"If your father's anything, he's civilized in his heart. Marksmanship's a gift of God, a talent - oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootin's different from playing the piano or the like. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn't shoot till he had to, and he had to today."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10. Miss Maudie tries to explain to Jem and Scout about Atticus's excellent markmanship and why he shows a lack of pride in it. Instead of taking pride in being the best shot in Maycomb, he put the gun down and stopped hunting. Miss Maudie points out that this was because he felt he was a civilized man and refused to take advantage of weakness.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10. The Finches neighbor Miss Maudie Atkinson offers this wisdom to Scout who queries her father's instruction to Jem not to shoot his air rifle at mockingbirds. Mockingbirds are innocents that must be protected.

"Scout," said Atticus, "nlgger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything - like snot-nose. It's hard to explain - ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring nlggers over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody."You aren't really a nlgger-lover, then, are you?"I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody...I'm hard put, sometimes - baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus explains to Scout the racial slur "nlgger-lover" that has been hurled at him. It says more about the person using it than the person it is directed towards, he tells her. He shows high moral principles by making clear that he loves everybody, regardless of the color of their skin. He's also a good father who teaches his children by example.

"According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus on his admiration for the courage of Mrs. Dubose, who conquered her addiction to morphine painkillers before her death.

"Son, I have no doubt that you've been annoyed by your contemporaries about me lawing for nlggers, as you say, but to do something like this to a sick old lady is inexcusable. I strongly advise you to go down and have a talk with Mrs. Dubose," said Atticus. "Come straight home afterward."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus rebukes Jem for destroying Mrs. Dubose's flowers because he is angry at her making racist comments about Atticus defending a black man. In Atticus's code of morality, just because Mrs. Dubose lashes out doesn't mean Jem can lash back.

"She's an old lady and she's ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it's your job not to let her make you mad."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus to Jem about Mrs Dubose. Jem is constantly upset by the insults she hurls at him and Scout, but the ever compassionate Atticus counsels him to stay calm and be like a gentleman.

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus to Jem after the death of Mrs. Dubose, whom Jem had been reading aloud to for the previous month. Atticus is a good father who wants to teach his children about courage. Mrs. Dubose was addicted to painkillers but was determined to overcome her addiction before dying and Atticus made Jem read to her to distract her from her pain. This also foreshadows that Atticus will take on the Tom Robinson case, knowing he has little chance of winning and angering many townspeople.

"You know, she was a great lady.""A lady?" Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. "After all those things she said about you, a lady?"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus to Jem on Mrs. Dubose, who has died. Though Mrs. Dubose, a morphine addict who was able to conquer that addiction with Jem's help, could be racist and harsh, Atticus admired her courage in braving the pains of morphine withdrawal. To Jem she was a woman who said mean things about his father defending Tom Robinson.

"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus to Scout, on the fact that most people think that he is wrong in helping the black Tom Robinson fight a rape charge. To Atticus the majority is not always right, he knows he is doing the right thing and that is what matters to him.

"Did she die free?" asked Jem."As the mountain air," said Atticus. "She was conscious to the last, almost. Conscious," he smiled, "and cantankerous."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Jem is asking his father about Mrs. Dubose, a nasty old woman who wanted to end her addiction to morphine before her death. And succeeded. Atticus is teaching a lesson about the value of fighting for something good.

Jem said quietly, "My sister ain't dirty and I ain't scared of you," although I noticed his knees shaking.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Jem to Mrs. Dubose, when he goes to her house to read to her and she calls Scout his "dirty little sister." Children are afraid of the nasty old lady in a wheelchair, but Jem has the courage to stand up to her when she has a go at his sister.

"Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for nlggers!"Jem stiffened. Mrs. Dubose's shot had gone home and she knew it..."Your father's no better than the nlggers and trash he works for!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Mrs. Dubose not only insults Scout over her waiting on tables, but directs her racist fire at Atticus over his defending a black man, which really angers Jem.

"What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You'll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn't change your ways - a Finch waiting on tables at the O.K. Café - hah."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Mrs. Dubose wishes for Scout to wear a dress and says a girl will not be successful in life if they doesn't wear the proper attire.

"I thought I wanted to be a lawyer but I ain't so sure now!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Jem shouts this when he knows Atticus can't hear him. He is angry that Atticus got him to admit his guilt about making fun of Boo Radley by using a lawyer's tricks.

"Atticus, you must be wrong...""How's that?""Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong...""They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions," said Atticus, "but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Scout to Atticus, questioning her father's choices based on what the majority of the people in the town think about him defending rape accused Tom Robinson. This also also shows the flaws with justice here, with most people having negative feelings towards black people.

"Scout," said Atticus, "when summer comes you'll have to keep your head about far worse things...it's not fair for you and Jem, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves when the chips are down - well, all I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you'll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn't let you down. This case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience - Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. When Scout worries about the reactions of people in Maycomb to her father's taking on the defense of Tom Robinson, he reassures her. He knows that many white folks who think badly of the black residents disapprove of his decision. But he wants her to know that doing the right thing is more important in this case.

"You all know what it's for - Helen can't leave those children to work while Tom's in jail. If everybody gives one more dime, we'll have it - "

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12. After a church collection is taken up for Tom Robinson's wife Helen, Reverend Sykes says that more money is needed. He explains how Helen Robinson can't leave her children to take a job to provide for her family. Scout and Jem witness first hand how the black community rallies around to provide for one of their own.

"You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here - they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?" "Mister Jem," he said, "we're mighty glad to have you all here. Don't pay no 'tention to Lula, she's contentious because Reverend Sykes threatened to church her. She's a troublemaker from way back, got fancy ideas an' haughty ways - we're mighty glad to have you all."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12. Lula, a member of Calpurnia's church, is being racist and hypocritical because she doesn't want Scout and Jem to attend the all-black church on account of their differences. This is the first time the children experience racism first-hand. Maycomb, like many other Southern cities in the 1930s, has a deep racial, social and historical divide that dates back to the days of slavery. But not everyone feels like Lula, and Scout and Jem are welcomed into the church by Zeebo, the garbage collector.

After one altercation when Jem hollered, "It's time you started bein' a girl and acting right!" I burst into tears and fled to Calpurnia.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12. Scout observes that Jem is growing up and appears to have gained wisdom overnight. As the two siblings develop, a rift is opening up between them, with Jem adopting a patriarchal role rather than seeing his sister as an equal.

"...what's rape, Cal?""It's somethin' you'll have to ask Mr. Finch about," she said. "He can explain it better than I can."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12. Scout's question to Calpurnia is in reference to Tom Robinson being accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Calpurnia feels it is more appropriate for a parent to discuss a matter such as the violent crime of rape. Scout does in fact ask her father later on and he gives her a straight-forward explanation, another example of Atticus's honest parenting in action.

"It's right hard to say," she said. "Suppose you and Scout talked colored-folks' talk at home it'd be out of place, wouldn't it? Now what if I talked white-folks' talk at church, and with my neighbors? They'd think I was puttin' on airs to beat Moses.""But Cal, you know better," I said."It's not necessary to tell all you know. It's not ladylike - in the second place, folks don't like to have someone around knowin' more than they do. It aggravates 'em. You're not gonna change any of them by talkin' right, they've got to want to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12. The Finch's black cook Calpurnia is trying to tell the children that you have to speak the language that people understand and you can't go round acting like you are better than anyone else. An educated woman, she speaks proper English in the Finch home, but when she is with the black people in her community and at her church she speaks the way they do. Here, she is telling Scout what it means to be ladylike.

"Brethren and sisters, we are particularly glad to have company with us this morning. Mister and Miss Finch. You all know their father. Before I begin I will read some announcements."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12. When Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to her church, Reverend Sykes makes an announcement to welcome them. The congregation have a lot of respect for Atticus.

"We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won't be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 13. Aunt Alexandra explains to Scout why she has decided to come and stay with the Finch family. She she intends to be a mother figure and wishes Scout to behave more like a young lady.

Atticus's voice was even: "Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn't have got along without her all these years. She's a faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they are."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 14. Atticus defends Calpurnia against Aunt Alexandra, who doesn't approve of a black woman raising Scout and wants him to get rid of her. He tells his sister that he will never tell Calpurnia to leave the house because she is essentially a member of the family.

"That's because you can't hold something in your mind but a little while," said Jem. "It's different with grown folks, we - "

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 14. Jem believes Scout can't understand about Atticus having a lot on his mind with the Tom Robinson case because her mind doesn't hold on to things for long. Jem does understand because he is one of the "grown folks." As he gets older, he starts to treat Scout like a little kid.

"Atticus," his voice was distant, "can you come here a minute, sir?"Beneath its sweat-streaked dirt Dill's face went white. I felt sick....Jem was standing in a corner of the room, looking like the traitor he was. "Dill, I had to tell him," he said. "You can't run three hundred miles off without your mother knowin'."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 14. Jem breaks the last remaining code of childhood - not to tell on each other to adults - when he tells Atticus about Dill running away from home. But Jem knew that Dill's parents would be worried, so he decides it is for the best to break the code.

"H-ey, Atticus!"I thought he would have a fine surprise, but his face killed my joy. A flash of plain fear was going out of his eyes, but returned when Dill and Jem wriggled into the light.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. Atticus is not happy that Scout, Jem and Dill have come to see him at the jail house. This is evident from the flash of fear in his eyes on seeing them. A lynch mob has sent the sheriff off on a wild goose chase and wants to administer street justice to jailed Tom Robinson. The only thing standing between them and Tom is a courageous Atticus who refuses to move.

"A mob's always made up of people, no matter what. Mr. Cunningham was part of a mob last night, but he was still a man. Every mob in every little Southern town is always made up of people you know - doesn't say much for them, does it?"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. Atticus is talking to his son Jem about the mob led by Walter Cunningham that almost attacked Atticus in a bid to enter the jail to lynch Tom Robinson.

"Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told." Atticus's voice was even. "And you know what the truth is."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. Atticus knows that Tom Robinson is not likely to be acquitted in racist Maycomb. But being the moral backbone of Maycomb, Atticus is concerned with getting the truth out there. He is speaking here to Link Deas, who warns Atticus he has a lot to lose taking on Robinson's case.

"Well, Atticus, I was just sayin' to Mr. Cunningham that entailments are bad an' all that, but you said not to worry, it take a long time sometimes...that you all'd ride it out together..."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. By talking in a very personal way to Walter Cunningham during a tense confrontation, Scout manages to humanize the mob intent on killing Tom Robinson, of which Cunningham is leader. She shows great courage here

Atticus tried to stifle a smile but didn't make it. "No, we don't have mobs and that nonsense in Maycomb. I've never heard of a gang in Maycomb."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. Jem is frightened that the racist Ku Klux Klan will come to Maycomb and try to harm Atticus, as the Tom Robinson case is about to start. But Atticus dismisses this, saying the Klan is gone a long time.

"- don't see why you touched it in the first place," Mr. Link Deas was saying."You've got everything to lose from this, Atticus. I mean everything."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. Link Deas warns Atticus of the risks he is taking in racially-divided Maycomb in taking on the Tom Robinson defense case.

"You're damn tootin' they won't. Had you covered all the time, Atticus."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. Mr. Underwood, holding a double-barreled shotgun, shouts out this, after Atticus has assured Tom Robinson the mob gathered to lynch him won't be bothering him anymore.

"I'll tell him you said hey, little lady," he said.Then he straightened up and waved a big paw. "Let's clear out," he called. "Let's get going, boys."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 15. Walter Cunningham calls off the mob that is intent on lynching Tom Robinson, when Scout cleverly and courageously engages in small talk about Cunningham's son being a good boy - "Maybe he told you about me, I beat him up one time but he was real nice about it. Tell him hey for me, won't you?" Scout saves Tom Robinson's life by this.

"So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses, didn't it," said Atticus. "That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children...you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 16. An admiring Atticus Finch on how his courageous young daughter, with her innocent wisdom, managed to turn back the carloads of men who arrived in a mob to lunch Tom Robinson. And did it with some simple personal words to mob leader Mr. Cunningham about his son.

"They don't belong anywhere. Colored folks won't have 'em because they're half white; white folks won't have 'em 'cause they're colored..."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 16. Jem about Dolphus' mixed race children. Dolphus Raymond has several children with a black woman, which is frowned upon in a town steeped in racism. He and his family are treated as outcasts by both the black and white communities, forming a third class in racially divided Maycomb.

"Aren't you goin' down to watch?" asked Dill."I am not. 't's morbid, watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it's like a Roman carnival."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 16. Miss Maudie Atkinson is the female version of Atticus. She is more sensitive to Tom Robinson's fate than those who are going to court to enjoy the spectacle of seeing a black man being tried for the rape of a white woman. To her Tom is a human being who deserves respect and to be treated as an equal during his time in court.

"Do you all reckon it'll be alright if you all came to the balcony with me?"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 16. Reverend Sykes offers the childen, Jem, Scout and Dill, seats in the balcony of the packed courthouse at Tom Robinson's trial. There they were welcomed by all the black people who have great respect for defense lawyer Atticus.

"Lemme tell you somethin' now, Billy," a third said, "you know the court appointed him to defend this nlgger""Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That's what I don't like about it."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 16. Scout hears the chatter from court spectators that Atticus had to defend Tom Robinson because he was appointed by Judge Taylor. But he hadn't told his children that. She is further confused when the chatterers say Atticus aims to put on a defense for Tom and they don't like this. Atticus wanted to take on Tom's case because he wants justice to be served and wants to protect people's rights, and he needs his children to understand how deeply he cares about this. Always the morally principled and excellent father who teaches by example.

"Well how do you know we ain't Negroes?""Uncle Jack Finch says we really don't know. He says as far as he can trace back the Finches we ain't, but for all he knows we mighta come straight out of Ethiopia durin' the Old Testament.""Well if we came out durin' the Old Testament it's too long ago to matter.""That's what I thought," said Jem, "but around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 16. Scout wonders about her family history and whether they have negro blood in them. Jem in his answers shows growing maturity and understanding of the issue of racism.

"What's so intrestin'?" he asked."You're left handed Mr. Ewell," said Judge Taylor."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 17. Atticus intelligently asks Bob Ewell, who has little control of his lies in the witness box, to write his name on an envelope. Judge Taylor observes Ewell uses his left hand. Atticus believes Ewell beat his daughter Mayella, not Tom Robinson. Ewell's left-handedness and Tom's disabled left arm lend weight to this because Mayella was hit on her right side by someone who led with their left hand.

"Well, Mayella was raisin' this holy racket so I dropped m'load and run as fast as I could but I run into th' fence, but when I got distangled I run up to th' window and I seen - " Mr. Ewell's face grew scarlet. He stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. "- I seen that black nlgger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 17. Bob Ewell says this at Tom Robinson's trial, condemning him to prison and ultimate death with his deadly lies. Ewell uses racist and dehumanizing language, doesn't speak Tom's name, emphasises his color and compares him to an animal - "ruttin."

"Mr. Finch? They gone?"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 17. In the controlled environment of the courtroom, Scout no longer feels afraid. She recalls the nightmare of the mob that threatened Atticus and Tom Robinson, when she stood up for her father, began talking to the mob, and her courage saved the lives of Tom and possibly her father.

"Miss Mayella," said Atticus, in spite of himself, "a nineteen-year-old girl like you must have friends. Who are your friends?"The witness frowned as if puzzled. "Friends?""Yes, don't you know anyone near your age, or older, or younger? Boys and girls? Just ordinary friends?"Mayella's hostility, which had subsided to grudging neutrality flared again. "You makin' fun o' me agin Mr. Finch?"Atticus let her question answer his.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 18. Atticus questions Mayella Ewell about her lack of friends to show that she is lonely.

"Won't answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin' me."..."Long's he keeps on callin' me ma'am an sayin' Miss Mayella. I don't hafta take his sass, I ain't called upon to take it."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 18. Mayella Ewell is a young woman who is not used to good manners. When Atticus calls her "Miss Mayella" or "ma'am" during questioning at Tom Robinson's trial, she thinks he is mocking her.

"It's not an easy question Miss Mayella, so I'll try again. Do you remember him beating you about the face?" Atticus's voice had lost its comfortableness; he was speaking in his arid, detached professional voice. "Do you remember him beating you about the face?""I don't recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 18. When Atticus asks Mayella Ewell during cross-examination if she remembers Tom Robinson beating her, she stumbles with her answers, contradicting herself. This calls her account into question.

"Scout," breathed Jem. "Scout, look! Reverend, he's crippled!"Reverend Sykes leaned across me and whispered to Jem. "He got it caught in a cotton gin, caught it in Mr. Dolphus Raymond's cotton gin when he was a boy...like to bled to death...tore all the muscles loose from his bones - "

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 18. When Atticus asks Tom Robinson to stand up so his accuser Mayella Ewell can get a good look at him, we discover there is no way Tom is guilty. His left arm is twelve inches shorter than his right, it hangs dead at his side and ends in a small shriveled hand. And Mayella had two hand prints around her neck and was beaten by a strong, left-handed man. This suggests the Mayella Ewell is lying.

"We don't write in the first grade, we print. You won't learn to write until you're in the third grade."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 2. Miss Caroline can't cope when Scout's reading and writing go beyond first grade standards. So she makes this absurd statement to Scout.

"You're shamin' him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn't got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can't use any stovewood."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 2. Scout gives a verbal caning to teacher Miss Caroline, after she fails to get her to understand why a proud son of Walter Cunningham, Walter Jr., won't accept her offer of money for lunch. The stovewood mentioned is what the poor farm family uses to pay for things instead of money.

"Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 2. Scout to her teacher, when Walter Cunningham Jr. won't take lunch money from Miss Caroline because he can't pay it back. This quote shows the importance of family background, because to the citizens of Maycomb the Cunningham family name would explain why Walter refuses the money. Farmer Walter Cunningham and family may be poor but they are are proud.

"Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 2. Scout's first grade teacher Miss Caroline shows her prejudice towards her pupil when she makes Scout feel bad about being able to read. "Now you tell your father not to teach you any more", she says. This is small-minded and hypocritical for an educator. Scout should be proud of her ability at such a young age.

"The Cunninghams never took anything they can't pay back - no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have. They don't have much, but they get along on it."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 2. Walter Cunningham Jr. arrives to school with no lunch and refuses money from teacher Miss Caroline. Scout tries to explain to the clueless Miss Caroline how farmer Walter Cunningham and his family are poor, work hard for anything they have and young Walter is too proud to take the money because he cannot pay it back. Scout gets in trouble for this and Miss Caroline slaps her with a ruler and makes her stand in the corner.

"First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3. Atticus Finch's advice to daughter Scout, after she comes home from school upset and angry that her teacher Miss Caroline wants her to stop reading at home. This is one of the most famous quotes in the novel. Atticus is saying we should not judge a person unless we go through the same situation.

"It's against the law, all right," said my father, "and it's certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains. I don't know of any landowner around here who begrudges those children any game their father can hit."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3. Atticus explains to Scout why Bob Ewell is allowed to hunt out of season and break the law. Everyone is aware that his children are starving because he spends his welfare checks on alcohol.

"By the way, Scout, you'd better not say anything at school about our agreement.""Why not?""I'm afraid our activities would be received with considerable disapprobation by the more learned authorities."Jem and I were accustomed to our father's last-will-and-testament diction, and we were at all times free to interrupt Atticus for a translation when it was beyond our understanding."Huh, sir?""I never went to school," he said, "but I have a feeling that if you tell Miss Caroline we read every night she'll get after me, and I wouldn't want her after me."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3. Atticus has a unique and untypical parenting approach which sets him apart from the other characters in the story. It is a very admirable one in which he shows respect for his children and engages with them as equals. He chooses to treat them as individuals and speak to them in an adult-like way.

"Sometimes it's better to bend the law a little in special cases. In your case, the law remains rigid. So to school you must go."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3. Atticus lays down the law to Scout about going to school. She doesn't see why she has to go when Bob Ewell's son Burris doesn't. But Atticus explains that the Ewells are a special case. One of the town's poorest families with Bob Ewell drinking all the money he gets, they are allowed leave school when they want, hunt out of season, because the authorities take pity on them.

"If you'll concede the necessity of going to school, we'll go on reading every night just as we always have. Is it a bargain?"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3. Atticus strikes a deal with Scout, who has been trying to wiggle her way out of going to school. Atticus is a very dutiful and understanding father, who has been teaching Scout reading at home.

"You're bigger'n he is," he said."He's as old as you, nearly," I said. "He made me start off on the wrong foot.""Let him go, Scout. Why?""He didn't have any lunch," I said, and explained my involvement in Walter's dietary affairs

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3. Scout beats up Walter Cunningham Jr. at school, because she got in trouble for talking and she blamed it on Walter. Scout gets into many physical confrontations with other classmates and takes pleasure in beating them up, in this case Walter. Jem on the other hand displays more maturity and is more reasonable in his attitude towards Walter, believing that physical violence is not always the best way to tackle an issue.

"Reason I can't pass the first grade, Mr. Finch, is I've had to stay out ever' spring an' help Papa with the choppin', but there's another'n at the house now that's field size."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3. Walter Cunningham Jr. is having lunch with the Finch family and explains to Atticus that he has been unable to pass first grade yet is because he has to help his father Walter with the crops. Atticus is very respectful of young Walter and treats him like an adult.

"I helped the engineer for a while," said Dill, yawning."In a pig's ear you did, Dill. Hush," said Jem. "What'll we play today?"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 4. Dill Harris telling tall tales about his father to Scout and Jem, who doesn't believe a word Dill says.

"See there?" Jem was scowling triumphantly. "Nothin' to it. I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it's mortifyin'."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 4. Jem attacks Scout's gender and insults her about acting like a girl whenever he feels she challenges his manhood. In this instance the tire he was pushing her in rolls into Radley's yard and she makes him retrieve it. What she didn't tell him was that she heard laughter coming from the Radley home. Boo is obviously inside watching them play, this foreshadows the important role he will have in the children's lives.

"Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Atticus's longtime friend Miss Maudie tells Scout that about one of the things she admires about her father. She is making the point that Atticus always acts the same way whether other people can see him or not. He is the same on the street as he is in the house. One of those constantly authentic people who has nothing to hide, there is nothing fake or two-faced about him, what you see is what you get. He stands out in stark contrast to some of the people in Maycomb who practice hypocrisy.

"So that's what you were doing, wasn't it?""Makin' fun of him?""No," said Atticus, "Putting his life's history on display for the edification of the neighborhood."Jem seemed to swell a little. "I didn't say we were doin' that, I didn't say it!"Atticus grinned dryly. "You just told me," he said. "You stop this nonsense right now, every one of you."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Atticus, who is not often severe with his childen, has strong words when he catches them and Dill playing a game called "Boo Radley." He makes clear that the Radleys are people and are not to be made fun of.

Dill said, "We're askin' him real politely to come out sometimes, and tell us what he does in there - we said we wouldn't hurt him and we'd buy him an ice cream.""You all've gone crazy, he'll kill us!"Dill said, "It's my idea. I figure if he'd come out and sit a spell with us he might feel better.""How do you know he don't feel good?""Well how'd you feel if you'd been shut up for a hundred years with nothin' but cats to eat? I bet he's for a beard down to here - "

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Dill and Jem cook up a plan to drop a note into Boo Radley's window with a fishing pole to get him to come out. Dill expresses some sympathy for Boo being shut up in his house for so long, while Scout is terrified Boo will kill them. The reclusive Boo is a victim of prejudice in Maycomb, and in the minds of children like Jem he is a figure of fear.

"Stephanie Crawford even told me she woke up in the middle of the night and found him looking in the window at her. I said what did you do, Stephanie, move over in the bed and make room for him? That shut her up a while."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Miss Maudie provides Scout with an example of some of the gossip that is spread about Boo Radley. Especially by Stephanie Crawford, a fountain of unfounded rumors about the Radley family. Miss Maudie thinks her words are ridiculous. Scout points out that Stephanie Crawford goes about the neighborhood "doing good," which makes her rather hypocritical.

"No, child," she said, "that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Miss Maudie to Scout. Just like Atticus, Miss Maudie makes up her own mind about people based on the facts, rather than listening to gossip, which in the case of Boo Radley is wildly exaggerated.

"The things that happen to people we will never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets - "

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Miss Maudie to Scout. She tries to explain how the reclusive Boo Radley feels after being secluded in the house for so long. Boo was locked up in his childhood home by his abusive father, who hypocritically in public was religious and "a foot-washing Baptist." Boo is viewed as a strange and frightening figure by the children.

"Look here." With a click of her tongue she thrust out her bridgework, a gesture of cordiality that cemented our friendship.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Scout likes the fact that neighbor Miss Maudie calls the children by their names and treats them with respect. Scout is very impressed that Miss Maudie can remove her partial denture and this helps to cement their friendship.

"Call a little louder, Jack Finch, and they'll hear you the post office, I haven't heard you yet!" Jem and I thought this a strange way to ask for a lady's hand in marriage, but then again Uncle Jack was rather strange

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 5. Uncle Jack and Miss Maudie had known one another since they were childen and liked to tease each other. He by shouting a marriage proposal to her at Christmas, she by yelling back loudly in a bid to embarrass him.

"Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home - I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 6. Jem insults Scout's gender again, after she protests over him and Dill going to the Radley house at night because she is afraid Boo will kill them. After the insult Scout feels she has no choice but to go along. And they do all get quite a fright.

"Says if anybody sees a white nlgger around, that's the one. Says he's got the other barrel waitin' for the next sound he hears in that patch...be it dog, nlgger or - Jem Finch!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 6. Nathan Radley's most memorable quote is spoken here by Miss Stephenie Crawford, who tells the children about Nathan's threat after their unsuccessful raid on the Radley's back porch.

"Come on in, Jem," I said."After while."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 7. Scout describes how Jem reacts when he discovers the hole in the Radley tree has been filled with cement by Nathan Radley and therefore no more gifts can be left. Jem was unable to thank Boo for the gifts that he left them in the tree.

"Mr. Radley, ah - did you put cement in that hole in that tree down yonder?""Yes," he said. "I filled it up.""Why'd you do it, sir?""Tree's dying. You plug 'em with cement when they're sick. You ought to know that, Jem."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 7. When the Radley tree is filled with cement by Nathan, it symbolizes the end of Boo Radley's attempts to communicate with Scout and Jem. He does this through the gifts he leaves in the tree for them. They represent the friendship he has towards the children. Nathan filled the knot hole with cement because he caught Boo leaving presents there for the children. Atticus told them the tree didn't seem sick.

"Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.""Thank who?" I asked."Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket around you."My stomach turned to water and I nearly threw up when Jem held out the blanket and crept toward me. "He sneaked out of the house - turn 'round - sneaked up, an' went like this!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 8. After the fire at Miss Maudie's house, Jem, Scout and Atticus are drinking hot chocolate in their kitchen when Atticus refers to the blanket that Scout is wrapped in. She is shocked to learn it was the mysterious Boo Radley who sneaked out of the house and put it on her in an act of kindness and friendship.

"The world's endin', Atticus! Please do something - !" I dragged him to the window and pointed."No, it's not," he said. "It's snowing."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 8. Scout nearly dies of fright when she looks out the window one morning. But Atticus explains that it is snow, which neither she nor Jem have seen before. With school closed as a result of the snowfall, the day ends with the joy of building a snowman.

"Always wanted a smaller house, Jem Finch. Gives me more yard. Just think, I'll have more room for my azaleas now!""You ain't grievin', Miss Maudie?" I asked, surprised. Atticus said her house was nearly all she had."Grieving, child? Why, I hated that old cow barn. Thought of settin' fire to it a hundred times myself, except they'd lock me up.""...Don't you worry about me, Jean Louise Finch. There are ways of doing things you don't know about. Why, I'll build me a little house and take me a couple of roomers and - gracious, I'll have the finest yard in Alabama. Those Bellingraths'll look plain puny when I get started."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 8. When Miss Maudie's entire house burns down she courageously looks on the bright side and shows Jem and Scout how to face adversity.

"A nlgger-lover. I ain't very sure what it means, but the way Francis said it - tell you one thing right now, Uncle Jack, I'll be - I swear before God if I'll sit there and let him say somethin' about Atticus."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. A furious Scout is telling Uncle Jack about the racial insults hurled at Atticus by young Francis Hancock. This shows Scout is fiercely loyal to her family and ready to rise to her father's defense.

"Every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one's mine, I guess."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Atticus Finch to daughter Scout, on the importance of him taking on the defense of black man Tom Robinson and showing moral courage. With his strong sense of justice and fair play, Atticus believes that every person has the right to proper representation in a court of law. He knows he cannot win, but it is important to him personally to show his children the right way to act and the right way to treat other people. He represents morality in Mockingbird.

"This time we aren't fighting the Yankees, we're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Atticus gives some advice to his daughter Scout following his decision to defend the black man Tom Robinson against a rape charge. He is worried that the hot-tempered Scout will fight on the school grounds.

"You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Atticus is anxious to protect his family from the ugliness that will arise from him defending Tom Robinson in an unwinnable case. He advises hot-headed daughter Scout to ignore the abuse and keep cool in the face of adversity.

"Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Atticus is baffled at the irrational bias of Maycomb's citizens at any situation involving a black person. "Maycomb's usual disease," he terms the townspeople's inherent leaning towards racism and prejudice.

"You know, I'd hoped to get through life without a case of this kind, but John Taylor pointed at me and said, 'You're It.'"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Atticus on how he was chosen by Judge Taylor to defend Tom Robinson, because Taylor knew that Atticus would have the courage to actually defend him, unlike most people. The Judge wanted to see justice done.

"When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Atticus says this to his brother Uncle Jack, who doesn't have children and doesn't honestly answer Scout when she asks what a "wh0re-lady" is. Atticus is always honest with his children.

"Atticus, are we going to win it?""No, honey.""Then why - ""Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Atticus to Scout on why he has decided to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape, in court. He knows the prejudice in Maycomb will most likely lead to a guilty verdict against Tom. But he feels it is important to defend him because he is innocent and it is simply the right thing to do.

"Sister, I do the best I can with them!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Aunt Alexandra, Atticus's sister, is critical of the way he is bringing up his children. Tomboy Scout is a true representative of feminism who dresses like a boy and likes taking part in what are considered boys' activitities. Alexandra's vision for Scout is that she do ladylike things and be a "ray of sunshine" for her lonely father. However, Scout is her father's daughter and feels she can be that ray in pants also.

"You can just take that back, boy!"

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Scout to Cecil Jacobs. After promising Atticus that she would control her temper, she clenches her fists and prepares to fight Cecil, after he taunts Scout about Atticus defending Tom Robinson.

"You ain't fair...You're real nice, Uncle Jack, an' I reckon I love you even after what you did, but you don't understand children much."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Scout to Uncle Jack, after he spanks her for punching her cousin Francis Hancock. What Jack doesn't know but is about to learn from Scout is that she was provoked by Francis who attacked her father Atticus's character using racial insults.

"If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that's his own business, like Grandma says, so it ain't your fault. I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nlgger-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family - ""Francis, what the hell do you mean?""Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nlgger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. The obnoxious young Francis Hancock tells Scout how his grandmother, Aunt Alexandra, doesn't like the way Atticus is rearing his children and letting Scout run wild. He also reveals Alexandra's undisguised racism.

"Your daughter gave me my first lessons this afternoon. She said I didn't understand children much and told me why. She was quite right. Atticus, she told me how I should have treated her - oh dear, I'm so sorry I romped on her."

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9. Uncle Jack admits to Atticus that Scout has taught him a lesson. Her father has brought her up by instilling in her good values and morals. Here she shows maturity for her age and that she is wiser than her uncle, a grown man.