The classic masterpiece hits all the right chords of one’s heart. Not only is the novel extremely endearing but also raw and hard-hitting. This Pulitzer prize-winning debut novel by Harper Lee grows on you in a way that it binds you with its roots and embraces you with its leaves. It follows the story of Atticus Finch, a lawyer, who is appointed to defend a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Set in the deep Southern America of the 1930s, this novel deftly deals with the issues of race and class in a way that few dare to execute. This novel isn’t all serious though, it also has its fair share of mirth. Innocent humor and the heavy blows of societal truth go hand in hand in this novel. Here’s a list of some of the best quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird that will give you a fresh perspective about your position in society.
1. Things are never as bad as they seem.
2. 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.
3. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
4. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.
5. 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 fightin’ with your head for a change.
6. 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 anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.
7. I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.
8. It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.
9. 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 faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles ’em.
10. People don’t like to have somebody knowing more than they do. It aggravates them.
11. There’s a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep ’em all away from you. That’s never possible.
12. Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.
13. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.
14. Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.
15. They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself.
16. Things are always better in the morning.
In 1962, this novel was adapted into an era-defining movie. Gregory Peck, who played the role of Atticus Finch in this novel, even won an academy award for his brilliant portrayal of the character. This book is a prized gem in the treasure box of American Literature and culture. Its impact on American history, as well as the world, cannot be ignored. These quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird are not only popular but also deeply loved by all those who have read this novel. Which of these quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird did you like the best? Let me know in the comments section.