Top 5 To Kill a Mockingbird quotes
"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it.” - Scout (as narrator) in Chapter 1.
This demonstrates the setting, of course, but also gives an implied perspective offered by the narrator.
“Long ago, in a burst of friendliness, Auntie and Uncle Jimmy produced a son named Henry…” - Scout, as narrator, in Chapter 9.
This quote gives a glimpse of the humorous language chosen by the author, as well as providing insight into the innocence of things through the eyes of a child.
"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." - Atticus, in Chapter 11
Atticus’ words are a guiding force for the children, and while this quote directly relates to an event in the story, it is also an analogy for many other events.
"Well, I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks." - Dill, in Chapter 22.
Dill is disgusted with humanity after a jury convicts Tom, and Dill now wants to turn the tables. Instead of being a clown for people to laugh at, he now mocks human failure.
"His food doesn’t stick going down, Does it?” Miss Maudie to Mrs. Merriweather, in chapter 24
Miss Maudie has grown tired of listening to Mrs. Merriweather’s racist disparagement of Atticus Finch for defending a black man in court, so she curtly points out the hypocrisy of besmirching the man, while dining on the food that his work has provided.
