To Kill a Mockingbird
Important Quotations Explained
1. Maycomb
was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it.
In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop . . . [s]omehow
it was hotter then . . . bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked
flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s
stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before
noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like
soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum. . . . There
was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money
to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb
County. But it was a time of vague optimism for some of the people:
Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear
but fear itself.
2. 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.
3. “Remember
it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever
heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss
Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t
do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their
hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
4. A
boy trudged down the sidewalk dragging a fishing pole behind him.
A man stood waiting with his hands on his hips. Summertime, and
his children played in the front yard with their friend, enacting
a strange little drama of their own invention. It was fall, and
his children fought on the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Dubose’s. .
. . Fall, and his children trotted to and fro around the corner,
the day’s woes and triumphs on their faces. They stopped at an oak
tree, delighted, puzzled, apprehensive. Winter, and his children shivered
at the front gate, silhouetted against a blazing house. Winter,
and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot
a dog. Summer, and he watched his children’s heart break. Autumn
again, and Boo’s children needed him. Atticus was right. One time
he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes
and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.
5. “When
they finally saw him, why he hadn’t doneany of those things . .
. Atticus, he was real nice. . . .” His hands were under my chin,
pulling up the cover, tucking it around me. “Most people are, Scout,
when you finally see them.” He turned out the light and went into
Jem’s room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when
Jem waked up in the morning.
Apperance vs. Reality
by ksimpson1995, August 21, 2012
Appearance vs. Reality is also another theme in the book. Some examples are: Scout's misconception of her father being old, tired, and never having time to teach her as she told Miss Caroline. And also the misconception of Boo Radley never leaving his home. Another is Jem's judgement of Mrs Dubose. He thought she was just mean but she really had an addiction to morphine.
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