100+ Powerful To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes That Inspire & Provoke Thought

"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."

"Atticus said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."

"She seemed glad to see me when I came, but when I asked her about anything, she'd just say, 'That's mighty pretty, Jean Louise.'"

"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 was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns, was the bravest man who ever lived."

"They're certainly entitled to think they're right and we're wrong… but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

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

"She was just tired... just worn out."

"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 disgrace."

"She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man."

"Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told."

"It's not necessary to tell all you know… folks don't like to have somebody around knowing more than they do."

"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 was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns, was the bravest man who ever lived."

"They're certainly entitled to think they're right and we're wrong… but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

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

"Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

"It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."

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

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

"I guess it’s easy when you’re always scared."

"I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality."

"The court is the only place where all men are created equal."

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."

"I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said."

"Calpurnia was something else again. She was all angles and bones."

"Jem was a born hero even in his early childhood."

"Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch..."

"I looked down and found myself clutching a brown paper bag."

"Summer was Dill."

"Ain’t no need to worry about the kids—they ain’t old enough to understand what’s goin’ on."

"We began to part company during those years… Jem was twelve now and beginning to act like he had something under his hat."

"I once heard Atticus say that you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."

"Dill was a curiosity."

"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."

"As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life… whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash."

"She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man."

"There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn't be fair if they tried."

"In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins."

"The witnesses for the state have presented themselves to you gentlemen… confident that you, gentlemen, would come to the conclusion that the defendant is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt."

"But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal—there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein…"

"Tom Robinson was probably the only person in the world who felt sorry for Mayella Ewell."

"She’s mixed up in fear and what’s happened to her."

"It was the first time I ever walked away from a fight… I was ashamed of myself."

"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for."

"She’s taken advantage of a kind, humble, respectable Negro who had the misfortune to feel sorry for her."

"You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white."

"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."

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

"Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

"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."

"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

"The courtroom is the one place where all men are created equal."

"If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks."

"Don't fool yourselves—it's all adding up and one of these days we're going to pay the bill for it."

"It's not necessary to tell all you know… folks don't like to have somebody around knowing more than they do."

"I do my best to love everybody… I'm hard put, sometimes."

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

"This case is as simple as black and white."

"It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."

"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."

"Tom Robinson’s case is like shooting a mockingbird."

"Mr. Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, blind men, even pigs."

"Both men [Tom and Boo] had been destroyed by Maycomb’s prejudice and ignorance."

"Boo Radley gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives."

"I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… he wants to stay inside."

"Nothing is more deadly than a deserted, waiting street."

"Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between."

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."

"I quietly slipped out into the night and made my way home."

"After all, he’s been reading and writing a long time—he’s practically an adult."

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

"In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins."

"But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal—there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller…"

"The court is the only place where all men are created equal."

"I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality."

"What was one more Alabama nigger, at a time in history when the Ku Klux Klan was riding high?"

"She’s taken advantage of a kind, humble, respectable Negro who had the misfortune to feel sorry for her."

"You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white."

"But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal—there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein…"

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

"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

"Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told."

"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."

"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."

"Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

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

"If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks."

"I do my best to love everybody… I'm hard put, sometimes."

"Don't fool yourselves—it's all adding up and one of these days we're going to pay the bill for it."

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."

"Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between."

"Calpurnia was furious… she said I wasn’t supposed to talk like that in the house."

"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire."

"We began to part company during those years… Jem was twelve now and beginning to act like he had something under his hat."

"Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch…"

"He goes out at night when the moon is down, and peeps in windows."

"Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work."

"Miss Stephanie Crawford said she woke up in the middle of the night and saw him looking straight through the window at her."

"He was still doing time in the basement when I was born."

"Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo: Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall…"

"I sometimes felt a twinge of remorse… when returning from town loaded with groceries…"

"I never saw such a sickening sight… Mr. Ewell was lying on the floor."

"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for."

"It was the first time I ever walked away from a fight… I was ashamed of myself."

"He was still doing time in the basement when I was born."

"I quietly slipped out into the night and made my way home."

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."

"I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… he wants to stay inside."

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."

"I quietly slipped out into the night and made my way home."

"I looked down and found myself clutching a brown paper bag."

"Summer was Dill."

"We began to part company during those years… Jem was twelve now and beginning to act like he had something under his hat."

"I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said."

"I suppose he’s resigned to being a lawyer—I do hope he decides to become a doctor though."

"After all, he’s been reading and writing a long time—he’s practically an adult."

"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."

"Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between."