Quotations from To Kill a Mockingbird

The Top Ten Totally Terrific ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (Part Two) Quotations
In Chapter 12, page 132, Calpurnia teaches the children good morals:
“Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates them.”
The verb “aggravates” suggests that the people were irritated easily and had a lot of pride. Calpurnia doesn’t want to boast that she’s better off than other black people. Lee portrays Calpurnia as a good person as she is teaching the children morals, as well as Atticus. She is wise and wants the children to grow up good people, this shows she cares about them.
In Chapter 22, page 219, Atticus is angry about the institutional racism of Maycomb county:
“They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it –seems only children will weep.”
The repetition of “they” and use of different tenses describes the Maycomb community and how they are and always have been and probably will be racist. Atticus repeats “they” as if all of Maycomb are the same, he does this to show that they’re all naïve or being prejudice and not realising the black people are equal. It almost seems he’s lost respect for them. It is ironic that he says “only children will weep” as adults should have the sense to realise that everyone is equal and they have maturity and should understand but children’s simple way of thinking seems to help them realise its unfair.
In Chapter 23, page 224, Atticus is sympathetic towards Bob Ewell in spite of Bob spitting him in the face and threatening to kill him:
“Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes for a minute.”
This metaphor which Atticus has used before shows Atticus setting a good example. Lee is showing Atticus is a good father by practising what he teaches to his children, this showing he is not a hypocrite and shows empathy to others. However, Lee is showing you cannot be naïve as Atticus has an unwavering faith in mankind and doesn’t take the threat seriously.
At the end of Chapter 23, page 233, Scout shares her opinions with Jem, she isn’t prejudice and believes everyone is equal:
“I think there’s one kind of folks. Folks.”
Her repetition of “folks” shows she thinks everyone is the same. She understands more than Jem for once, showing her innocence is helping her as she doesn’t judge people before getting to know them. Lee is showing a contrast in her views and the adults in Maycomb’s views, showing that a lack of maturity can help.
On the same page, Jem tells Scout he is starting to understand Boo Radley:
“I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley stayed shut up in the house all the time… it’s because he wants to stay inside.”
The italics of “wants” shows he isn’t being prejudice and he understands people do peculiar things because they want to. Jem isn’t judging Boo anymore about being a monster. Lee is showing Jem starts to shows empathy and is maturing.
In Chapter 24, on page 237, Mrs. Merriweather makes an ironic statement showing her hypocrisy:
“Not a white person’ll go near ‘em but that saintly J. Grimes Everett.”
The colloquial dialogue used shows she is upset about this and feels sorry for the “poor Mrunas”. This is ironic as white people in Maycomb don’t associate with the black people living beside them either. This is showing hypocrisy as the people of Maycomb don’t realise they are being prejudice as they have been brought up in racism.
In Chapter 25, page 247, Lee shoes Scout’s understanding of the prejudice and injustice of Maycomb towards black people:
“Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.”
The noun “minute” highlights that instantly Tom Robinson had no chance because of the colour of his skin. Scout realises that even though the Ewells had a low status and Atticus proved Tom Robinson blameless, he would never win the trial.
In Chapter 26, page 253, Scout realises that Miss Gates is being hypocritical but she doesn’t understand how her teacher doesn’t realise her prejudice:
“Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home.”
The colloquial dialogue shows Scout is confused about Miss Gates’s attitude towards Hitler but she’s prejudice towards black people. This shows Scout’s innocence is helping her realise the faults of the people in Maycomb as she recognises their hypocrisy before they do. Scout is shown as maturing as she can make the link between the prejudice in Germany towards the Jews and the prejudice in Maycomb towards black people. She is trying to understand the harsh reality of the world around her. The people she is supposed to look up to, like her teacher, she realises is a hypocrite.
In Chapter 31, page 284, Scout reflects on Boo’s generosity towards them, she realises she was wrong to judge him before getting to know him:
“Boo was our neighbour. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbours gave in return.”
Lee uses the list of trivial items to emphasis he was very kind to the children. The addition of “our lives” reminds us of the severity of their recent situation and Boo’s heroism. Lee uses the key theme of courage, Boo had to be very courageous to leave his house and confront Bob Ewell This can be compared to Atticus’s courage as he defended Tom Robinson, a black man, in the trial. At the end of the novel, Lee finally reveals to us what Boo Radley is really like, not a monster as the children had previously thought but a shy and courageous man.
In Chapter 31, page 285, Lee shows Scout finally understanding Atticus’s advice and she realises this when thinking about past events:
“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.”
This analogy explains the simple message behind the novel – we should always endeavour to put ourselves in other people’s positions before judging their beliefs or actions. Lee uses Scout’s perspective to give a humorous view as she doesn’t understand that Atticus doesn’t mean literally walk in someone as she says that “the Radley porch was enough”.