What are some important quotes from chapters 1–5 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

In chapter 1, we are introduced to the character of Boo Radley. The children make up strange and scary stories about Boo Radley, and the character comes to represent the dangers of intolerance and alienation. Boo is described as

about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were blood-stained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.

The descriptions offered by Jem are of course wildly hyperbolic, and altogether, they paint a picture of some kind of animal or of a monster from a nightmare. The children essentially use Boo Radley as a conduit for all of their fears and prejudices, and in the process, they dehumanize him. Later in the story, Boo Radley rescues Jem and Scout, and the moral is that we should not judge or alienate people simply because we do not understand them.

In chapter 3, Walter Cunningham Jr. is eating with Atticus, Jem, and Scout. Walter pours syrup all over his meat and vegetables, and Scout protests that this is a strange thing to do. Calpurnia, the family's housekeeper, is furious with Scout, and she tells him,

There's some folks who don't eat like us ... but you ain't called on to contradict 'em at the table when they don't. That boy's yo' comp'ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear? ... Yo' folks might be better'n the Cunninghams but it don't count for nothin' the way you're disgracin' 'em.

Calpurnia here is the voice of tolerance. She understands that Walter eats like he does because he has been brought up differently, and she tells Scout that it is not her place to judge anybody else just because they do things differently or have been brought up differently. Walter's family are also extremely poor, and Calpurnia doesn't like Scout behaving, as she puts it, "so high and mighty." Calpurnia reminds Scout that it is not by one's background that one should be judged, but by how one treats others, and especially by how one treats others from less fortunate backgrounds than one's own.

In chapter 5, we have another important quotation about tolerance and bigotry when Miss Maudie tells Scout,

sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of—oh, of your father.

Miss Maudie is here referring to the prejudices and intolerance that some people justify with religion or, more specifically, with their reading of the bible. She is saying that somebody who is intolerant and prejudicial and who can rationalize their intolerance and prejudices with religion is far more dangerous than somebody who is made violent by drinking alcohol. Indeed, we see the consequences of religious intolerance all over the world today, with many people committing terrorist acts in the name of their religions.

What are two significant quotes from chapter 2 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is narrated by Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout. Chapter two of the novel recounts Scout's disastrous first day of school and provides some insight into both Scout and the "country folk" who live near Maycomb. 

The first quote is spoken by Scout's teacher, Miss Caroline. Though she has been educated, she is inexperienced with anything which does not fir the exact parameters of her experience. Instead of being thrilled that one of her pupils (Scout) already knows how to read, she is disgusted and says,

Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now.

This rather ridiculous quote reveals Miss Caroline's inflexibility, of course, but it is also a hint that Scout is rather precocious and will be able to serve as an effective narrator for this story. If her father has taught her to read (and of course one does not need to be a teacher in order to teach), she can probably understand other, more adult things, despite her age.

The second quote is spoken by Scout after Miss Caroline just does not seem to understand that Walter Cunningham did not actually forget his lunch and would never be able to pay her back the quarter she so easily wanted to loan him to buy a lunch. What Scout patiently explains what she and the other children believe should be quite obvious to any adult:

The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back—no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have. They don’t have much, but they get along on it.

This quote describes the honest, decent, hardworking but miserably poor Cunninghams; but it could describe any number of families living near Maycomb. [I do not want to spoil anything for you as you read, but remember this quote about the Cunninghams later in the novel.]

These two quotes help the reader understand Scout as the narrator as well as the people who live in Maycomb.

What are two notable quotes from Chapter 5 and three from Chapter 6 in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Dill was becoming something of a trial anyway, following Jem about. He had asked me earlier in the summer to marry him, then he promptly forgot about it. He staked me out, marked as his property, said I was the only girl he would ever love, then he neglected me. I beat him up twice but it did no good, he only grew closer to Jem. (chapter 5)

Dill Harris could tell the biggest ones I ever heard. Among other things, he had been up in a mail plane seventeen times, he had been to Nova Scotia, he had seen an elephant, and his granddaddy was Brigadier General Joe Wheeler and left him his sword. (chapter 5)

In the above two quotes, Harper Lee paints a portrait of Dill as a fanciful, mischievous, and mercurial character. Dill is prone, of course, to melodramatic hyperbole. He tells Scout that she is the only girl for him but disappoints her in becoming Jem's lackey. Of course, Dill is just a child seeing the world through his own limited life experience. However, we can all agree that Dill is sensitive, creative, and unorthodox.

Later in the story, it is Dill who cries at how Mr. Gilmer browbeats Tom Robinson during cross-questioning. Dill's sensitivity is notable and highlights his ability to relate emotionally to Tom's humiliation.

“What is it, Dill?” asked Atticus.
“Ah—I won ‘em from him,” he said vaguely.
“Won them? How?”

Dill’s hand sought the back of his head. He brought it forward and across his forehead. “We were playin‘ strip poker up yonder by the fishpool,” he said.

Jem and I relaxed. The neighbors seemed satisfied: they all stiffened. But what was strip poker?

We had no chance to find out: Miss Rachel went off like the town fire siren: “Doo-o Jee-sus, Dill Harris! Gamblin‘ by my fishpool? I’ll strip-poker you, sir!” (chapter 6)

In the above quotes, Harper Lee highlights Dill's loyalty to Jem and Scout. Despite his fear of being in trouble with Miss Rachel, Dill speaks up for Jem. What Dill says, however, is characteristic of his penchant for creative hyperbole. Yet, although Dill has played fast and loose with the truth, he endears us to him with his display of loyalty to Jem. Again, Dill's sensitivity to others and his ability to relate to them can be seen in his defense of Jem here, and later, of Tom Robinson.

In the above quotes, Harper Lee makes a strong social statement through a child's compassion: if we could all try to see life from another point of view, the world would be a better place. We see this statement reiterated through Atticus's words:

“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-”
“Sir?”
“-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

What are two notable quotes from Chapter 5 and three from Chapter 6 in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Chapter 5

"There are just some kind of men who---who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results." (Lee 60)

In this quote, Miss Maudie is explaining to Scout why Mr. Radley, who is a "foot-washing Baptist," is such a strict man. She tells Scout that "foot-washing Baptists" believe that anything that causes pleasure is a sin. Maudie attempts to explain how some people take the Bible literally and become callous towards others in their pursuit of faithfulness.

"Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets." (Lee 61)

Miss Maudie is describing Atticus' personality. Atticus is the morally upright character throughout the novel who is the epitome of integrity and honesty. Unlike many of the citizens in Maycomb who harbor prejudice behind their friendly dispositions, Atticus is the same regardless of where he is, or who he's around. ___________________________________________________________

Chapter 6

"Mr. Radley shot at a negro in his collard patch." (Lee 72)

This quote reflects the racist attitudes of the community members. No one is sure who infiltrated Nathan's yard, yet they automatically blame an African American. 

"Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way." (Lee 75)

Jem displays his reverence for his father by risking his life to retrieve his pants to avoid a beating from Atticus. Jem looks up to his father and is afraid of disappointing Atticus.

"Sometimes I did not understand him, but my periods of bewilderment were short-lived. This was just beyond me." (Lee 75)

Scout struggles to understand why her brother is taking the risk of getting shot to retrieve his pants. This quote reflects Scout's naive childhood innocence by not fully understanding Jem's feelings towards his father.

What are two significant quotes from chapter 5 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

A young girl named Scout is the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; because she is young, Scout does not always fully understand things people say. One of the people who helps Scout understand the most important lessons in life, in addition to her father, is Miss Maudie Atkinson, the neighbor woman who lives across the street. 

By chapter five of the novel, the author has established Miss Maudie as a credible, sensible, and reliable character (unlike some of the other characters in Maycomb); so what she says carries great weight both with Scout and with the readers. In addition to teaching Scout (as well as Jem and Dill) manners and respect, Miss Maudie teaches Scout several important truths about her father (Atticus) in this chapter. 

The first concerns being judgmental. The "foot-washin' Baptists" routinely criticize Miss Maudie for loving her flower garden; they condemn her for admiring beauty, but Miss Maudie is not deterred. When Scout asks her about it, the older woman tries to explain.

“You are too young to understand it,” she said, “but sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of—oh, of your father.” I [Scout] was shocked. “Atticus doesn’t drink whiskey,” I said. “He never drunk a drop in his life—nome, yes he did. He said he drank some one time and didn’t like it.”

Obviously Scout does not understand what Miss Maudie is trying to say, so she goes on to explain it in a way that Scout will understand:

Miss Maudie laughed. “Wasn’t talking about your father,” she said. “What I meant was, if Atticus Finch drank until he was drunk he wouldn’t be as hard as some men are at their best. There are just some kind of men who—who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”

This is a significant quote because, in addition to condemning "religiosity," it highlights the non-judgmental character of Atticus Finch, something which will be significant to know about him as the novel progresses.

Another important quote from Miss Maudie also reflects Atticus's excellent and steady character. She tells Scout that "Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets." This truth does not seem particularly significant to Scout; but again, readers and others who have lived long enough all know this is not always the case. This quote is a tribute to Atticus and prepares us for the trials (one of them literal) which are imminent. Whatever we see and hear Atticus say to his children is the same thing we will hear from him in the courtroom. 

What is a meaningful quote in Chapter 6 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

One passage found in Chapter 6 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird helps develop two minor themes in the story, one concerning gender roles and the other concerning bravery. Lee combines the two themes to nullify cliche, prejudiced understandings of gender roles.

At the start of the story, both children hold very cliche views about gender roles. Both associate being male with bravery and being a girl with cowardice. But as the story progresses, Scout and Jem come to realize that being either a lady or a gentleman equally requires a great deal of courage. Since events in Chapter 6 occur early in the story, both children still associate being a girl with being a coward. Both display their early gender association during their conversation about the boys' plans to trespass on the Radleys' property that night. When Scout begs them not to go, fearing for their safety, Jem retorts, "Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home--I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!," showing us that Jem associates cowardice with being a girl.

Furthermore, Scout explains in her narrative that, because Jem had called her a girl, she felt she "had no option but to join them," which shows Scout also associates being a girl with being cowardly.

Hence, both of these important quotes relate to Lee's theme concerning cliche, prejudiced views of gender roles, a theme she continues to develop as the book progresses.

What is a meaningful quote in Chapter 6 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

The children's seemingly innocent excursion to the Radley's back porch ends in near disaster. A shadow--most certainly that of Boo--scares them from the porch; Mr. Radley fires a shotgun blast into the air; Jem loses his pants and is later discovered by Miss Stephanie in his underwear; Dill is forced to concoct a lie about playing "strip poker"; and after everything has settled down, Jem decides to return to the Radleys' to recover his pants. Scout tries to talk him out of going back to the Radleys, worried that he might "get your head shot off." But Jem has a reason for returning: He doesn't want to lose Atticus's trust in him.

     "I--it's like this, Scout," he muttered. "Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way."  (Chapter 6)

Jem knows that Atticus will want to see his lost pants in the morning, and Jem doesn't want his father to find out about the children lying or having been on the Radley property without permission. He already feels guilty about the deception and has figured out that "We shouldn'a done that tonight, Scout." So, he undertakes an early morning return mission after Atticus is asleep, successfully returning with the pants--and a surprise that he doesn't reveal to Scout until a week later.

What is a meaningful quote from chapter 7 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

In the seventh chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are dealing with the after effects of their nighttime expeditions to the Radley place. Jem had lost his pants on a fence and later gone back for them in spite of his fear

As the chapter opens, Scout is reflecting on Jem's moodiness. She decides to leave him be and notes,

As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem's skin and walk around in it.

She realizes that if she had gone to retrieve her pants from the Radley place in the middle of the night, she would be moody, too, at least. She actually dryly remarks that her funeral would probably have been the next afternoon. Scout is learning empathy, and this quotation also reveals how much she respects the guidance of her father.

One October day, the children are walking past the tree in the Radley yard. They have found small items in the tree's knot-hole before, and now they notice something again. Scout explains,

Jem let me do the honors: I pulled out two small images carved in soap. One was the figure of a boy, the other wore a crude dress.

Readers suspect that Boo Radley is leaving these little gifts for the children, reaching out to them in the only way he knows how to and can handle. These small items show his interest in Jem and Scout and demonstrate his care for them.

One day, the children actually find a broken pocket watch in the knot-hole. Jem wants to try to fix it. He has been carrying his grandfather's watch once a week, but as Scout notes,

On the days he carried the watch, Jem walked on eggs.

Jem has realized that having a prized possession involves responsibility as well as enjoyment. Carrying the expensive watch without breaking it or losing it has become a chore for Jem, a “burdensome task.”

By the end of the chapter, Boo Radley's brother has cemented up the knot-hole. He claims that the tree is dying, but when Jem asks Atticus about it, Atticus doesn't think that's the case. Jem is strangely quiet after he learns this. In fact, he stays out on the porch. “When we went in the house,” Scout says,

I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him.

Jem is mourning a connection that he doesn't completely understand, and he is upset that an adult has been untruthful. Further, he is growing up. He no longer bawls like young child. His tears are now quiet, and perhaps he isn't completely certain why he's crying in the first place.

What is a meaningful quote from chapter 7 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Chapter 7 of To Kill a Mockingbird, there are several meaningful quotes. At the beginning of the chapter, Jem shares with Scout what happened the night he went back to retrieve his pants. Jem expected to find his pants exactly where he had left them—stuck to the barb wire fence. Instead, Jem found them crudely mended and neatly folded across the fence. Jem tells Scout how it made him feel:

"When I went back for my breeches—they were all in a tangle when I was gettin' out of 'em, I couldn't get 'em loose. When I went back—" Jem took a deep breath. "When I went back, they were folded across the fence. . . like they were expectin' me."

Jem tells his sister that he feels as if the person who did this knew him well. It puzzles him.

One day, Jem and Scout spot a ball of twine inside the knot-hole of an old tree on the Radley property. Jem tells Scout to leave it, as he believes someone is using the knot-hole as their hiding place. After several days, the twine is still there:

We went home. Next morning the twine was where we had left it. When it was still there on the third day, Jem pocketed it. From then on, we considered everything we found in the knot-hole our property.

This is the beginning of the children eagerly checking the knot-hole for gifts. They find many items in the knot-hole, including carved soap figures, an old spelling medal, and chewing gum.

Jem and Scout decide to write a letter to their mysterious gift-giver. They intend to place the letter inside the knot-hole. When they go to the tree to deliver it, they make a sad discovery: the knot-hole has been filled up with cement. They discover that Mr. Radley is the one who did it. They ask him about it, and he tells them he did it because the tree is dying. They ask Atticus about the tree, and they discover that Mr. Radley had been lying:

"Why no, son, I don't think so. Look at the leaves, they're all green and full, no brown patches anywhere—"

"It ain't even sick?"

"That tree's as healthy as you are, Jem. Why?"

"Mr. Nathan Radley said it was dyin'."

They know Mr. Radley does not want them to find anything else inside the knot-hole. This is why he lied to them.

These quotes show the meaningful parts of Chapter 7. Most of the chapter centers around the gifts found in the knot-hole, though Jem's story at the beginning is also important. All of these quotes are evidence that Boo Radley wants to befriend Scout and Jem. His mending of Jem's pants and his giving of gifts are signs of kindness and friendship.

What is a memorable quote from chapters 7 and 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Chapter 7 and 8, Jem comes to understand Boo Radley but Scout is still wary of him.

One of the most memorable events from this chapter is the finding of the soap dolls.  Scout and Jem have been getting friendly with Boo Radley, but from a distance.  Boo leaves the soap dolls in the tree’s knothole for them to find.

I pulled out two small images carved in soap. One was the figure of a boy, the other wore a crude dress. Before I remembered that there was no such thing as hoo-dooing, I shrieked and threw them down. (Ch. 7)

Scout is still uncertain about Boo Radley.  As this chapter demonstrates, Jem is growing up and Scout is still in childhood.  Scout is afraid that the soap dolls are voodoo dolls at first.  However, the presence of the dolls is very touching.  It shows that Boo has been watching them and cares about them.

The children want to leave a thank you note in the hole, but when they go back to it someone has filled it with cement.  Nathan Radley is trying to prevent Boo from having further communication with the children.

When Scout finds a blanket on her shoulders during Miss Maudie’s fire, and doesn’t remember who put it there, Jem realizes that Boo Radley put the blanket there.  He gets upset, because he is afraid Atticus will report it to Nathan Radley and Boo will get in trouble.

“…Mr. Nathan put cement in that tree, Atticus, an‘ he did it to stop us findin’ things—he’s crazy, I reckon, like they say, but Atticus, I swear to God he ain’t ever harmed us, he ain’t ever hurt us…” (Ch. 8)

This quote demonstrates that Boo Radley is indeed a benevolent force.  It also shows that Jem is more mature than Scout.  Scout is afraid when she realizes that Boo put the blanket there.  There is plenty of evidence that Boo is a friend, but it takes Scout longer to connect the dots than Jem.

What is a significant quote from chapter 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Much of Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, of course, involves the racism endemic to the fictional southern town in which the story takes place. So much a part of the culture of Lee's fictional town of Maycomb is the racism that permeates the atmosphere that one can't help but pause and reflect on Scout's description of her and Jem's efforts at constructing a snowman out of the relative paucity of snow that has unexpectedly fallen on this venue in the heart of the Deep South. Having failed to elicit much encouragement or advise from their father, Atticus, with regard to the process by which a snowman is traditionally built, the two siblings attempt to perform the task on their own. Because the level of snow is so minimal, however, Jem's efforts involve the presence of dirt in the otherwise pristine white snow. The presence of the dirt causes the snowman to appear to Scout as of African heritage, prompting the following observation: "Jem, I ain't ever heard of a nigger snowman."

Scout's seemingly innocent use of the highly pejorative "n" word speaks volumes of the depth of racism endemic to the society Lee depicts in her novel. With the trial of Tom Robinson, the physically disabled African American falsely accused of raping a white woman at the center of the novel's narrative, this use of the offensive word illuminates the sickness eating away at the core of the society Lee depicts. This otherwise innocuous passage, therefore, is illustrative of the racism endemic in the culture Lee describes.

What is a significant quote from chapter 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

I looked down and found myself clutching a brown woolen blanket I was wearing around my shoulders, squaw-fashion.

Scout narrates this line after Atticus asked why she was wearing a blanket that the Finch family certainly did not own. This line of questioning from Atticus aligned with much of the trouble the children recently experienced because they were repeated missing things or taking things from strange places and Atticus had been taking note. Since the children stood in front of the Radley's place, everyone jumps to the conclusion that Boo put it around her, but she was too distracted to notice. 

This is significant because although the children fear Boo, this situation demonstrates the paradoxical thought that Boo actually protects them. Furthermore, their perception of Boo is that he never emerges, even when they try to get him out. Here he comes out because of necessity and of his own choice. Ironically, that whom the children wanted to see was within a hand's reach, had they only known he was there. 

What are some notable quotes from chapters 10 and 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

In chapter ten, Scout described how she and Jem found their father to be old and rather dull.  They found his occupation to be uninteresting.  Their father "did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish or drink or smoke."  Instead, their father "sat in the living room and read."  

Atticus was sometimes strict with Jem and Scout. He told them that he did not want them shooting birds.  He especially never wanted them to shoot a mockingbird. He thought that such a thing was a sin. Scout asked Miss Maudie about this, and she agreed:

"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.  That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."

One day on a Saturday in February, Jem spotted an old dog behaving in a strange way.  This was a local dog named Tim Johnson.  They told Calpurnia, and she realized that it was a mad dog.  She called Atticus from his office, and he came immediately with the sheriff.  With much hesitation, Atticus shot the mad dog and killed it with a single shot.  Jem and Scout were amazed.  They found out that their father had, long ago, been called "one-shot" because of his skills in marksmanship.  Jem was thoroughly impressed, and his opinion of his father was transformed.

In chapter eleven, Scout described how she and Jem hated mean old Mrs. Dubose.  On multiple occasions, she was rude to both Scout and Jem.  Atticus always defended her.  One day, Scout and Jem were walking by her house when she insulted them.  She also insulted their father for defending Tom Robinson, a black man.  This was the final straw for Jem and he became enraged.  He took Scout's

"baton and ran flailing wildly up the steps into Mrs. Dubose’s front yard, forgetting everything Atticus had said, forgetting that she packed a pistol under her shawls."

Jem was determined to get back at Mrs. Dubose for the mean things she said about Atticus.  He decided to destroy something that was important to her.  Filled with rage, Jem

"did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves. He bent [Scout's] baton against his knee, snapped it in two and threw it down."

When Atticus found out about this, he made Jem apologize.  Jem did so, and he also promised to clean up the mess and help the plants to grow back.  Atticus still insisted that Jem spend two hours almost every day reading to Mrs. Dubose.  He was to do this for a month.  Jem completed this task, and slowly his opinion of Mrs. Dubose began to change slightly.  After Mrs. Dubose died, Atticus told his children that she "was a morphine addict."  He explained that as Jem was reading to her, she was trying to break her addiction.  She was trying to go longer and longer without morphine, so she would be "beholden to nothing and nobody."  When she died, she did so free "as the mountain air."  

Mrs. Dubose left Jem a camellia flower. Atticus explained that this "was her way of telling [him]—everything’s all right now, Jem, everything’s all right."  Atticus finally told Jem what he really thought of Mrs. Dubose:

"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.  Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her.  According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody.  She was the bravest person I ever knew."

What are some important quotes in chapter 14 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Chapter 14 has a lot to do with relationships, and what the characters think of each other. It deals with Calpurnia's relationship with the family, Scout's relationship with Jem, Scout's relationship with Atticus and Calpurnia, and Dill's relationship with his family.

 When Aunt Alexandra wants to get rid of Calpurnia because she thinks it is not good for Scout to go to Calpurnia's home, Atticus tells her,

"Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to.  You may think otherwise, but I couldn't have got along without her all these years.  She's a faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they are." (pg 137)

He also explains to her,

"....I don't think the children've suffered one bit from her having brought them up.  If anything, she's been harder on them in some ways then a mother would have been...she'd never let them get away with anything, she's never indulged them the way most colored nurses do.  She tried to bring them up according to her lights, and Cal's lights are pretty good ---- and another thing, the children love her." (pg 137)

When Scout and Jem have a fight, Scout gets philosophical and tells the readers that,

"His maddening superiority was unbearable these days.  he didn't want to do anything but read and go off by himself.  Still, everything he read he passed along to me,but with this difference: formerly, because he thought I'd like it; now, for my edification and instruction. (pg 138)

When Dill shows up after having run away from home, Scout thinks of her relationship with Atticus and Calpurnia.  She thinks,

".....what I would do if Atticus did not feel the necessity of my presence, help, and advice.  Why, he couldn't get along a day without me.  Even Callpurnia couldn't get along unless I was there.  They needed me." (pg 143)

Dill tells Scout of his relationship with his parents, and the reason he ran away.

"....they do get on a lot better without me.  I can't help them any.  They ain't mean.  They buy me everything I want, but it's now-you've-got-it-go-play-with-it. " 

Finally, Scout explains Dill to the reader.  She says,

"Beautiful things floated around in his dreamy head.  He could read two books to my one,but he preferred the magic of his own inventions.  He could add and subtract faster than lightning,but he preferred his own twilight world, a world where babies slept, waiting to be gathered like morning lilies." (pg 144)

The page numbers are from my edition of the book, but they should be close to the same page.

What are two significant quotes in Chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird?

Chapter 15 of Harper Lee's novel brings a significant turning point in the reader's understanding of the high stakes involved in Tom Robinson's imprisonment and trial. Jem, being older, is more attuned than Scout is to the potential danger that their father faces for defending Robinson. Neither child seems aware, however, that Tom is not safe in jail. He is likely to become a victim of vigilantism. Their lack of knowledge about his danger may be because there have been no lynchings in and around Maycomb. Alternatively, Atticus may have shielded his children from learning of race-based murders.

When Atticus goes out one night, the Finch children and Dill are intrigued by his absence and go looking for him. Finding him outside the jail, they see a group of men approach Atticus and engage him in conversation. Still not understanding the men's intention but expecting to see a fight, Scout calls out and runs up to them. Shocked to see fear in her father's eyes, Scout is further upset when one of the men grabs Jem. After yelling at and kicking the man, she surveys the "sullen-looking...men." Spotting the father of her classmate Walter, Scout greets him and, getting no response, elaborates.

Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How's your entailment getting along?

Scout's precociousness, normally off-putting to adults, breaks the tension. Walter's father finally acknowledges her, and breaks up the group.

After they leave, Robinson speaks to Atticus from inside the jail. Atticus assures him that he is, at least temporarily, safe. He tells Robinson that

They won't bother you any more.

What are two significant quotes in Chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird?

In chapter 15, Jem demonstrates his developing maturity. Scout mentions that her brother no longer engages with Dill and her in some of their activities. Additionally, Jem also seems to be more observant of the adult world and the interactions of his father with his sister, Alexandra.

After Scout overhears her father arguing with Aunt Alexandra, she seeks Jem in his room where he seems to be very pensive. Since she has heard her father arguing with Aunt Alexandra, she asks Jem about their confrontations.

 “Have they been at it?” I asked. 
“Sort of. She won’t let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin‘ the family. Scout. . . I’m scared.”
“Scared’a what?”
“Scared about Atticus. Somebody might hurt him.”

Jem's anxiety for his father demonstrates his maturity, a maturity that later proves to be valuable. That evening, Atticus departs, saying that he will be gone for a while and everyone will probably be in bed when he returns. Later, Scout hears Jem stirring in his room. She asks Jem what he is doing, and when he tells her that he is going to look for Atticus, Scout insists upon accompanying him. Before they go downtown, they wake up Dill, and he eagerly goes along. The three children seek Atticus at his office in the bank building, but he is not there. Instead, he sits in a chair, propped against the jailhouse door. The cord and light that Atticus took with him are overhead as he reads his newspaper. Jem tells Scout and Dill that they can leave; he has just wanted to know where Atticus was. However, at that moment, the children hear cars pulling in near them. They run around and hide where they are out of sight. When Scout overhears her father talking with the men, he uses a phrase that he often says when playing checkers. Scout does not realize the danger, and she races to see her father. Jem hurries after her; Atticus tells Jem to go home and take Scout with him. 

Jem shook his head. As Atticus’s fists went to his hips, so did Jem’s, and as they faced each other I could see little resemblance between them: Jem’s soft brown hair and eyes, his oval face and snug-fitting ears were our mother’s, contrasting oddly with Atticus’s graying black hair and square-cut features, but they were somehow alike. Mutual defiance made them alike.

Significantly, Jem defies his father for the first time. Jem does so because he does not want Atticus to be alone as he faces the mob. Certainly, Scout cannot help but notice the maturation of her brother.

What are two significant quotes in Chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird?

In the beginning of Chapter 15, Heck Tate and some community members drive to the Finch household to speak with Atticus. They begin discussing whether or not the Tom Robinson trial should get a change of venue, when Mr. Link Deas makes the comment to Atticus, "You've got everything to lose from this, Atticus, I mean everything." (Lee 195) Atticus responds with the significant quote,

"Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told." (Lee 195)

This quote explains Atticus' reasoning for defending Tom Robinson. Atticus is aware of the fact that he will lose this case because of the overwhelming prejudice of the Maycomb community, but he must preserve justice by exposing the truth. Atticus' goal in the Tom Robinson case is simply to reveal the truth to the community.

Towards the end of Chapter 15, the Old Sarum bunch has Atticus surrounded in front of Tom Robinson's jail cell. Scout surprises everyone when she runs into the middle of the mob, unaware of the precarious situation at hand. Scout seeks out a familiar face in Mr. Cunningham and attempts to make friendly conversation with him. Mr. Cunningham tries to ignore Scout after she tells him to say "hey" to his son Walter, and goes into detail about his entailment. He eventually gives Scout his attention and says,

"I'll tell him you said hey, little lady." (Lee 206)

After Mr. Cunningham acknowledges Scout, he tells the group of men to head out. This significant quote is the "ice-breaker" which ends the intense scene. Scout's innocent conversation makes Mr. Cunningham reflect on his actions, and his comment to Scout confirms that he made a noble decision.

What are two significant quotes from chapters 17-25 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

"Things haven’t caught up with that one’s instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won’t get sick and cry. Maybe things’ll strike him as being—not quite right, say, but he won’t cry, not when he gets a few years on him." (Lee, 205)

"She [Mayella] has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with." (Lee, 210)

"Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed." (Lee, 245)

What are two significant quotes from chapters 17-25 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Two important quotes in To Kill A Mockingbird from chapters 17-25 are as follows:

In chapter 21, Scout and Jem are waiting in the courtroom to hear the jury's verdict in the case of Tom Robinson. Although Atticus has told Scout from the beginning that he is waging a losing battle in defending a black man against the charge of raping a white woman, the finality of the jury's verdict chimes like a death knell in the following quote. This makes it clear to Scout and readers that Tom will not experience the miracle of an acquittal:

Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…”

In chapter 25, we learn of the casual way white Maycomb responds to Tom Robinson's death. After two day's they lose interest. Also, rather than try to understand Robinson as an individual, they use stereotypes about blacks they have learned that allow them to dismiss him as just another black criminal "'runnin‘ fit to beat lightnin’" to evade the law:

Maycomb was interested by the news of Tom’s death for perhaps two days; two days was enough for the information to spread through the county. “Did you hear about?… No? Well, they say he was runnin‘ fit to beat lightnin’…” To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical.

What are two significant quotes from chapters 17-25 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

I have provided you with one important quote from each of your requested chapters. A good rereading should provide you with some additional ones.

CHAPTER 17.  "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella." Bob Ewell's inflammatory remark put the courtroom in turmoil, and it took Judge Taylor "fully five minutes" to regain control.
CHAPTER 18.  "That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards... the lot of you."  Mayella's final, emotional breakdown led to her storming from the courtroom, and Scout noted that she had never seen anyone show such hatred to her father as Mayella did when she ran from the stand.
CHAPTER 19.  "Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her..."  This was Tom's biggest make on the stand--admitting that he, a black man, felt sympathy for a white woman.
CHAPTER 20.  "In the name of God, believe him."  These were Atticus' final words to the jury, but they did no good in the end.
CHAPTER 21.  "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin'."  Reverend Sykes' admonition to Scout showed the admiration that the African-Americans in the balcony--standing in unison--showed for Atticus.
CHAPTER 22.  "Tell them I'm very grateful... Tell them--tell them they must never do this again. Times are too hard."  Atticus tearfully responds to the gifts of food that he has received from Tom's supporters.
CHAPTER 23.  "I wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco."  This was Atticus' humorous response to Ewell's spitting in his face after they had met on the street.
CHAPTER 24.  After all, if Aunty could act like a lady at a time like this, so could I.  Scout took a big step toward becoming a real lady when she followed her aunt's lead at the Missionary Circle tea after they had found out about Tom's death.
CHAPTER 25.  Mr. Underwood simple figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting or escaping. He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds...  The editorial by the owner of The Maycomb Tribune referred to the theme of innocence that the mockingbird played in the novel. 

What are some important quotes in Chapters 21-25 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Chapter 21:

In this chapter, the court proceedings of Tom Robinson, who has been put on trial for the rape and beating of Mayella Ewell, come to a conclusion. Despite Atticus's stunning revelation that the person who beat Mayella was left-handed and that Tom's left hand was mangled in an accident that has left it unusable, Tom is found guilty by the jury. This speaks to the legacy of racism that still runs Maycomb. Scout describes the experience of watching the guilty verdict come in as follows:

 Chapter 22:

In this chapter, Jem reacts with shock to the guilty verdict. He ends up discussing the trial with Miss Maudie, who reassures Jem that things are never as bad as they seem and that Atticus, despite the loss, is doing important work—work that many choose to neglect:

Chapter 23:

Jem continues to discuss the court proceedings with Atticus, who explains that if the jury had been made up of eleven other boys just like Jem, Tom would have been found innocent. Atticus elaborates that something had come between the men on the jury and reason:

Chapter 24:

In this chapter, Atticus learns that Tom is dead after having been shot during an escape attempt from prison. Atticus recognizes that the guards still aren't capable of humanizing him:

Chapter 25:

In this chapter, Scout reflects on Tom's fate and the racism which dictated it:

What are some important quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 23-31?

These chapters focus on the events following the trial.  One of the impacts of the trial is that Bob Ewell blames Atticus for ruining his reputation.  Even though Mayella accused Tom Robinson of rape and he was convicted, Ewell hates Atticus for his role in parading the family’s dirty laundry in front of the whole city. 

Bob Ewell confronts Atticus in town and spits in his face.  This shows the depth of Ewell’s bitterness, but it also demonstrates Atticus’s personality.  Atticus remained calm and made a joke about the whole thing, and never took Ewell seriously. 

Mr. Ewell was a veteran of an obscure war; that plus Atticus’s peaceful reaction probably prompted him to inquire, “Too proud to fight, you nigger-lovin‘ bastard?” Miss Stephanie said Atticus said, “No, too old,” put his hands in his pockets and strolled on. (Ch. 23, p. 291) 

This quote is important because it demonstrates that Atticus is not willing to stoop to Bob Ewell’s level.  He is also not afraid. All he said was that he wished Ewell didn’t chew tobacco.  However, this quote is also significant because it foreshadows Ewell’s attack on the children. Look at these quotes of when his children want him to protect himself by carrying a gun. 

“You know he wouldn’t carry a gun, Scout. He ain’t even got one—” said Jem.

“You know he didn’t even have one down at the jail that night. He told me havin‘ a gun around’s an invitation to somebody to shoot you.” (Ch. 23, p. 292) 

This quote shows that even though Atticus is the best shot in town, he doesn’t use that skill often.  He shot the dog when he had to, to protect everyone, but he does not like guns and doesn’t even own one.  He doesn’t want to have to shoot someone, not even Bob Ewell. 

After Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem, Atticus and Heck Tate agree not to tell anyone that Boo Radley killed him.  Sherriff Tate makes the final decision. 

There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch. Let the dead bury the dead.” (Ch. 30, p. 369) 

They are trying to protect Boo Radley from the attention he would get, even though what he did was justified.  Radley is incredibly shy.  Atticus asks Scout if she understands, and she says that it would be “sort of like shootin‘ a mockingbird” (p. 370).  This demonstrates that Scout has developed an adult’s level of empathy.  She wants to protect Boo too. 

When Scout walks Boo Radley home, it is kind of like living out a fantasy.  She has spent all of her childhood wondering about him.  Radley is gentle, shy, and delicate.  Coming out of his house to save the children was a big deal for him.  After walking him home, Scout stands on his porch and relives her childhood from his point of view. 

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. (Ch. 31, p. 374) 

By standing literally in his place, Scout comes full circle.  She understands Boo Radley’s motivations even more.  She realizes that he cared quite a lot about her and her brother.  He watched them grow up, and was protective of them. 

(Note: Page numbers are from the fiftieth anniversary edition, and will vary by edition.)

What is an important quote from chapters 29-31 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Chapters twenty-nine to thirty-one are the final chapters in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, and they are quite significant for many reasons. 

First of all, we learn what happened to Jem's elbow, something she mentions in the first chapter of the novel but is only explained here. Obviously he injured his arm when he was fighting first to save Scout and then himself from Bob Ewell's knife attack.

Second, we learn that Atticus lives what he preaches and is prepared for his son to go to trial for killing Ewell, though we learn later that it was not Jem who killed Ewell. Despite what happened to Tom Robinson, he still has faith in the criminal justice system.

The third thing is a big one, something we have been hoping for since almost the beginning of the novel: we finally meet Boo Radley in person. We have heard about him, we have seen his handiwork, and we have heard all manner of stories about him, some true but most untrue. When Atticus draws attention to the man hiding in the corner, Scout gradually realizes who it is. Her first words to him are a memorable understatement: "Hey, Boo."

Finally, we experience kind of a grand reversal, when Heck Tate insists that he and the Finches lie about Boo Radley's role in Bob Ewell's death. Though Boo would certainly be found innocent in a court of law, the people of Maycomb would all want to lavish Boo with praise and gifts for getting rid of a nuisance and saving Jem and Scout. This, according to the sheriff, would be a punishment for the heroic Boo, and he thinks they should spare him that by lying and saying that Ewell fell on his own knife. 

Atticus sat looking at the floor for a long time. Finally he raised his head. “Scout,” he said, “Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?”
Atticus looked like he needed cheering up. I ran to him and hugged him and kissed him with all my might. “Yes sir, I understand,” I reassured him. “Mr. Tate was right.”
Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it’d be sort of like shootin‘ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”

This is a striking couple of lines for two reasons. First, Scout does seem to understand, in a way that seems quite beyond her years, what her father and Miss Maudie meant when they said it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Second, Atticus is doing something almost completely out of character for him--he is agreeing to participate in a lie. This goes against all of his personal principles as well as his unwavering commitment to the criminal justice and legal system; however, it also supports his belief about "mockingbirds" like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. He believes they need to be protected, and this is the only way he sees to do that. He thinks about it for a time, and surely he is remembering what happened to Tom as he does so; he finally agrees to participate in this lie. It is a striking moment in the novel.

What are five quotes from and about Dill in To Kill A Mockingbird?

Charles Baker "Dill" Harris acts as a foil to the children at times while also providing comic relief from some of the seriousness of the novel; yet, at other times he contrasts with the moral turpitude of the townspeople in his childhood innocence. 

QUOTES ABOUT DILL

In Chapter I, Scout describes Dill,

Dill was a curiosity.  He wore blue linen shorts that buttoned to his shirt, his hair was snow white and stuck to his head like duckfluff; he was a year my senior but I towered over him.  As he told us the old tale his blue eyes would lighten and darken; his laugh was sudden and happy; he habitually pulled at a cowlick in the center of his forehead.

Desiring Boo Radley to come outside, he accuses Jem of being afraid to go to the house. 

But Dill got him the third day, when he told Jem that folks in Meridian certainly weren't as afraid as the folks in Maycomb, that he'd never seen such scary folks as the ones in Maycomb.

In Chapter 4, on his next visit to Maycomb, Dill wears shorts with a belt now. And, Dill rides a train to Maycomb from Meridian:

Two days later Dill arrived in a blaze of glory:  he had ridden the train by himself....he had eaten dinner in the diner, he had seen two twins hitched together get off the train in Bay St. Louis and stuck to his story regardless of threats....

Later, in Chapter 6, Dill convinces Jem to peep in the Radley window to see Boo.  But, for all his bravado, Dill is an innocent:

Dill stopped and let Jem go ahead.  When Jem put his foot on the bottom step, the step squeaked.

After Jem looks in, a shadow appears on the porch that Scout sees and

Dill saw it next. He put his hands to his face.

In Chapter 20 as the children listen to the testimony, Scout accepts the cross-examination of Tom by Mr. Gilmer as normal for him; however, Dill, who is more naive that Atticus's children, cries at the injustice of Tom's interrogation. Seeing him, Mr. Dolpus Raymond remarks,

"Things haven't caught up with that one's instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won't get sick and cry […] about the simple hell people give other people – without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too."

_____________________________________________________

 QUOTES BY DILL

Imaginative, Dill fabricates an excuse for Jem's lack of pants when the neighbors come outside after hearing the Radley shotgun fire at Jem who peeps in the window:

"We were playin' strip poker up yonder by the fishpool." Ch. 6

During the trial, Scout explains that Mr. Gilmer is "supposed to act that way...he was cross--" but Dill cuts her off,

"Well, Mr. Finch didn't act that way to Mayella and old man Ewell when he cross-examined them.  The way that man called him 'boy' all the time and sneered at him, an' looked around at the jury every time he answered--" Ch.19

After the conviction of Tom:

Dill gives his aunt Rachel's viewpoint, but says,

"I'da got her told...but she didn't look much like tellin' this morning [from] wonderin' where I was....But that woman drinks a pint for breakfast...." Ch 22

When Aunt Alexandra scolds him:

"I ain't cynical, Miss Alexandra. Tellin' the truth's not cynical, is it?

"I think I'll be a clown when I get grown […] There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off." Ch. 22 

What quotes describe key settings in To Kill a Mockingbird?

One of my favorite quotes regarding the setting is found in chapter 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; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; 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.

This really sets the tone of the Southern pace of Maycomb life. The town is old and not in a classy way; it's just tired. It's lacking the care needed in the details to keep things running well (reflected in the grass growing through sidewalks). It's unbearably hot, often symbolic of mounting tensions. The lack of care given to the details of the town will clash with the mounting racial tensions later in the novel.

The people in Maycomb share some common beliefs, which Scout notes are distinctly different from those in even northern Alabama:

Miss Caroline printed her name on the blackboard and said, “This says I am Miss Caroline Fisher. I am from North Alabama, from Winston County.” The class murmured apprehensively, should she prove to harbor her share of the peculiarities indigenous to that region. (When Alabama seceded from the Union on January 11, 1861, Winston County seceded from Alabama, and every child in Maycomb County knew it.) North Alabama was full of liquor interests, big mules, steel companies, Republicans, professors, and other persons of no background.

The setting of Maycomb during this time period therefore produces people who are like-minded, opposing this list of inflammatory categories common to people of "no background" who might live further north in Alabama. In evaluating this list, Maycomb isn't portrayed as the most progressive setting.

Maycomb is a small town and can be deathly silent even in the middle of the day. When Tim Johnson wanders down the street, everyone disappears inside, leaving an absolutely quiet street:

Nothing is more deadly than a deserted, waiting street. The trees were still, the mockingbirds were silent, the carpenters at Miss Maudie’s house had vanished. I heard Mr. Tate sniff, then blow his nose. I saw him shift his gun to the crook of his arm. I saw Miss Stephanie Crawford’s face framed in the glass window of her front door. Miss Maudie appeared and stood beside her.

This speaks both to the size of the town and the familiarity of the neighborhood. People know each other so well that they are able to be in instant contact if needed, and the streets are so sparsely used that one rabid dog can absolutely clear everyone from sight.

What quotes describe key settings in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Historical Setting

In the first chapter, Scout alludes to her ancestor Simon Finch, who profited from the loss of large tract of land by the Creek Indians who were moved to another state. "If General Jackson hadn't run the Creeks up the creek, Simon Finch would never have paddled up the Alabama . . . " (Ch.1)

There are several allusions to the Great Depression of the 1930's which is the backdrop of the setting of Lee's novel. Scout narrates that when her father began his law practice in Maycomb, during his first five years, "Atticus practiced economy more than anything" (Ch.1).

Further, Scout describes the era in which she lives, and she repeats the famous words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States during the Great Depression:

There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with . . . But it was a time of vague optimism for some people: Maycomb County had recently been told that it had "nothing to fear but fear itself."

Community Setting

Like so many Southern towns of its era, Maycomb has its courthouse on a square where there are several other offices and businesses. Atticus's office used to be in the courthouse when he first began practicing law, but now he has his office in a quieter location inside the Maycomb Bank building.

On the night before the trial, Jem becomes worried because he has heard Atticus take the car to his office when he usually walks. So, when Atticus does not return at a customary time, Jem decides to try to find his father; Scout and Dill insist on accompanying him. They check at the office, but Atticus is not there. Then they see Atticus sitting under the single light bulb at the jail.

The Maycomb jail was the most venerable and hideous of the county’s buildings. . . . Starkly out of place in a town of square-faced stores and steep-roofed houses, the Maycomb jail was a miniature Gothic joke one cell wide and two cells high, complete with tiny battlements and flying buttresses.

Mr. Underwood has his newspaper office in a building close to the jail. He lives above his office and can look out to the jail. On the night that the mob approaches Atticus, Mr. Underwood watches from his window.

The Finch House

The Finches have a fairly comfortable home with rooms that have fireplaces. Like most homes in the South, there is no basement because the earth has a great deal of clay in it. This clay absorbs water, then dries, causing expansions and retraction that strain walls of any kind. The house is set upon stone blocks and has front and back porches. It is on the screened back porch that Jem and Scout sleep in the summertime. They enjoy the cooler air night often brings. On the front porch, as on many other porches, there is a swing. There is also a treehouse in the backyard. 

What are five perspective-related quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird?

Following the incident outside of the Maycomb jailhouse, Atticus explains to his children mob mentality. He demonstrates his perspective by defending Walter Cunningham's character. Atticus says,

"Mr. Cunningham's basically a good man...he just has his blind spots along with the rest of us" (Lee 97).

In Chapter 20, Dolphus Raymond tells his secret to Scout and Dill. He then tells Scout that her father is different from most people in Maycomb. He demonstrates his perspective on society by telling Scout,

"Miss Jean Louise, you don't know your pa's not a run-of-the-mill man, it'll take a few years for that to sink in---you haven't seen enough of the world yet. You haven't even seen this town, but all you gotta do is step back inside the courthouse" (Lee 123).

In Chapter 23, Jem has a conversation with Scout about the different types of folks in Maycomb. Scout comments that she believes there is just one kind of folks, but Jem disagrees with her. He says,

"I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he wants to stay inside" (Lee 139).

In Chapter 24, Atticus interrupts the missionary circle to tell Alexandra and Cal that Tom Robinson is dead. After Atticus explains that Tom was shot while he was attempting to escape, Alexandra says, "This is the last straw, Atticus" (Lee 144). Atticus urges her to look at the situation from a different perspective. He says,

"Depends on how you look at it...What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of 'em? He wasn't Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner" (Lee 144). 

In Chapter 25, Scout reads Mr. Underwood's editorial. Mr. Underwood took a different perspective on Tom's murder than the other citizens of Maycomb. Scout mentions,

"He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children..." (Lee 147). 

What are five perspective-related quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird?

FIVE QUOTES ABOUT PERSPECTIVE IN TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

One of Atticus's first lessons to his children in the novel is delivered to Scout after her disappointing first day at school with Miss Caroline.

"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."  (Chapter 3)

Jem and Scout are amazed at Atticus's shooting skill, and they wonder why he has never bragged about it.

     "People in their right minds never take pride in their talents," said Miss Maudie.  (Chapter 10)

Tom explains why he ran away from the Ewell house, even though he was innocent.

     "Mr. Finch, if you was a nigger like me, you'd be scared, too."  (Chapter 19)

Scout decides that Sheriff Tate's decision to call Bob Ewell's death self-inflicted is a wise one, since it eliminates the possibility of Boo having to face a public trial.

     "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?"  (Chapter 30)

After Scout walks Boo home, never to see him again, she looks upon her neighborhood from his porch, envisioning the scene as if standing in his shoes and looking through his eyes.

     Atticus was right. One time he said you never really knew a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.  (Chapter 31)

What are some quotes by Dill Harris in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Please note: Page numbers will vary by edition. Chapter numbers are provided here for each quotation.

Dill Harris, whose real name is Charles Baker, is a beloved friend of both Scout and Jem. Although he and Scout are engaged, he grows closer to Jem, and the two boys sometimes exclude her because she is a girl. Dill has a difficult relationship with his family and enjoys spending time in Maycomb and with the Finches. Scout tries to be considerate of his feelings, although she knows he is a not merely an inventive story teller but a fantastic liar. The three of them are involved together in the surveillance of the Radley home and a related game they invent, as well as attending the Robinson trial together.

Dill shows great curiosity, such as about the Radley house, but he can also be sensitive to other’s feelings. In chapter 1, when Jem tries to think of a way to coax Arthur “Boo” Radley out of his house, he uses the metaphor of striking a match under a turtle’s shell. Dill thinks this idea is “hateful,” and challenges Jem’s assertion that it would not hurt the turtle.

“How do you know a match don’t hurt him?”

“Turtles can’t feel, stupid,” said Jem.

“Were you ever a turtle, huh?”

It is Dill who comes up with the idea of delivering a note to Boo Radley (chapter 6). Jem’s approaching the Radley house to make this delivery has the unfortunate result of Nathan Radley shooting at him and his losing his pants when they catch on the fence. Dill is very helpful in quickly coming up with a lie to tell Atticus when he asks Jem where his pants are.

“Ah—I won ’em from him,” he said vaguely.

“Won them? How?”

“We were playin’ strip poker up yonder by the fishpool,” he said.

What are some quotes by Dill Harris in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Dill is Scout's best friend throughout the novel who lives in Meridian and visits his aunt during the summers. Dill runs away because he does not feel wanted. Dill has a conversation explaining his motivation to run away from home with Scout. Dill expresses his loneliness by saying, 

"The thing is, what I'm tryin' to say is---they do get on a lot better without me, I can't help them any. They ain't mean. They buy me everything I want, but it's now-you've-got-it-go-play-with-it" (Lee 88).

During the trial, Dill cannot stand seeing Mr. Gilmer treat Tom Robinson disrespectfully. At this point in the novel, Dill has not lost his innocence and is sickened at the way Mr. Gilmer speaks down to Tom. Dill's stomach begins to hurt and he starts to cry. When they get out of the courtroom, Dill tells Scout, 

"I don't care one speck. I ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that---it just makes me sick" (Lee 121).

Following the trial, all of the children have lost their childhood innocence after witnessing Tom's wrongful conviction. Dill feels awful about the prejudiced community and tells Jem and Scout, 

"I think I'll be a clown when I get grown" (Lee 133).

Dill believes that being a clown will make him immune to the blatant prejudice and hate throughout the Maycomb community. 

What 5 quotes show Atticus as a role model in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus is a good role model for his children because he values all people, stands up for what he believes in, is courageous, and protects others. 

Atticus is a unique parent.  As a single dad raising two kids, he surely has some challenges.  He handles these with grace and dignity.  Atticus Finch makes standing up for what you believe in and doing the right thing look easy.

Atticus teaches his children that just because something is hard doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.  Defending Tom Robinson is very unpopular in Maycomb. It is probably one of the hardest things Atticus has ever done, yet he takes the case not just because he has been ordered to, but because he considers it important.  He explains to his children why he needs to do it.

“Atticus, are we going to win it?”

“No, honey.”

“Then why—”

“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” Atticus said. (Ch. 9)

Showing his children different perspectives on courage is something that Atticus does often.  He defends his children and the town when they are faced with a rabid dog.  Atticus has not shot a gun in thirty years, but he is still the best shot in the town.  He knows that the town needs “one-shot Finch” and he takes the shot, despite what must have been a great deal of fear and self-doubt.  Miss Maudie explains this to his children. 

“ … Marksmanship’s a gift of God, a talent … I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today.” (Ch. 10) 

Atticus is a role model not just because he shows his children courage himself, but because he is able to help them see it in others.  Atticus makes sure that his children understand the case of Mrs. Dubose, a horrible woman who nonetheless accomplishes the courageous feat of weaning herself off of morphine, a painkiller she is addicted to.  He tells them that although he may not agree with her ideas, he values her strength.

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. (Ch. 11) 

Courage does indeed come in many forms.  Atticus’s defense of the town against the mad dog is similar to the role he is playing with the trial.  Once again, he is doing a job that no one else can do.  Atticus is capable of giving Tom Robinson a fair trial, or at least the fairest he can get in Maycomb.  No one else wants to or is able to do it.  He takes this seriously though.  He even goes so far as to sit outside Tom Robinson’s cell and face down a lynch mob. 

Even though the men tell him that Heck Tate has been called off on a “snipe hunt,” so he knows the sheriff can’t help him, Atticus does not back down to the mob.  

“Thought about it, but didn’t believe it. Well then,” my father’s voice was still the same, “that changes things, doesn’t it?”

“It do,” another deep voice said. Its owner was a shadow.

“Do you really think so?” (Ch. 15) 

Scout doesn’t show fear either, following her father’s example.  She confronts the mob, engaging her schoolmate Walter Cunningham’s father in friendly conversation.  The men realize what they are doing and leave.  Like father, like daughter. 

Finally, there is the trial itself.  Atticus puts forward a convincing case that his client is innocent and that the crime did not take place.  The victim was attacked by her father for kissing a black man.  During his closing arguments, Atticus tries to convince the jury that a courtroom should be colorblind. 

It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. court in the land, or this honorable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. (Ch. 20) 

Atticus tells the court that he is not an idealist, but that racism should not have any place in a courtroom.  While he is not successful in getting his client acquitted, he does get the jury to deliberate.  That is quite a feat in Maycomb, where prejudice runs deep.  Atticus made a little bit of a dent in the wall.

What are some quotes about perspective from Atticus Finch, and where are they located in To Kill a Mockingbird?

There are several scenes throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird where Atticus talks about perspective. In Chapter 3, Scout is upset when she returns home from school because her teacher, Miss Caroline, said she couldn't read at home with Atticus anymore. Atticus tells her,

"if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view." (Lee 39)

Atticus explains how both Scout and Miss Caroline learned important information about each other and their surroundings on the first day of school. He tells her it is not fair to judge someone until you've considered things from their perspective.

Atticus speaks about perspective in Chapter 23 after Bob Ewell spits in his face while leaving the post office. Atticus calmly wipes the spit from his face and lets Bob Ewell berate him. Atticus tells Jem,

"see if you can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute." (Lee 292)

Atticus explains to Jem how he destroyed Bob Ewell's credibility during the trial and expected Bob to retaliate. Atticus' ability to understand Bob Ewell's feelings towards him, is the reason Atticus can remain calm throughout the situation. Atticus displays his sympathy by saying, "if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that's something I'll gladly take." (Lee 293)

In Chapter 16, the day after the Old Sarum bunch attempted to harm Tom Robinson at his jail cell, Atticus tells Jem and Scout,

"you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough." (Lee 210)

Atticus explains how Jem and Scout made Walter Cunningham realize the weight of his actions. Walter Cunningham was able to understand Atticus' point of view. Atticus was in a tough position and Walter's ability to observe the situation from Atticus' perspective, led to his decision to tell the mob to leave.

Which quotes identify the hero in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Toward the end of chapter 28, Scout describes Bob Ewell's attack and attempts to identify the person who saved her life. When Scout mentions that a man came to their aid during the fight, Sheriff Tate asks Scout the man's name. Scout does not know the man's name but points toward him and says,

Why there he is, Mr. Tate, he can tell you his name (Lee, 274).

Scout proceeds to point toward Boo Radley, who is silently standing in the corner of the room. After examining the man's pale skin and hollow cheeks, Scout recognizes the person who saved her life by saying, "Hey, Boo" (Lee, 274).

In chapter 30, Sheriff Tate and Atticus are discussing the person responsible for Bob Ewell's death, and Sheriff Tate indirectly tells Atticus that Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell. Sheriff Tate tells Atticus,

To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an‘ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight—to me, that’s a sin. It’s a sin and I’m not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man, it’d be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch (Lee, 280).

Sheriff Tate understands that informing the community will harm Boo, who is extremely reclusive and would not enjoy the excessive attention, which is why he does not publicly announce Boo's heroics.

Which quotes identify the hero in To Kill a Mockingbird?

All of these following quotes occurred on the last page of Chapter 30.  Heck Tate has the first two quotes.  In the first one he is explaining to Atticus why he doesn't want to tell the whole town that Boo killed Bob.  He didn't really commit a crime--he stopped one from happening.  In doing so, he saved the kids and is a hero.

"I never heard tell that it's against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did..."

In the second quote he explains why he can't put Boo in the spotlight of being a hero.  It would be too much for him to take (since he is a recluse).  He can barely handle meeting Scout for the first time. The "great service" he did was saving the children along with ridding the town of "trash" like Bob Ewell.

"To my way of thinkin', Mr. Finch, taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight--to me, that's a sin."

The final heroic quote is from Atticus as he says good night to Boo on his porch.  He thanks him for saving their lives.

Before he went inside the house, he stopped in front of Boo Radley. "Thank you for my children, Arthur."

What are five notable quotes from different chapters between 12 and 23 in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout's in Love.  Scout and Dill are a couple, at least during the summer months, and she misses her "permanent fiance," who has written to tell her that he will be unable to come to Maycomb this year.

I had never thought about it, but summer was Dill by the whirlpool smoking string... summer was the swiftness with which Dill would reach up and kiss me when Jem was not looking, the longings we sometimes felt each other feel. With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.  (Chapter 12)

Aunt Alexandra.  Scout is always at odds with her aunt after Atticus's sister comes to stay. Alexandra nags Scout about being more ladylike or having more respect for the Finch family heritage, so Scout's description of her may not be entirely kind.

She was not fat, but solid, and she chose protective garments that drew up her bosom to giddy heights, pinched in her waist, flared out her rear and managed to suggest that that Aunt Alexandra's was once an hourglass figure. From any angle, it was formidable.  (Chapter 13)

Dill Returns.  Although Dill was not supposed to spend the summer in Maycomb, he decides to run away from home and his new father, who Dill claims chained him in the basement. Dill appears under Scout's bed, and Atticus works it out so that Dill can spend the night at the Finch house. Scout and Dill spend an innocent night together--in Scout's bed--where he makes an astute observation about Boo Radley. Unlike Dill,

     "Maybe he [Boo] doesn't have anywhere to run off to."  (Chapter 14) 

Bob Ewell.  Making false accusations against Tom and putting him on trial for murder is not enough for Bob: An insult is also necessary, and Bob sends the courtroom into a frenzy when he states that

"--I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!"  (Chapter 17)

Dolphus Raymond.  After Dill becomes sick in the courtroom, he and Scout encounter the "sinful" Mr. Raymond, who reveals his secret about the bottle in the paper sack before telling them about the injustices that black men and women face from Maycomb's white citizens.

     "Cry about the simple hell people give other people--without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too.  (Chapter 20)