I had never thought about it, but summer was Dill by the fishpool smoking string, Dill's eyes alive with complicated plans to make Boo Radley emerge; 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..." - Scout Finch
Harper LeeI was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, thatโs why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.
Harper LeeWhy reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand.
Harper LeeAre you proud of yourself tonight that you have insulted a total stranger whose circumstances you know nothing about?
Harper LeeIf this thing's hushed up it'll be a simple denial to Jem of the way I've tried to raise him. Sometimes I think I'm a total failure as a parent, but I'm all they've got. Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I've tried to live so I can look squarely back at him.. if I connived at something like this, frankly I couldn't meet his eye, and the day I can't do that I'll know I've lost him. I don't want to lose him and Scout, because they're all I've got.
Harper Lee