The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets -
Harper LeeNo, everybody's gotta learn, nobody's born knowin'. That Walter's as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out and help his daddy. Nothin's wrong with him. Naw, Jem, I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.
Harper LeeIn Maycomb, if one went for a walk with no definite purpose in mind, it was correct to believe one's mind incapable of definite purpose.
Harper LeeWhen a child asks you something, answer him, for goodnessโ sake. But donโt make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles โem. No... you had the right answer this afternoon, but the wrong reasons. Bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn theyโre not attracting attention with it. Hotheadedness isnโt.
Harper LeeNext morning I awoke, looked out the window and nearly died of fright. My screams brought Atticus from his bathroom half-shaven. "The world's endin', Atticus! Please do something -!" I dragged him to the window and pointed. "No it's not," he said. "It's snowing.
Harper LeeThere is one way in this country in which all men are created equalโthere is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is the court.
Harper Lee