To Kill a Mockingbird - Key Quote Analysis
‘A dirt road ran from the highway past the dump, down to a small Negro settlement some five hundred yards beyond the Ewells.’
· Black people isolated/segregated
· Location reflects status – worst, most run down area in town
· Ewells – ‘disgrace of Maycomb’, yet black people are considered inferior to even them
· Fact that people turned cars in their yards showed utter lack of respect
Atticus: ‘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.’
· Teaches his children important moral lessons – empathy
· Advice crucial for coping with the events that will later unfold
· He is not narrow minded and judgemental like the rest of his town
Atticus: ‘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.’
· Children admire him for shooting the rabid dog so he shows them real courage in the form of Mrs Dubose beating morphine addiction
· Lesson – hiding behind physical strength/violence is not true bravery, it is having the mental fortitude to do what is right in the face of great pain/difficulty/conflict
· Mirrors Atticus’ actions in taking on the case as he knows what people will think of/say to him
· Children will have to deal with similar situations through association with Atticus – trying to prepare them
Atticus: ‘I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without
catching Maycomb’s usual disease.’
· Atticus to his brother Jack before the trial
· Refers to racism/prejudice as ‘disease’ – infectious, can spread and destroy minds and towns – greatest fear that his children will become infected if they believe Maycomb’s views to be the norm
· Worried that his children will resent him for personal trials he will put them through – knows the town will treat them harshly too (shows irrationality of prejudice that people would judge innocent children simply as a result of the father doing the right thing)
· Good father – wants his children to learn the correct, moral way to live
‘My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank!’
· Cecil Jacobs to Scout at school, clearly repeating and believing his father’s words
· Horrific that children as young should become indoctrinated into the town’s prejudiced mindset
· Atticus ironically branded dishonourable for doing the right thing – town cannot see the error of their ways
· Have deemed TR guilty before a trial, based purely on his skin colour and want to make a public spectacle of his death
‘Grandma says its bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again. He’s ruinin’ the family, that’s what he’s doin’.
· Cousin Francis to Scout, clearly repeating Aunt Alexandra’s words
· Atticus and children face conflict and prejudice not only from the town, but from within their own family
· Horrific that children as young should become indoctrinated into the town’s prejudiced mindset
· Atticus ironically branded dishonourable for doing the right thing – town cannot see the error of their ways
· Have deemed TR guilty before a trial, based purely on his skin colour and want to make a public spectacle of his death
“You know what we want…Get aside from the door, Mr Finch”
· Lynch mob plan to kill TR without a fair trial; deemed him guilty based purely on the colour of his skin, believe he deserves death
· Expect Atticus to comply with their decision, seems obvious and natural to them
· Shows the power of mob mentality over ordinary, decent men – strength of prejudice in town makes these beliefs seem the norm
· Atticus has to protect his client, cannot trust in the law to keep him safe
· Atticus faces conflict and danger as a result
· Takes Scout, an innocent child, to diffuse the situation by speaking to one man as an individual, drawing attention to his humanity and distancing him from the mob mentality
Atticus: ‘Mr Cunningham’s basically a good man, he just has his blind spots along with the rest of us.’
· Shows the power of mob mentality over ordinary, decent men – strength of prejudice in town makes these beliefs seem the norm
· Lynch mob plan to kill TR without a fair trial; deemed him guilty based purely on the colour of his skin, believe he deserves death
· Expect Atticus to comply with their decision, seems obvious and natural to them
· Atticus has to protect his client, cannot trust in the law to keep him safe
· Atticus faces conflict and danger as a result
· Takes Scout, an innocent child, to diffuse the situation by speaking to one man as an individual, drawing attention to his humanity and distancing him from the mob mentality
Atticus: ‘Every mob in every little Southern town is always made up of people you know – doesn’t say
much for them, does it?’
· Shows the power of mob mentality over ordinary, decent men – strength of prejudice in town makes these beliefs seem the norm – Atticus sees how wrong this is
· Lynch mob plan to kill TR without a fair trial; deemed him guilty based purely on the colour of his skin, believe he deserves death
· Expect Atticus to comply with their decision, seems obvious and natural to them
· Atticus has to protect his client, cannot trust in the law to keep him safe
· Atticus faces conflict and danger as a result
· Takes Scout, an innocent child, to diffuse the situation by speaking to one man as an individual, drawing attention to his humanity and distancing him from the mob mentality
Atticus: ‘This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience.’
· Shows the strength of Atticus’ moral compass
· He knows how difficult the case will be, but also knows he must take it and do his utmost, because it is the right thing to do
· Atticus no doubt aware that he is the only lawyer in Maycomb who would properly defend TR, thus he knows he is TR’s only hope
‘It was a gala occasion.’
(or)
Miss Maudie: ‘’t’s morbid, watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it’s like a
Roman carnival.’
· Maycomb views the trial as an exciting, enjoyable day of entertainment – a welcome thrill in their ‘tired old town’
· They do not care that TR could die as a result – assign no value to black life
· Shows a lack of respect towards the black community, TR and his family
· Town hoping to see a conviction – to see a black man get what they believe he deserves
‘“Yeah but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it.”
· Scout and Jem overhear in the courthouse
· Town knows Atticus was assigned the case, but are disgusted that he will do his utmost to see TR exonerated
· Have already decided TR is guilty, based purely on the colour of his skin and do not feel he deserves the same defence a white man would receive
· Shows conflict/prejudice towards Atticus and a severe lack of morality within the town
Atticus: ‘She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable:
she kissed a black man.’
· Atticus shows that Mayella was the one at fault, not TR
· However, when her actions were discovered by her father, what she had done was so scandalous and apparently deplorable that she accused TR of a crime that would cost him his life
· The fact that TR was convicted shows that the race boundaries are impossible to cross in Maycomb – no one could comprehend that there could be any truth in the claim that Mayella would actually be attracted to someone of an inferior colour – it is an idea that is beyond unspeakable – it is incomprehensible
· She and her father were so ashamed of her actions that the felt the need to ‘destroy the evidence’ - in other words: eliminate TR so no one would know of her ‘shame’
Atticus: ‘…confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption – the evil
assumption – that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings…’
· In closing speech to jury
· Draws attention to the inherent prejudice in Maycomb – the Ewells had no fear that their accusation would be doubted as everyone believes wholeheartedly that black people are all capable and guilty of such crimes
· Atticus highlights the immorality of believing such a fallacy – ironically it is the jury and rest of the town who are guilty, not TR
· Shows Atticus’ unique understanding of the people that surround him
Atticus: ‘You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negros lie, some Negros are immoral, some
Negro men are not to be trusted around women – black and white. But this is a truth that
applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.’
· In closing speech to jury
· Shows Atticus’ unique (for Maycomb) understanding of the human race – he does not see only black and white surrounding him and make judgements on that basis, but sees all the shades of grey in everyone
· Draws attention to the inherent prejudice in Maycomb – the Ewells had no fear that their accusation would be doubted as everyone believes wholeheartedly that black people are all capable and guilty of such crimes
· Atticus highlights the immorality of believing such a fallacy – ironically it is the jury and rest of the town who are guilty, not TR
· Appealing to the consciences of the jury, hoping they can see past the prejudice that has been ingrained in them all their lives
‘…we’re gonna win, Scout. I don’t see how we can’t.’
(or)
‘I expect it’ll be over before you can get back.’
‘You think they’ll acquit him that fast?’ asked Jem.
· Shows Jem’s optimism and absolute conviction that TR will be acquitted
· He sees things clearly in the way that the jury cannot – he is not blinded by prejudice and makes logical conclusions based on facts and evidence
· Atticus has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that TR is innocent, thus Jem cannot comprehend how anyone else could ever believe different
· His eyes have not yet been opened to the inherent prejudice that surrounds him and he trusts implicitly in the goodness of the people of Maycomb
‘I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them.’
· Jem is so shocked by the guilty verdict that this shock manifests as a physical, painful injury to his body
· He is mentally wounded by the blind sighted prejudice that will cost an innocent man his life
· This is his moment of realisation; the turning point in his life; the moment his eyes are opened to the cruel, judgemental world around him
· This moment will cost him his childish innocence as he struggles to understand how people he trusted can be so narrow-minded and intolerant
‘Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed.’
· Because of prejudice, TR’s conviction was a foregone conclusion – everyone instantly believed TR capable and guilty of such a crime
· No one was interested in the truth (or perhaps could not even comprehend the possibility a truth that involved a black man being innocent)
· Mayella is a disreputable character, from a family branded ‘the disgrace of Maycomb’, yet she is trusted and her word valued over that of TR
Atticus: ‘I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it – seems that only children weep.’
· Atticus finally seems defeated and dejected by the prejudice of the town after TR’s conviction
· His words show that this is a problem that has been prevalent for years and shows little signs of abating
· The fact that only children are upset shows that only those who are innocent and as yet uncorrupted by the poisonous attitudes that surround them can see the injustice
· All adults have become hardened and intolerant
‘this may be the shadow of a beginning.’
· Hope for Maycomb in the aftermath of the trial
· As Atticus kept the jury deliberating for so long, there is promise that his words may have resonated with the town and may have started to expose the injustice and prejudice that festers there
· Hope that many have learned from Atticus’ example: notably, Scout and Jem who were so outraged by the prejudice they witnessed
Jem: ‘It’s like bein’ a caterpillar in a cocoon, that’s what it is. Like somethin’ asleep wrapped up in a warm
place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world.’
· Jem feels that, prior to the trial, he lived in the comforting, safe haven of Maycomb, surrounded by respectable, admirable people
· However, just like the caterpillar he compares himself to, he awoke and emerged from his protective cocoon to find the world a harsher, more treacherous place
· He has become completely disillusioned after the trial and is the innocent, naïve boy no longer
Jem: ‘If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do
they go out of their way to despise each other? […] 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.’