9 Timeless Quotes from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

Nothing will ever replace To Kill a Mockingbird's hallowed place on our bookshelves and in our hearts. Celebrate the timeless classic with these unforgettable quotes.


1. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."

2. "Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts."

3. "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 see it through no matter what."

4. "People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for."

5. "You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat. Try fightin' with your head for a change."

6. "I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks."

7. "The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

8. "Atticus said to Jem one day, 'I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. 'Your father's right,' she said. 'Mockingbirds don't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corn cribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'"

9. "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."

What's your favorite To Kill a Mockingbird quote?