“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
“Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now. ‘I mumbled that I was sorry and retired meditating upon my crime.”
“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.”
“People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.”
“‘It’s not necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike -in the second place, folks don’t like to have someone around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ‘em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.’”
“Atticus had said it was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in, not about what you were interested in.”
“Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levellers, and in our courts all men are created equal.”
“As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it – whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”
“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? Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. 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.”
“Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.”
literarydevices.net
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) is a much-loved, critically-acclaimed, classic trial film. It exhibits a dramatic tour-de-force of acting, a portrayal of childhood innocence (told from a matured adult understanding), and a progressive, enlightened 60s message about racial prejudice, violence, moral tolerance and dignified courage.
The Academy Award winning screenplay was faithfully adapted by screenwriter Horton Foote from the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee - who had written a semi-autobiographical account of her small-town Southern life (Monroeville, Alabama), her widower father/attorney Amasa Lee, and its setting of racial unrest. [Note: This was Lee's first and sole novel - and it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1960.] The poor Southern town of deteriorating homes was authentically re-created on a Universal Studios' set. Released in the early 60s, the timely film reflected the state of deep racial problems and social injustice that existed in the South. One of its posters described the basic issue:
The rare film story of a father who must expose his children to a small town's outraged passions...and can only protect them with his love.
filmsite.org