Harper Lee

"The most important thing is that you have to be fair to everyone."

"Writing is merely another form of thinking."

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

"Atticus said to simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

"Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through."

"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."

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view."

"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

"The things that make us different are the things that make us us."

"I'm simply defending the principle that all men are not created equal."

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

"It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived."

"Nothing is more private than reading."

"Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is conscience."

"Some people are born to simple lives, others to great destinies."

"I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but I do not think it entirely fair to say that we made a mistake in following Atticus' convictions."

"There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep 'em all away from you. That's never possible."

"Prejudice is a chain mail suit that's worn on the inside."

"Writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer."

"She's up there, though. She's waiting on us."

"I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide."

"I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality."

"The limited mind can miss the whole point of such a consideration."

"Maturity is not when you make the right choice, it is when you understand the consequences of your choices."

"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."

"It's a sin to criticize people who are doing their level best."

"The simple hell of it is, I do love you."

"Being Southerners, it was implicit in our background that we also be believers, first, in diversity."

"I wanted to be a writer, and that is what I was when I was appointed."