My Fifth Great Quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

"'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.'"                                                ~Jem

Boo realizes how terrible man can be like in this picture of a riot, so he chooses to stay inside

Background
After the Tom Robinson case ended and he was found guilty Jem starts to hit maturity and with this he looks upon Boo with a different perspective.

Rationale

Jem is growing up and realizes that the myths about Boo are unlikely to be true. Jem has also grown distressed by the lack of honor in society, and realizes Boo might prefer to live alone rather than among corrupt men. He looks upon Boo from an adult’s perspective rather than a child’s point of view. After seeing the way men like Mr. Ewell can be he knows why Boo stays inside. People can be so cruel to one another and mistreat each other just because of the color of their skin. Boo has been living indoors since he was 15, so he still possesses a childlike mentality and he doesn’t get it. So instead of going outside and facing the world he decides to stay indoors by his own free will.  He made a conscious decision to avoid the unknown and to play it safe.  The world can be a very scary place, especially without having someone to help guide you through those tough times.  Jem sees that Boo isn’t being held prisoner.  Boo has made up his mind to sit on the sidelines and observe for the most part rather then be actively engaged in life’s ups and downs.  Jem doesn’t necessarily agree with it, but understands Boo’s rationale. 

My Fourth Great Quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

"When I pointed to him his palms slipped slightly, leaving greasy sweat steaks on the wall, and he hooked his thumbs in his belt. A strange small spasm shook him, as if he heard fingernails scrape slate, but as I gazed at him in wonder the tension slowly drained from his face. His lips parted into a timid smile, and our neighbor's image blurred with my sudden tears.
'Hey, Boo,' I said."
                                      ~Scout

Boo acted as a ghost for so many years to Scout but now she sees why and now she looks upon him like a superhero

Background
That very night on the way back from Scout's pageant Jem and Scout were attacked by Mr. Ewell. During the attack Jem was nearly killed, but luckily Boo came to their rescue by killing Mr. Ewell. He picked up Jem and ran straight for their house where Scout soon walked in and this quote began.

Rationale

Here, for the very first time, Scout and Boo interact directly. Scout is no longer afraid, and treats Boo as an equal. She knows he saved her life and Jem's life, and looks upon him with respect. The power of this moment brings Scout to tears, but, as always, she handles herself with maturity beyond her age. At this point you realize that Scout has hit maturity because if you would travel to the beginning of the novel you would see her being fascinated by his sight, but instead she is content with it. Before this point she sees Boo as a monster that only comes out at night and only stays indoors, but now she sees him as a normal human being just like herself.  She has begun to understand that Boo has stayed out of sight for a reason, and she has come to respect Boo’s choices in life.  She also realizes that she has a friend in Boo and for the first time they are sealing that friendship with a mutual smile.

My Third Great Quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

"I simply wanted to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them."
                                            ~Miss Maudie and Scout

Being the president might seem like a laid back job, but it is just like Atticus's in a way because they are under a lot of pressure to do what is right.

Background
Scout and the rest of the town just found out about Atticus's new client Tom Robinson and Miss Maudie was talking to Scout about it.

Rationale

Mrs. Maudie tries to make the children understand the difficult situation of the Tom Robinson case. Mrs. Maudie explains things well, telling the children even though Atticus lost, he won by forcing the town to truly examine their perceptions of race and equality. It took a great deal of time for the jury to come to their verdict, and this alone demonstrates that Atticus succeeded in causing the men of the jury to examine their views of race. Therefore, although unpleasant, Atticus's work is of great importance and will affect the future of race relations in Maycomb.  Most people don’t want to deal with controversy and get their hands dirty.  Mrs. Maudie is saying that Atticus has taken on that role in their society and is having to do things that nobody else would ever want or choose to do.  Atticus may have not won the verdict, but he won what he set out to do, which was to make people think differently then what came natural to them.  They were forced to fight their perceptions, and to try and fight against what they have always known. 

My Second Great Quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

"'That's because you can't hold something in your mind but a little while,' said Jem. 'It's different with grown folks, we-'
His maddening superiority was unbearable these days. He did not want to do anything but read and go off by himself."
                                      ~Jem and Scout

This is a picture of maturity during its stages, Jem being on the right and Scout being on the left

Background

At this point in the book Jem has hit maturity and Scout is still holding on to what is left of her childhood innocence. The different stages these two are on tends to cause fights between them because of the point of view they see them from.

Rationale

The Finch children's feelings toward each other change throughout the novel as Jem grows older and the differences between brother and sister become more over. Scout understands that Jem feels superior toward her and no longer treats her as a playmate. She is frustrated with Jem's airs of superiority and wishes they could play together and talk together as they used to.  When Jem starts to give advice to Scout from an adult perspective Scout fights against nature and struggles with letting Jem grow up.  Scout selfishly wants Jem to stay young and play and talk like they are a team of kids battling in an adult world.  In this quote, Jem is actually making a stand and aligning himself with adults.  Jem is starting to make that leap in his growth from kid to young adult and is starting to transition the way he thinks of himself.  When we become young adults it is not just a physical change but rather an emotional and mental change, as well.  The way we see ourselves can have a profound impact on how well we develop.  If you are growing up, but your mind never sees yourself growing up, then you will continue to make child-like decisions.  We all know adults that we call “big kids”, because they continue to act like children.  In this quote Jem is saying to Scout I no longer think like you.  

My First Great Quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

"It's not necessary to tell all you know. It's not ladylike – in the second place, folks don't like to have somebody 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."                                                                   ~ Calpurnia

Just like in poker its not necessary to tell all you know

Background 
Scout figured out about Calpurnia's so called double life and the way she talked outside of their house. Scout became so curious that she confronted Calpurnia about her double life. When Calpurnia made sense of it all Scout retorted by saying "But Cal, you know better" which set up the quote above.

RationaleI would consider this quote to be a Words of Wisdom quote because Calpurnia is not only telling Scout how to act but this quote has a hidden meaning as well. Calpurnia is deep down trying to tell Scout a life lesson that she will carry on with her into her adult life. The only way to learn things is through experience and Calpurnia has that experience to back up what she is saying to Scout. Calpurnia’s words here sound kind of like Atticus’s repeated statement that he wants to be the same person at home as he is in the streets. Calpurnia and Atticus offer different models to Jem and Scout of how to deal with a world that often can’t deal with who people really are. She is telling Scout not to be a know it all.  No one likes it when there is always someone who thinks they are the “expert” of all things and is always telling us what is correct.  Even if you really do know things, sometimes it’s better to keep it to yourself.  My Nana had her Master’s Degree, but never told people.  When I asked her why she told me that it made people treat her different, and she didn’t want that.  She said she liked people to be themselves when they were around her.  Besides, she said it didn’t mean she was smarter.  She said she would rather impress someone through her actions, then through her credentials.  I think this is sort of what Calpurnia was trying to say. 

My Third Great American

“Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”                                            ~Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway on a boat doing the things he loved most

Bibliography

Ernest was born in 1899 and is one of the most iconic American author and journalist. His unique type of writing shaped the 20^th century. He wrote many famous books that are now classics of American Literature. He won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954.

Contribution
His style of writing shaped the 20^th century and he still influences writers today. He took American prose to a place it had never been. Not just to the bullrings of Pamplona and the safari camps of Kenya, but to a pared-down, elegant style that condensed paragraphs of unspoken knowledge into a single sentence that said it all.

My Second Great American

“It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

                                                 ~Bill Gates

Bill Gates laying on his Microsoft Computer

Bibliography
Bill was born in 1955 in Seattle, Washington with a knack for computers from a young age. Through tough work, technological innovation, and great business strategies his partner Paul Allen and him created the multimillion dollar company that we know today as Microsoft.

Contribution
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donates money and technology to many different recipients around the world. He created Microsoft which He, along with others, took a technology made up of massive mainframes only affordable to the richest of companies and helped condense them, making it accessible to ordinary individuals.