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Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him.

Harper Lee

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Harper Lee
Age: 89 †
Born: 1926
Born: April 28
Died: 2016
Died: February 19
Musician
Novelist
Poet Lawyer
Prosaist
Screenwriter
Writer
Monroeville
Alabama
Nelle Harper Lee
Jem
Tried
Anyone
Else
Back
Live
Look
Squarely
Looks
Mockingbird

More quotes by Harper Lee

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Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of his divine discontent.
Harper Lee
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Writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer. There are people who write, but I think they're quite different from people who must write.
Harper Lee
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But sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves when the chips are down.
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Dill said striking a match under a turtle was hateful. “How do you know a match don't hurt him?” “Turtles can't feel, stupid,” said Jem. “Where you ever a turtle, huh?
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Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there, nothing can put it there.
Harper Lee
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My book had a universal theme. It's not a racial novel. It portrays an aspect of civilization, not necessarily Southern civilization.
Harper Lee
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I'm still old-fashioned. I love dusty old books and libraries.
Harper Lee
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Long ago, in a burst of friendliness, Aunty and Uncle Jimmy produced a son named Henry.
Harper Lee
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Havin' a gun around's an invitation to somebody to shoot you.
Harper Lee
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When stalking one’s prey, it is best to take one’s time. Say nothing, and as sure as eggs he will become curious and emerge.
Harper Lee
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As a reader I loathe introductions...Introductions inhibit pleasure, they kill the joy of anticipation, they frustrate curiosity.
Harper Lee
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Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Harper Lee
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She knew full well the enormity of her offense, but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted in breaking it.
Harper Lee
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I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.
Harper Lee
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Everybody’s gotta learn, nobody’s born knowing.
Harper Lee
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Atticus said naming people after Confederate generals made slow steady drinkers.
Harper Lee
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Atticus said that Jem was trying hard to forget something, but what he was really doing was storing it away for a while, until enough time passed. Then he would be able to think about it and sort things out. When he was able to think about it, Jem would be himself again.
Harper Lee
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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.
Harper Lee
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This time we aren't fighting the Yankees, we're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home.
Harper Lee
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I do my best to love everybody
Harper Lee