QUOTATIONS QUIZ

To Kill a Mockingbird

Who Said It?

“I got somethin' to say. And then I ain't gonna say no more. He took advantage of me. An' if you fine, fancy gentlemen ain't gonna do nothin' about it, then you're just a bunch of lousy, yella, stinkin' cowards, the - the whole bunch of ya, and your fancy airs don't come to nothin'.”

Who Said It?

“I can't use my left hand at all. I got it caught in a cotton gin when I was twelve years old. All my muscles were tore loose.”

Who Said It?

"Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.  Boo was our neighbor.  He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives.  But neighbors give in return.  We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad."

Who Said It?

"I'm not a very good man, sir, but I am sheriff of Maycomb County.  Lived in this town all my life an' I'm goin' on forty-three years old.  Know everything that's happened here since before I was born.  There's a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it's dead.  Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch.  Let the dead bury the dead."

Who Said It?

"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions… but 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 a person's conscience."

Who Said It?

“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."

Who Said It?

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.  They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.  That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Answers

“I got somethin' to say. And then I ain't gonna say no more. He took advantage of me. An' if you fine, fancy gentlemen ain't gonna do nothin' about it, then you're just a bunch of lousy, yella, stinkin' cowards, the - the whole bunch of ya, and your fancy airs don't come to nothin'.”

Mayella Ewell

Answers

“I can't use my left hand at all. I got it caught in a cotton gin when I was twelve years old. All my muscles were tore loose.”

Tom Robinson

Answers

"Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.  Boo was our neighbor.  He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives.  But neighbors give in return.  We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.”

Scout Finch

Answers

"I'm not a very good man, sir, but I am sheriff of Maycomb County.  Lived in this town all my life an' I'm goin' on forty-three years old.  Know everything that's happened here since before I was born.  There's a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it's dead.  Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch.  Let the dead bury the dead.”

Heck Tate

Answers

"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions… but 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 a person's conscience.”

Atticus Finch

Answers

“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.”

Jem Finch

Answers

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.  They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.  That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Miss Maudie

Inserting Quotes in an Essay – How Not To

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many examples of mockingbirds. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.  They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This description is best exemplified in the character of Tom Robinson.

Why is this wrong?The way the quote is inserted affects the flow of the

essay. It feels like it is forced into the paragraph.

Inserting Quotes in an Essay – How To

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many examples of mockingbirds. Lee describes their unique qualities, writing that "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.  They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” This description is best exemplified in the character of Tom Robinson.

Why is this better?The quotation is introduced within a sentence, helping to

create a better flow.The sentence it is inserted in helps explain the

significance of the quote.

Practice

Atticus helped prove Tom Robison could not have attacked Mayella Ewell as the perpetrator was left handed. “I can't use my left hand at all. I got it caught in a cotton gin when I was twelve years old. All my muscles were tore loose.” This showed that it would have been impossible for him to have committed the crime.

Examples sentences: In the trial, Tom Robinson testified… When asked about his left arm, Tom Robinson said… During his testimony, Robinson explained…Or simply: Tom Robison testified… said… stated… noted… explained…

etc.

Don’t Forget to Always Ask Yourself…

Is the quote relevant to the paragraph I am writing?

Does the quote support or weaken the ideas in my paragraph?

Are there better quotes that I can use?

Also Don’t Forget…

Mr. Harvey’s tips about editing quotes.Use ellipses (…) to shorten a quote by

removing unnecessary words. (Ex. “I am hungry,” he said. “It’s because didn’t eat lunch. -> “I am hungry… because I didn’t eat lunch.”)

Add words in parentheses to help clarify meaning. (Ex. Mayella Ewell testified that “He took advantage of me.” -> “He [Tom Robinson] took advantage of me.”