The recent loss of Harper Lee is profoundly felt in the literary world and the world, in general. In her life, Lee’s work has been striking in its wise, daring, and aggressively honest lessons on humanity -- and beyond it, the same will be true. In the form of quotes from her best-known novel, here are some of those lessons, which prove we'll still be learning from Harper Lee for a long time to come.
1. On empathy -- “You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
It’s important to be able to occupy other perspectives, especially when they’re unfamiliar or conflicting, because everyone is relatable some way; it’s just a matter of being selfless enough to admit it. A world where we only understand ourselves is one we don’t understand.
2. On family -- “‘You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.’"
At the end of the day, family is a tie that binds. Whenever possible, do what is necessary, and even what is unnecessary, to make it family relationships a priority.
3. On perseverance -- "’Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.’”
The impossible thing is always accomplished against all odds -- but it is accomplished. Fighting the good fight doesn’t always mean “winning,” but it never means “losing.” Defeat is a good cause with no one to brave enough to get behind it.
4. On morality -- “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."
Our one power, as people, is ultimately not over each other but the integrity of our own souls. Each of us always has the choice to do what is right.
5. On race -- “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”
Be someone who reminds the world every day that the way we treat people shouldn’t hinge on color or creed or status or whatever other empty specification; it should hinge on respect for our common humanity.
6. On superiority -- “Black or white….There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing.”
We’re all just doing our best, and the illusion of comparative “goodness” is not something to be lorded over other people/groups of people. Nobody’s perfect. Remember the plank in your own eye, and stay humble.
