In 1961, when she published one of the most famous literary works of twentieth century, Harper Lee was unaware of just how big an impact her words would make. During a time when extreme racism plagued the American South, her "To Kill a Mockingbird" told a extraordinary tale of a small town lawyer trying to save the life of a young black man. She brought attention to the issue of civil rights and inequality while changing the literary world forever. Friday, February 19, 2016, Lee died in the same town that she grew up: Monroeville, Alabama, at the age of 89.
Although now gone, Lee left us with her amazing words and brilliant mind to remember her by. To remember Harper Lee, here are 11 wonderful quotes from "To Kill a Mockingbird" by an even more amazing woman.
1. "It's not time to worry yet."
2. "People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for."
3. "It was times like these that I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who had ever lived."
4. "Until I feared I would loose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."
5. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
6. "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 do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
7. "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. It's when you know you're licked, before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you do."
8. "You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't let 'em get your goat. Try fightin' with your head for a change."
9. "The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person conscience."
10. "As you grow older, you'll see white en cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash."
11. "I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks."
However quiet she was in her personal life, it is clear she was very loud in the literary world.
To a wonderful writer and person, thank you for inspiring me in both my writing and personal life. Rest in peace, Harper.
