They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.
Harper LeeRead
When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote introduces a significant event from the narrator's childhood involving their brother.
This quote from Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' sets the stage for a story that reflects on childhood experiences, family relationships, and the impact of trauma. It hints at a profound event in the narrator’s life that shapes their understanding of the world and their family dynamics, highlighting the challenges faced in growing up.
Themes
FamilyChildhoodTraumaRelationshipGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of family history during a family gathering.
More from Harper Lee
All quotes →It's better to be silent than to be a fool.
Harper LeeRead
Don’t talk like that, Dill,” said Aunt Alexandra. “It’s not becoming to a child. It’s – cynical.” “I ain’t cynical, Miss Alexandra. Tellin’ the truth’s not cynical, is it?” “The way you tell it, it is.
Harper LeeRead
With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.
Harper LeeRead
He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.
Harper LeeRead
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.
Harper LeeRead
Similar quotes
My mother was a reader, and she read to us. She read us Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when I was six and my brother was eight; I never forgot it.
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If you are a single parent, make friends with others in similar situations and develop friendships with married couples. Counsel with your priesthood leaders. Let them know of your needs and wants. Single parenthood is understood by the Lord.
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Love her as in childhood Through feeble, old and grey. For you’ll never miss a mother’s love Till she’s buried beneath the clay.
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As for the bracelet Mom wore to the funeral, what I did was I converted Dad’s last voice message into Morse code, and I used sky-blue beads for silence, maroon beads for breaks between letters, violet beads for breaks between words, and long and short pieces of string between the beads for long and short beeps, which are actually called blips, I think, or something. Dad would have known.
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Never forget the nine most important words of any family- I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me.
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My parents would frisk me before family events. Before weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, and what have you. Because if they didn't, then the book would be hidden inside some pocket or other and as soon as whatever it was got under way I'd be found in a corner. That was who I was...that was what I did. I was the kid with the book.
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