The Best Scout Finch Quotes

Scout: Atticus, do you defend niggers?
Atticus: [startled] Don't say 'nigger,' Scout.
Scout: I didn't say it... Cecil Jacobs did; that's why I had to fight him.
Atticus: [sternly] Scout, I don't want you fightin'!
Scout: I had to, Atticus, he...
Atticus: I don't care what the reasons are: I forbid you to fight.

Scout: Hey Miss Dubose.
Mrs. Dubose: Don't you say "hey" to me, you ugly girl!

Atticus: There are some things that you're not old enough to understand just yet. There's been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn't do much about defending this man.
Scout: If you shouldn't be defending him, then why are you doing it?
Atticus: For a number of reasons. The main one is that if I didn't, I couldn't hold my head up in town. I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do somethin' again.
[he puts his arm around her]
Atticus: You're gonna hear some ugly talk about this in school. But I want you to promise me one thing: That you won't get into fights over it, no matter what they say to you.

Scout: Mr. Tate was right.
Atticus: What do you mean?
Scout: Well, it would be sort of like shooting a mockingbird, wouldn't it?

Scout: Are we poor?
Atticus: We are indeed.

[about Jem]
Scout: You can pet him, Mr. Arthur. He's asleep. Couldn't if he was awake, though; he wouldn't let you. Go ahead.

Atticus: Do you know what a compromise is?
Scout: Bendin' the law?
Atticus: [slightly bemused] Uh, no. It's an agreement reached by mutual consent. Now, here's the way it works. You concede the necessity of goin' to school, we'll keep right on readin' the same every night, just as we always have. Is that a bargain?

Scout: Jem is up in a tree, he said he won't come down until you agree to play football with the Methodists.

Scout: I said, 'Hey,' Mr. Cunningham. How's your entailment getting along?
[He turns and looks away]
Scout: Don't you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I'm Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one early morning, remember? We had a talk. I went and got my daddy to come out and thank you. I go to school with your boy. I go to school with Walter; he's a nice boy. Tell him 'hey' for me, won't you? You know something, Mr. Cunningham, entailments are bad. Entailments...
[She suddenly becomes self-conscious]
Scout: Atticus, I was just saying to Mr. Cunningham that entailments were bad but not to worry. Takes a long time sometimes...
[to the men who are staring up at her]
Scout: What's the matter? I sure meant no harm, Mr. Cunningham.

[Atticus on the porch overhearing their conversation]
Scout: How old was I when Mama died?
Jem: Two.
Scout: How old were you?
Jem: Six.
Scout: Old as I am now?
Jem: Uh-huh.
Scout: Was Mama pretty?
Jem: Uh-huh.
Scout: Was Mama nice?
Jem: Uh-huh.
Scout: Did you love her?
Jem: Yes.
Scout: Did I love her?
Jem: Yes.
Scout: Do you miss her?
Jem: Uh-huh.

Scout: Why there he is, Mr. Tate. He can tell you his name...
[Looks at the man]
Scout: Hey, Boo.
Atticus: [making introductions] Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley. I believe he already knows you.

Atticus: Good Afternoon Miss Dubose... My, you look like a picture this afternoon.
Scout: [hiding behind Atticus whispering to Jem and Dill] He don't say a picture of what.

Scout: May I see your watch? "To Atticus, My Beloved Husband." Atticus, Jem says this watch is gonna belong to him some day.
Atticus: That's right.
Scout: Why?
Atticus: Well, it's customary for the boy to have his father's watch.
Scout: What are you gonna give me?
Atticus: Well, I don't know that I have much else of value that belongs to me... But there's a pearl necklace; there's a ring that belonged to your mother. And I've put them away, and they're to be yours.