To Kill a Mockingbird Character Analysis Quotation Rules
When using direct quotations from TKAM, follow these rules:
1) Choose an important quotation which supports the adjective you chose to describe your
character.
This quotation best shows that Aunt Alexandra is opinionated or narrow-minded:
Aunt Alexandra tells Scout that she cannot play with Walter Cunningham ‘“Because—he—
is—trash, that’s why you can’t play with him. I’ll not have you around him, picking up his
habits and learning Lord-knows-what”’ (Lee 225).
2) Lead in your quotation by indicating who is speaking and to whom. You will need to provide
context so that your reader understands the significance of the quotation. Do Not Drop a
Quotation Into Your Paragraph and Expect it to Make Sense.
At the beginning of the novel, the children can only speculate about their
mysterious neighbor Arthur “Boo” Radley because they have no confirmed
knowledge of him. Scout explains, “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom. . .
People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in
windows” (Lee 8-9).
3) Do not use long quotations in your essay; otherwise, the bulk of your body paragraph will be
direct quotation. Choose quotations which are no longer than 3 lines of your essay.
4) Place double quotation marks around words taken from the novel which do not appear
already in quotation marks. If the words already appear in quotation marks, such as in
dialogue, place triple quotation marks around the words.
Example #1 Basic Quotation of Narration
A change in Jem’s attitude toward the Radleys is shown when Scout reports, “Less than two weeks
later we found a whole package of chewing gum, which we enjoyed, the fact that everything on the
Radley Place was poison having slipped Jem’s memory” (Lee 60).
Example #2 Quotation which already has quotation marks in the text.
Jem’s frustration with the injustices of the world is shown in the courtroom. ‘“Doesn’t make it right,’
said Jem stolidly. He beat his fist softly on his knee. ‘You just can’t convict a man on evidence like that
– you can’t’” (Lee 220).
5) Use the exact same words that author uses when directly quoting the book. Make sure you
place quotation marks around these words. If you choose to omit part of what a character
said, use ellipses (3 periods in a row with spaces in between to show what you omitted).
However, your quotation still needs to make sense.
Tom testifies about what Mayella did to him: ‘“She says she never kissed a grown
man before. . . She says what her papa do to her don’t count”’ (Lee 194).
6) Use brackets when you need to add words or change verb tense in a quotation:
Scout ponders the reason why Atticus’ views about the black community of Maycomb
contrast with those of the whites: “The court appointed Atticus to defend [Tom Robinson].
Atticus aimed to defend him. That’s what [the white people] didn’t like about it” (Lee 218).
Ms. Salona
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To Kill a Mockingbird Character Analysis Quotation Rules
7) When leading into quotations with an introductory phrase, use a comma to introduce the
quotation. The quotation will begin with a capital letter.
Jem explains Miss Caroline’s teaching philosophy to Scout when he says, ‘“Our
teacher says Miss Caroline’s introducing a new way of teaching. She learned it in
college. It’ll be in all the grades soon”’ (Lee 18).
8) When leading into quotations with a complete sentence, use a colon to introduce the
quotation. The quotation will still begin with a capital letter.
Atticus explains who Tom Robison is when Scout asks him why he is defending
him: ‘“He lives in that little settlement beyond the town dump. He’s a member of
Calpurnia’s church, and Cal knows his family well”’ (Lee 75).
9) Cite using parenthetical documentation the author of the novel and page number on which the
quotation was found at the end of your quotation. Use this formula:
Quotation + End quotation mark + Parentheses + Author’s lat name + space + page number +
End parentheses + Period.
Scout narrates, “Cecil Jacobs made me forget. He had announced in the schoolyard
the day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers” (Lee 74).
10) Question marks and exclamation points that were an original part of the quoted material go
within the quotation marks.
Scout asks her father, ‘“Are we poor, Atticus?”’ (Lee 21).
11) Omit periods and commas at the end of the text you are quoting, even if a period or comma
appears in the original text.
Scout narrates, “Walter Cunningham was sitting there lying his head off. He didn’t
forget his lunch, he didn’t have any” (Lee 20).
12) If you quote more than one speaker, make sure the reader knows who is saying what by using
dialogue tags.
Jem asks his father, ‘“Are we as poor as the Cunninghams?”’ Atticus responds, ‘“Not
exactly. The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them
hardest”’ (Lee 21).
13) The topic sentence for each body paragraph is the first sentence of the body paragraph and
must contain the adjective or a synonym for the adjective you listed in your thesis statement.
Never ever begin a body paragraph with a quotation!
Good Topic Sentence for Body Paragraph: Atticus exhibits courage multiple
times in the novel, thus teaching his children and the townspeople the true
meaning of bravery.
Ms. Salona
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