TKAM+6

“It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11 Times Like These, by The Foo Fighters “It’s times like these, you learn to love again”  The lyrics of this song correlate with the quote from To Kill a Mockingbird in what I’d call quite an obvious way. To start, the phrase “times like these” occurs directly in each quote. Secondly, the quote from the song that talking about learning “to love again”. In the quote from To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is expressing her love for her father, which also connects the two quotes. Between these two connections, I believe that it’s safe to say that some of the same messages portrayed in the lyrics are some of the same thoughts that Scout was feeling at that “time” in the story.

Bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn they're not attracting attention with it. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9, spoken by the character Atticus Hustle and Cuss, by The Dead Weather “Now we hustle and cuss, hustle and cuss”  The connection here between these two quotes lies in the last word of each phrase. The word “cuss”, which almost always means the same as “to swear”, is the main idea behind the To Kill a Mockingbird quote. Besides this, the writer of the song also put in the part saying “Now we hustle and cuss”, as if the writer at one time or another, didn’t cuss. This also connects to the quote from To Kill a Mockingbird because at one time, Scout didn’t cuss. Although “now”, as each quote either says or implies, someone has picked up the habit of cussing.

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 you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11, spoken by the character Atticus No Horse, by The Dead Weather “I ain’t got no horse, I aint got no horizon”  The two quotes fit together by each of them saying in one way or another, there is an absence of something in which the speaker would there not to be. In the case of the quote from the book, Atticus is saying that they is no hope. In the case of the song, the writer is saying that there is no horizon, not to mention that a horizon is often associated with a new beginning. In both quotes, it seems that the speakers share the idea that there is no hope for a new beginning, yet they plan to continue on anyway.

She seemed glad to see me when I appeared in the kitchen, and by watching her I began to think there was some skill involved in being a girl. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12 Little Red Book, by Love “Ain’t no girl in my little red book who could ever replace your charm”  The lyrics from the song state in a simple way that there is a girl in which the writer believes has something that other girls don’t have. The quote from To Kill a Mockingbird says something along the same lines, but in a different way. In the book, Scout is making an observation that having the charm and finesse of a women takes a certain skill. The lyrics from the song, although they are only referring to one woman, are also saying that charm is something that is somewhat hard to find, since it’s something that takes much practice and skill. Scout is beginning to learn the same thing.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses.... That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 16, spoken by the character Atticus <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pain (Give Me Sympathy), by The Upholsterers <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Deep down in my heart, there's a feelin' <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Like a burnin' explosion <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> And I'm run with emotion, over you” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The main idea of the two quotes is how much an emotion can affect an individual. The lyrics of the song are describing the extent of the emotion felt, as does the quote from the book. The two quotes connect in a way which enables us to realize that an emotional response to a person can give forth some pretty weighty results. We can see this in hyperbolic form when Atticus states that, “maybe we need a police force of children.”

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"I think I'll be a clown when I get grown," said Dill. "Yes, sir, a clown.... There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off." "You got it backwards, Dill," said Jem. "Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them." "Well, I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks." ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 22 <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Grinnin’ In Your Face, by Son House <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Don’t mind people grinnin’ in your face” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The quotes go together nicely, for each one talks about laughter in relation to other people. The lyrics of the some are saying that you shouldn't’t mind people laughing at you, and Dill realizes this in a way by saying that he’s going to be a kind of clown who laughs right back at the people. I think that both quotes have an attitude of defiance, for they are both suggesting that other people’s opinions of you should be taken lightly. This goes against popular beliefs, and each quote says it in a beautiful way.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you'll see white men 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. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23, spoken by the character Atticus <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sitting On Top of The World, which is a folk tune <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“And I don’t worry, cause I’m sitting on top of the world” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The connection made between the lyrics and the quote from the book is that in each instance, there is a sense of pride and equality. In the lyrics of the song, it states that “I’m sitting on top of the world”, which means that there is nothing to worry about because you’re on top. Atticus says something similar when he states that “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom.” In each quote, the statement is saying that there something to be proud about, or at least there’s reason to believe that you have just as much of a fighting chance as the most powerful man in the world. Both of these quotes can also serve as motivation for those who feel that there is no hope. I think that the biggest motivator for people is to see someone better off than themselves, cause often times it inspires them to improve their life to meet the standards of their role model.