To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes
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Source: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
"Serving on a jury forces a man to make up his mind and declare himself about something. Men don't like to do that. Sometimes it's unpleasant."
"In the second place, they're afraid. Then, they're—"
"Afraid, why?" asked Jem.
"Well, what if—say, Mr. Link Deas had to decide the amount of damages to award, say, Miss Maudie, when Miss Rachel ran over her with a car. Link wouldn't like the thought of losing either lady's business at his store, would he? So he tells Judge Taylor that he can't serve on the jury because he doesn't have anybody to keep store for him while he's gone. […]
"Serving on a jury forces a man to make up his mind and declare himself about something. Men don't like to do that. Sometimes it's unpleasant."
Context
We're in Chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird, and Jem and Atticus are having a pretty long discussion about the law and fairness, which covers rape, circumstantial evidence, the (non)inclusion of women on juries, and—and this is where our quote comes from—taking sides.
Atticus suggests that it's not just the actual fallout they would have to face from the community that keeps Maycomb's residents "with background," as Miss Maudie would say, from serving on juries; it's also the fear of publicly taking a stand. Maybe this fear also influenced Tom's jury—declaring an opinion that goes against the common view can be rough.
Where you've heard it
The first time you're called in for jury duty and see the lengths people go to not get picked, this quote will make a lot more sense.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Making broad claims like this can be a little pretentious, but Atticus means well.